Priorities in order
TV shows extremes – either the women will be as good as gold or wicked as the Devil. When somebody tells me that women are being portrayed in the bad light or as subservient, I consider it far more objectionable than women dressing up skimpily and celebrating their sexuality.
-- Shabana Azmi
Source: This article about Shabana ji's role in Ekta Kapoor's "Kaun jeetega Bollywood ka ticket," which I mentioned here not long ago. Shabana ji astutely touches upon a very important point. To object to the portrayal of women as human beings with autonomous sexuality is to perpetuate the dichotomy that is described in Western culture as the Madonna-whore problem. It shows in Shabana ji's body of work (among other things) that she recognizes the importance of a woman's freedom to express her own sexuality as she chooses, and that a dramatic portrayal of a woman doing so is not automatically cheap, improper, or objectionable.
2 comments:
I read this article a few weeks ago and watched the show. If you haven't caught up with it, its a good thing.
There is so much unnecessary drama, it makes a Hindi soap opera look stoic. Its all glitzy, glamorous and gross. Apart from Shabana all the judges are heavily biased. Especially Amrita Singh.
To object to the portrayal of women as human beings with autonomous sexuality is to perpetuate the dichotomy that is described in Western culture as the Madonna-whore problem. It shows in Shabana ji's body of work (among other things) that she recognizes the importance of a woman's freedom to express her own sexuality as she chooses, and that a dramatic portrayal of a woman doing so is not automatically cheap, improper, or objectionable.
Good point. But is that necessarily true (and to what extent) of the portrayal of women wearing skimpy clothing in bollywood movies?
I'm all for women celebrating their sexuality and I have no qualms about nudity or sex scenes in movies, but I have serious doubts that when I see skimpily-clad women in BW movies, that's what is happening.
Her statement also begs the question: does skimpily-clad = celebration of sexuality? And is that an actress's decision, or her (male) director's, who probably got his idea from watching an (US) MTV song, thought it looked "cool" and decided to replicate it in his BW movie?
:)
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