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    Tying the Knot: A Discussion with Indian Americans on Arranged Marriage through Bollywood

    Cover for Tying the Knot: A Discussion with Indian Americans on Arranged Marriage through Bollywood
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    View/Open: Reddi_georgetown_0076M_14002.pdf (1.7MB) Bookview

    Creator
    Reddi, Madhavi
    Advisor
    Turner, Jeanine W
    ORCID
    0000-0002-6326-3364
    Abstract
    Bollywood films have a strong presence in the lives of Indian Americans. Previous studies show that they play a significant role in shaping cultural identity. A salient theme in Bollywood films, particularly of the 90’s and early 2000’s, is love. A common narrative of these films features the protagonist choosing between love and arranged marriage, a metaphorical representation of the modernity versus tradition debate borne of the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991. This very conflict transcends into the lives of several Indian Americans. Taking into account the pervasiveness of Bollywood in the lives of Indian Americans, this paper asks “how do today’s dating-age Indian Americans talk about arranged marriage through the romantic Bollywood films that they grew up on?” This question is addressed through two qualitative studies; first, a qualitative content analysis of nine Bollywood films released between 1994-2004 to establish the negative bias towards arranged marriage in cinema, and second, ten in-depth interviews with Indian Americans to understand how their views on Bollywood and arranged marriage intersect. The interviews are analyzed through two frameworks of Stuart Hall, Encoding/Decoding and Circuit of Culture. This study shows that while Bollywood has a strong presence in their lives, the Indian American youth filter the messages of love and arranged marriage through their own life experiences.
    Description
    M.A.
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1050748
    Date Published
    2018
    Subject
    Arranged Marriage; Bollywood; Diaspora; Film; Indian American; Love; Communication; Oral communication; South Asia -- Research; Ethnology; Communication; South Asian studies; Cultural anthropology;
    Type
    thesis
    Publisher
    Georgetown University
    Extent
    80 leaves
    Collections
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Communication, Culture & Technology
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    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2023 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility