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INDIAN CINEMA THEN AND NOW

By Daya and A. K. Anagha

The Indian cinema became immensely popular with the 2000 films which were produced in various languages, every year. The industry dates back to the 19th century, more than hundred years ago. The very first film was shot by “The Lumière brothers” which was shown in Mumbai. This marked the birth of a gigantic Indian cinema. Indians were inspired and fascinated by this, which led to yet another milestone in the history of Indian cinema. Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar, commonly and popularly called “Save Dada” shot a short clipping – “The Wrestlers” -which was then shown as a film shot at the hanging garden in Mumbai. It was considered as the first motion picture of the movie industry. The father of Indian cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke released the first ever full-length feature movie by the name “Raja Harischandra” in 1913. The reason behind this movie’s standing out among the others was not just because it was the first movie released, but because of the fact that Dada Saheb was the director, writer, cameraman, editor and the art director. He made the movie entirely of his own. The biggest achievement he had was that his first movie became the first ever Indian film to be screened in London in 1914. There’s a whole world of home-grown list about our favorite Indian flick, ranging from the one with artistic merit and acclaim to the film that is just ridiculously popular. From the time when the first Indian sound film “Alam Ara” was produced in 1931 till the present decade, this industry has a remarkably rich history of producing a variety of movies, showcasing different spheres of Indian life via different themes- Comedy, Romance, Thriller, Horror and Drama. However, there has been a changing trend in the representation of Indian film through the years. The way movies were made in the 1950’s is completely different from the way it is done in the 21st century. The Indian film industry can be broken down widely into four subcategories. 

    The first phase would consist of the movie made from 1940’s till the early 1965’s. It is called ‘The Golden Era of the Indian Cinema’, where critically acclaimed movies like “Awaara” (1957), “Shree 420” (1955) and “Mother India” (1957), to name a few, were made. Their movies revolved around the common people and various day to day struggles of life, something audience could relate to and would help to finally come out as a man with the right morals.

The second phase is from late 1960’s to the early 1980’s. This phase saw a distinctive shift in movies, like, “Aradhana” (1969), “Anand” (1970), “Bobby” (1973), which marked this period. These movies were more action based and romantic in nature. Violence became an integral part. A lot of emphasis was given on villains, who were basically underworld mafias.

The third phase, that is from the late 1980’s till early 2000’s, saw the most diverse shift in movie making procedure, in India. Advanced technologies were introduced in the country. The first scientific fiction movie “Mr India”, released in the year 1987, was a super hit. Romance, was still the main theme. Comedy movies were also a hit in this phase.

The last and the ongoing phase started in late 2000. This phase introduced a lot of technical advancement in the way movies are made. From “Koi Mil Gaya” (2003) to “Ra. One” (2011), movies put a great emphasis on the visual effect rather than the story. A lot of movies have been shot abroad, with only the mention of India.

The main reason why there has been a shift in the content and the way movies are made in the last few decade is because the target audience is changed. In the early phase, the target audience consisted of the poor people hailing from villages and the movies were made so that they could relate to the protagonist. As time shifted and the urban class expanded, the target audience became the upper middle class or the upper class, who related more with the hero, who has a rich lifestyle, lives in Bungalows and travel in expensive cars. Most movies generally like to deliver what the audience desired. 

The Indian Film Industry has become more professional in the last two decades.

In conclusion, the changing pattern in movie is basically the result of the changing mindset of the audience as well as a bid to attract International audience who have different perspective than the ones for whom movies are made since the 1950’s.

PHOTO COPYRIGHT : UNSPLASH PHOTOS
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Purify your dreams with Dreamcatcher

By Sivapriya S. and Arya M. C.

We all know that a Dreamcatcher is a sort of thing used for a decorating purpose, but besides that it also has a meaning and history too. Originally created by the American Indians, it usually consists of a small wooden hoop covered in a net on web of natural fibers with meaningful sacred items like feathers and beads, attached, hanging down from the bottom of the hoop. You’ve probably seen a dreamcatcher hanging from a tree, a porch or even in a shop and wondered about its purpose and meaning.
            Generally we associate the dreamcatcher with Native American culture, but it is often believed to have originated from the Ojibwe Chippewa tribe, a North American Indian tribe, in particular. Even though, most ethnographers believe the dreamcatchers were passed down from the Ojibwe through intermarriage and trade, the Lakota Tribe, a Native American tribe, also has its own narrative about the origins of the dreamcatcher. The Ojibwe word for dreamcatcher actually means “spider” referring to the web woven to loosely cover the hoop. The Ojibwa people found them to be a symbol of protection and comfort. According to their story, a mystical and maternal “Spider Woman” served as the spiritual protector for the tribe, especially for children. As the population of the Ojibwe people increased, the “Spider Woman” found it difficult to protect and watch over all the members of the tribe as they migrated farther and farther away. Due to this reason she created the first dream catcher. Following her, the Ojibwe people recreated the maternal keepsake as a means of mystically protecting their children and families from afar.
               Dreamcatcher are traditionally used to protect people, usually children, from bad dreams and nightmares, because of which it is often referred to as “Sacred Hoops”. It is believed that these dreamcatchers would purify the bad dreams and leave good dreams. When it is hung above the bed in a place where the morning sunlight can hit it, the dream catcher attracts and catches all sorts of dreams and thoughts into its webs. Good dreams pass through and gently slide down the feathers to comfort the sleeper below. Bad dreams, however are caught in its protective net and destroyed, burned up in the light of day.

When you gift someone a dreamcatcher, you are actually sharing the history behind it. It is not like any other ordinary gift. Through the dreamcatcher, you actually convey the message that you care about the person’s well being and peace of mind.

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DOES BULLYING LEADS TO SELF-SLAUGHTER?

By Mishel Joseph and Gowri US

Bullying is an aggressive action that has a wide line of horrible consequences . The increase in this action may increase risk of mental health issues and even suicide.


But does bulling actually causes suicide is a confusing question.


Bulling  has become an increasingly worrisome health concern, especially involving youth,as bulling may have lasting effects such as psychological distress that can lead to suicidal intentions. The act not only includes physical violence but also aggression such a as verbal harassment, social exclusion,and cyber targeting  etc. The stories today,focusing on suicide of young children and teenager  can influence our minds and make us believe that there must be a relationship between bulling and suicide. Twenty-eight percent of young people from grades six through 12 have been the victim of bullying.People usually think of bullying as taking place between children at school. However, it can also occur at work and include aggressive behaviors like verbal abuse, sabotaging the victim’s job or work relationship, or misusing authority.

Adult bullies who engage in these behaviors are males 60% of the time. While men who bully tend to victimize both genders equally, women bullies target other women about 80% of the time.School children is mainly involving in this action much more than any other age group which further might lead to suicide .


Bulling and Suicide related behavior are both complex public health problems.Bulling is a punishable offence which cannot Even get a bail.  Minors are sent to juvenile homes and adults are punished in jails for several years. 

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ROLE OF MEDIA IN INFLUENCING VIOLENCE

By Sreya R. Nair and Karishma Ravi

Whenever you wish to hear a song, watch your favorite shows, or want to know the current affairs, you just turn on your television, mobile phones or laptops – which all comes under the term ‘Mass Media’. Mass media always intends to reach a mass audience. The revolution in the development of mass media is one of the most notable change in the 20th century. Social medias have accumulated a central role in our daily lives, our values, beliefs, and behaviors. But, one of the major threat social media pose to humanity is the increase in real world violence and aggression..

When a child is growing up in an environment filled with violence, it always sets a long-term impact on the mind of the child and increases the risk of violent behavior. Similarly, research evidences accumulated over many years show that exposure to violence in films and video games can also increase the risk of violent behavior on children as well as adults. Children are the prime victim of this issue. Most youth who are aggressive or antisocial in some forms may not have been violent as kids or teens. But researches show that aggressive children are likely to grow up to be aggressive adults. Thus, exposure of children to media violence can ultimately lead to violent behavior many years later. 

In earlier days media violence was portrayed like- how human behavior causes sufferings, losses and sadness to himself as the real costs and consequences of violence. Hence the mature adolescent viewers were able to learn the danger and harm of violence by virtually experiencing its outcome. But entertainments now-a-days uses immediate thrills without any human costs. And now the visuals are also more violent and violence is portrayed more realistically. Sexual and comic violence are most dangerous because they associate positive feelings with hurting others.

Showing violent behaviors, prevalence of violence in the world and perception of world as a dangerous place incorporates the fear of being the victim in the mind of the spectators. They start to carry weapon, initially, for self-protection but gradually, they become more aggressive and think more like- “get them before they get me”. Any sort of exposure to media violence can lead to anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disturbance or nightmares and social isolation.

Internet and video games have even greater potential to increase aggressive behavior in people. In the case of video games, the child is completely engrossed into the game and use of joystick enhances the experience and the aggressive feelings. It is very true that children learn best by observing and trying it. Violent media teaches specific violent behaviors at specific circumstances, so children learn this and it gets saved in their memory bank. Rather than playing the role of a mere spectator in television or in video games, the player becomes the script writer.

Although exposure to media violence is not the sole factor contributing to aggression, antisocial attitudes, and violence among children and adolescents, it is an important health risk factor on which immediate action is required. We cannot prevent media from creating such videos hence what should be done to prevent this should be done by us as parents, psychiatrists, brothers and sisters etc.

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TRANSNATIONAL MARRIAGES

By Aishwarya Vasanth & Soma Dutta

In today’s world, Globalizing is leading the greater ship, and is not intending to stop, ever. In such a place, Trans- National Marriage, a direct product of globalization, is not something uncommon. So basically, trans national marriage is when people from two different countries decide to get married! This sort of marriage evolves out of various different reasons! Some of them are individual and some are business purpose.
Love, is of course one of the major reasons for cross- country marriages!
A person visiting the host country simply falls in love with the other person, with the culture of that place. Along with these, a simple attraction towards foreign lands also encourages this sort of marriage, which can be seen in the case of those who love to travel and discover places of their taste!
Not only that, regard or deep feeling for a certain cultural and religious practice can also be the reason!
Besides this, of course there are business reasons. There come various reasons under this one.
In order to get a permanent citizenship for a desired job or anything else, marrying a citizen of that country proves to be a solution in many cases. We can see this in the movie “The Proposal”, in which, when New York editor Margaret (Sandra Bullock) faces deportation to Canada, she convinces her assistant Andrew(Ryan Reynolds) to marry her in return for a promotion.
Then we have business-deal marriages or political marriages, where a marriage between two families shows the partnership between the two companies.
 Sounds primitive, right? This was there during the ancient times also, where the king would marry off his daughter to the neighboring kingdom in order to maintain a healthy relation between the provinces.
For instance, to establish a healthy political tie between the Mughals and Rajputanas, Mariam-uz-Zamani, a born Hindu-Rajput princess was offered in marriage to Akbar by her father, Raja Bharmal of Amber in the year of 1562.

Now, like every other thing, a trans-national marriage too has both pros and cons. Well, mostly, it depends upon the person’s perspective, how they take it. But let’s list down all the possible merits and demerits.

MERITS

When two people with completely different backgrounds are tied down together, a diffusion takes places. Ideologies from one set of culture mixes up with the other set, thus eventually, diversifying their mind! Cultural diffusion is why many cultures around the world share similarities.

Because of the diversification, it also polishes each other for a better shine!

Few practices of Culture A might not be right for the society, and that’s where culture B comes into play. Thus diffusion of two different culture can possibly bring the best out of them, and rinse away the unnecessary matters.

Though it is not an outcome of cross-country marriage, but because of colonization only, the practice of child marriage and ‘Sati Pratham’, which prevailed in the Hindu customs, was abolished, thus opening bigger opportunities for all the girls.

This also reduces the chances of social discrimination for the future generation.
Not only this, the mind also becomes more flexible, thus making space for newer opportunities. People learn how to live with and manage different situations of life! A combination of two different sets of minds can lead to beautiful things!  

DEMERITS

Even though diffusion is good, but what about the next generation? Which culture do they follow? That’s a point to think about! Suppose an Indian and an American are married, should their kid bow down and greet elders or should they hug and handshake with elders? Should they focus more onto the society or should they give more attention to the individual aspect?

Though this might not be applicable for all the cases, but they are not to be neglected also!
Along with this, what about the roots or the origin? They belong to which roots?
Because of trans- national marriage there is also a chance that people might lose their originality. Everything will be just a mix up.

On one hand two different cultures can polish each other, but on the other hand it can also lead to a clash. Being habituated to our native practices, it is very difficult to suddenly accept dissimilar habits.

And at times this can lead to a clash between partners.
A very typical, yet cliché example- Suppose a western girl marries an Indian boy. Generally, as seen in most of the cases in India, the whole family gets too much involved in the marital life of the individuals. As this is quite different from the western culture, the girl might feel crowded with the constant involvement of family and relatives and this might lead to a fight between the married couple.

Thus, the clashing of cultures can create serious issues!
 

But whatever might be the demerits, this practice is quite popular in today’s time. To be honest, it solely depends on the individual how they deal with the issues. There are two options, either you give up, or you fight!
However, isn’t this an interesting concept? Growing up in a certain environment, and whoosh! Suddenly you are in a different world!

P.S : As two different minds have written this article, we decided to add our own opinions about the concept of ‘Trans- National Marriage’

Aishwarya Vasanth– “I am not in support of Trans- National Marriages. Let’s consider the case of our country. India is still a developing country that has not achieved the heights of development yet. During this time, emigration of our people to another country is like losing an asset, something we can’t afford right now. From my opinion, Trans- National Marriage is not necessary.”

Soma Dutta– “I believe that Trans- National Marriage is a beautiful concept. Right now, we need to transcend the concept of ‘this is mine, that is yours’. Through this only we’ll come to understand the needs of each other. Trans- National Marriage is a step toward it. When two people from different countries marry, they realize that they are filled with so many prejudices. So, through this way we are actually sweeping out all the stereotype thoughts which all of us have, thus making the world a better place, in a way.”