Bachelor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2008, School Of Interdisciplinary Studies - Interdisciplinary Studies

This project explores the recent shift in focus of popular Hindi (Bollywood) films from domestic characters encountering social issues, to members of the South Asian diaspora (primarily in the West) negotiating their ethnic identities. This project offers insights into the evolution of the Bollywood narrative where identities are being renegotiated and connections with traditional Indian culture are being challenged. Acknowledging the economic liberalization of India as catalyst, this paper examines the representation of the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and their connectedness with the diasporic reality in which they live. The representation is discussed in terms of the impact that religion, gender, sexuality, and regional/national politics have on the creation of a hybridized ethnic identity. Moreover, recent NRI-centric films are openly utilizing the diasporic characters as a safer experimental platform to negotiate these complex issues. The 2003 release of Kal Ho Naa Ho acts as the central example of a film that follows all the Bollywood conventions, yet due to its complete focus on the diaspora, can also be seen as non-Bollywood. The film's multiple subplots, tackling a wide range of issues among the diaspora, offer an engaging explanation of India's portrayal of its expatriates as a socially liberal, affluent, culturally liminal, and hybridized ethnic population within their host societies. Finally, the project delves into the visible shift of Hindi cinema from a dominantly India-centric industry to the realm of transnational cinema via images of the NRI.

Committee: William Newell PhD (Advisor); Sally Harrison-Pepper PhD (Advisor); Ronald Scott PhD (Committee Member); Alysia Fischer PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Fine Arts; Mass Media; Motion Pictures

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2024, Interdisciplinary Arts (Fine Arts)

Kurdish cinema represents a vital transnational and global art form that bridges the Kurdish community, uniting a stateless people through cultural expression. This dissertation explores common narrative threads of Kurdish cinema relating to identity, statelessness, trauma, and women's issues, despite the differences between Kurds of various nationalities in both the ancestral Kurdistan region and the diaspora. The first chapter examines how these artworks confront issues of identity, exile, and homeland. The second interrogates depictions of individual and collective trauma in Kurdish cinema, especially generational trauma resulting from racism, conflict, and displacement. Chapter 3 analyzes Kurdish cinema from a comparative perspective through the lens of Indigenous studies, examining how Kurdish cinema confronts settler-colonial oppression. The fourth and final chapter addresses the portrayal of Kurdish women's issues in Kurdish cinema, contrasting how male and female directors represent these issues and emphasizing the vital contributions of Kurdish women filmmakers especially with regard to telling Kurdish women's stories. Ultimately this work positions Kurdish cinema as a powerful artistic movement spanning national and international boundaries driven by the efforts of a distinct filmmaking community united in the desire to represent Kurdish identity and culture through cinematic storytelling.

Committee: Charles Buchanan (Advisor); Andrea Frohne (Committee Member); Ghirmai Negash (Committee Member); Nukhet Sandal (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; Middle Eastern Studies; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Womens Studies

MSARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Through the medium of selected Indian Diasporic cinema, the research envisages to explore the Indian Diasporic Identity for the migrant individual. Amongst its multifaceted identities—cultural, social, gendered, historical, religious, political, national and now transnational, the Indian Diaspora has encompassed various modes of Identity construction. The Indian Diaspora imprints its unique yet hybrid identity on places that it occupies, initiating such places to act as catalysts of Identity construction. Focusing on three selected Diasporic films—Bend it Like Beckham, Mississippi Masala and The Namesake, I seek to follow the lives of the characters that represent the Indian migrant individual. The reel spaces along with the real space synergistically assert the boundaries of culture, class, gender and nation. The heteronormative structures that are often associated with the Indian Identity shall also be questioned and critiqued. The discussion shall be supported by postcolonial discourse on migration, Diaspora and transnationalism. It is argued that the medium of Diasporic cinema expresses, creates, represents and sometimes shatters the existing identities. This research, thus, is intended to suggest possible trends and point to future research directions.

Committee: Nnamdi Elleh PhD (Committee Chair); Aarati Kanekar PhD (Committee Chair) Subjects: Architecture