Echoes of Silence in a Cultural Vacuum: Study of Child Abuse in Select Hindi Cinema
Published: 2018
Author(s) Name: Suman Rathore, Supriya Agarwal |
Author(s) Affiliation: Research Scholar, Department of English, Central University of Rajasthan, Rajasthan, India.
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Abstract
Child sexual abuse is a troubling and perplexing
problem in any society. With reference to Indian social
and cultural system it becomes even more disturbing
because of the cultural vacuum around the same.
The lack of terminology and unknowingness forces
a child to succumb to silence. The article attempts to
explore the evolving image of women’s representation
in mainstream Indian cinema with reference to child
abuse. The present paper has emphasized the need
for a change in the belief system while discussing the
struggle of women who survived child sexual abuse
as it’s shown in the films. Highway and Kahani2 have
been used as the primary source as the strong women
characters portrayed in these films reflect changing
mainstream Hindi cinema. The conclusion portrays
the need to reason the disabling aspects of social and
cultural belief system and their role in the development
of a healthy society.
Keywords: Silence, Child Sexual Abuse, Films, Women, Trauma, Socio-Cultural, Reputation, Fragmentation
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