Gender Narratives And Tamil Mega Serials

Abstract

McLuhan’s “Medium is the message” holds true even in this millennium.  Media are very powerful, effective and influential in disseminating information, where television is considered as a cultural commodity. It is a two vision mirror which reflects the society as well as modified by the society. The Genre soap-opera over the years made a rapid development in terms of presentation, production and content. The very first Indian serial Hum Log (1984) from Doordharshan reached 80 million audience and promoted equal status for women. The Beijing Platform of Action (BPFA) mentioned two strategic Objectives which aimed in promoting women empowerment and development which are first by Increasing the participation and access of women in decision and expression in media and new communication technologies; and second Promoting a balanced portrayal of women in media. Femininity is also addressed by the way the viewers are positioned in the narrative and analyzing the character. This makes the viewer the skill of watching and enacting. The beauty, glamour and characterization are shown in different roles of women by constructing and reconstructing the feminist identities. Consequently women can identify themselves in soap-operas. The exposure of women to media and examining the portrayal of women in media, are some of the important dimensions to be analyzed to study the role of media in Women empowerment. This study aims in figuring out the gender narratives in Tamil mega serials among selected samples by qualitatively analyzing through textual analysis method. As women in contemporary soaps hold a powerful position in different context, the study in the narratives of mega serials can be an effective tool in creating awareness about the change in dynamics of society.