2. Impact of "God Posters" on Hindus and Their Devotional Traditions

Smith, Etienne

doi:10.9783/9781512800180-005

Cited by 36 publications

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“…Suppose, somebody has got this poster in his house, somebody has that poster and they will see one of the posters [in the video], then /271 they will identify with them .... And these posters are really very good-looking! a calendar print, the many routes of the video images of Ram can be traced to a Hindu ritual context in which they serve to establish an intimate relationship between viewer and viewed (darshan) (see Inglis 1995;Jain 1995Jain , 1997Pinney 1992Pinney , 1997Smith 1995). Similar images may be found on the walls of almost every Hindu home as well as in public places such as offices and shops (Jain, this volume).…”

Section: Going Popular: Routes and Journeys To Hindutva's Pantheonmentioning

confidence: 93%

Hindutva intervisuality: Videos and the politics of representation

Brosius

2002

Contributions to Indian Sociology

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This article analyses the ways in which new audiovisual technologies may organise and challenge patterns of seeing for purposes of political mobilisation and ideological indoctrination. The context is that of the Hindu Right, with particular reference to the Ayodhya controversy. Focusing on God manifests Himself, a video produced by Jain Studios in New Delhi (1989/1990), the complex question of representation is discussed with reference to two key principles that inform the audiovisual rhetoric of Hindu nationalism. First, the video demonstrates that the Hindutva politics of representation is based on the technique of ‘intervisuality’, whereby meaning emerges from the dynamic interplay of aesthetic and symbolic spaces and social practices. Second, Hindutva rhetoric relies on the use of ‘wish-images’, through which imaginary ‘think-spaces’ are opened that enable its ideologues to generate ideas of a crisis-ridden imagined community of Hindu nationals against the backdrop of a Golden Age and a utopian future. This includes the stereotypical fixation of the ‘Muslim Other’. The article investigates the role of popular culture and religio-political practices as well as stylistic aspects of docu-drama, montage and special effects.

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Section: Going Popular: Routes and Journeys To Hindutva's Pantheonmentioning

confidence: 93%

Hindutva intervisuality: Videos and the politics of representation

Brosius

2002

Contributions to Indian Sociology

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“…However, in academic discourse, the term has taken on a somewhat narrower meaning; it is typically used to designate cheap, mass-produced colored lithographs depicting Hindu Gods, saints, patriotic freedom fighters, and other nationalist heroes that were and continue to be ubiquitous objects of framing. 34 According to art historian Kajri Jain, framing pictures and other forms of Indian calendar art derive their meaning and significance from the vernacular cultural and commercial contexts in which they are produced and consumed. But it is important to recognize that not all of the mass-produced portraits used as everyday framing pictures in postcolonial India circulated in typical "vernacular" arenas such as the bazaar.…”

Section: Soviet Imagery and Development Imaginings In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Imagining a Progressive World

Bachman¹

2022

Inventing the Third World

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“…The advent of print technology not only entailed standardization in the representation of particular deities, but as Gwilym Beckerlegge (2001, p. 67) observes, ‘the market for religious artifacts widened and ceased to depend on wealthy patrons’. This expansion of the market for religious imagery has, according to H. Daniel Smith (1995), had a significant impact on the devotional practices of many Hindus. God posters have become important features in popular religious practice.…”

Section: God Posters Comics and Photo‐iconsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…God posters have become important features in popular religious practice. The ubiquity of god posters has facilitated ‘a new and pervasive “omnipraxy” ’ exemplified by householders and shopkeepers ‘who daily offer flowers and incense to framed pictures of deities’ (Smith 1995, p. 37).…”

Section: God Posters Comics and Photo‐iconsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communicating Hinduism in a Changing Media Context

Jacobs

2012

Religion Compass

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New media forms have a range of implications for the way in which the Hindu community is conceived and Hinduism is practiced. Oral modes of communication continue to have a significant role in the communication of Hinduism, however, Hindus have also made effective, and often innovative, use of all media forms. The use of print made by Hindu reformers, such as Rammohun Roy, was an important feature in the conceptualization of Hinduism as a 'world religion'. Print technology also made possible the proliferation of visual images, which have now become incorporated into the devotional practices of many Hindus. Hindus have also developed unique genres in film and television, drawing on the rich narrative traditions of Hindu mythology. Hinduism can also be found in cyberspace. Online darśan, online p uj a services and other uses of the Internet have enabled Hindus, both in India and in diaspora, to maintain a connection with gurus, sacred places and other aspects of tradition. These developments in communication technologies are important in understanding Hinduism today, and the way in which it has evolved in a global context. vitality; the sacred word springs to life and exerts power when it is spoken and heard'. Consequently, oral modes of communication continue to play a significant role in the perpetuation of the Hindu tradition. It is still possible, for example, to hear a recitation of the R am aya _ na 1 Nonetheless, Lipner's observation suggests that changes in the mode of communication have a significant impact on the meaning of the message. Marshall McLuhan (2001, p. 7) has suggested that 'the medium is the message'. In other words McLuhan argues that we should be more attentive about how meaning is communicated, rather than simply what is being communicated. McLuhan suggests that media can be considered as 'the extensions of man', which now embrace the globe, and that this has major implications for all aspects of society and culture.The changing media context has implications for religious practices and beliefs. Religion has not disappeared from the public sphere and has not become a purely individual phenomenon relegated to the private sphere (see Meyer & Moors 2006). Change in the Religion Compass 6/2 (2012):

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2. Impact of "God Posters" on Hindus and Their Devotional Traditions

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Hindutva intervisuality: Videos and the politics of representation

Hindutva intervisuality: Videos and the politics of representation

Imagining a Progressive World

Communicating Hinduism in a Changing Media Context

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