Indian Cinema as a Model for De-Westernizing Media Studies

Abstract

The need to de-Westernize or decolonize media studies and research has been echoed recurrently in Asian media studies circles for over two decades, from the pioneering works of Chu and Cheng (1978), Chu (1988), Dissanayake (1988) through James Curran and Myung-Jin Park’s seminal work, De-Westernizing Media Studies (2000) to the recent volume edited by Georgette Wang, De-Westernizing Communication Research: Altering Questions and Changing Frameworks (2011). Communication media theories and models from the West are deemed to have overlooked the rich cultural and communication traditions in Asia—for instance, from India, China and Japan. This paper examines the communication models and theories that existed in ancient Indian literature (epics and fables; classical dance, Natyashastra, music, Carnatic and Hindustani traditions; folk dance and music) and painting, art and sculpture, which predate the epistemological, axiological, and metaphysical bases of communication and cultural models developed in the West. Discussion defers to contemporary Indian cinema to sieve the philosophical, axiological, epistemological and metaphysical elements that have governed knowledge and power relations in Indian society over many centuries. Finally, these elements are used to propose a localized media studies curriculum relevant to the Indian socio-cultural and political milieu.