An analysis of the post content for all status updates till 24 march 2018 and combined comment data for the top three posts with the highest number of comments brings out various points of theoretical and scholarly interest.<\/p>\n
The data strongly points towards the ability of the Internet to spread messages of public and popular interest, especially regarding celebrity life and cinema. There is a significant impact in the local spaces of Kerala as well as specific international places. Highest number of comments arise from the state of Kerala, India (even non-metropolitan, rural areas of the State record activity, which highlights the pervasiveness of Internet technologies and social media participation). Internationally, the Gulf regions, specifically UAE and Saudi Arabia show the second largest user activity, which reflects the cultural and economic significance of the Middle East in the lives of Malayalees.<\/p>\n
The data shows the skewed number of male and female participants, which raises doubts about the relevance of online platforms in promoting female inclusivity. This particular Facebook page is specifically oriented towards women\u2019s empowerment in the Malayalam movie industry. The data shows that the largest number of responses arise from Malayalee men who are deeply concerned about the potential of such a feminist initiative in upsetting the observed norms of patriarchy within the movie industry as well as eroding the cultural and moral values associated with femininity and decorum in the society.<\/p>\n
The startling number of negative remarks and expletives found in the comments, which continue even today, a year after the page was published, exposes the frustration caused by a feminist rebellion in the collective psyche of the majority of Kerala cinema audience who uphold patriarchal, misogynist views regarding popular entertainment. However, the transformative potential of such an initiative can clearly be seen as it continues the struggle for recognition of women actors\u2019 voices, needs and preferences regarding roles, dialogues, consent and remuneration in the Malayalam movie industry.<\/p>\n
Through its online campaigning and the resultant mass recognition, WCC has succeeded in gaining a place in the official organisation for Malayalam movie actors (AMMA- Association of Malayalam Movie Actors) as an individual body that questions gender inequality and perseveres to set up formal rules that mandate transparency in pay and working conditions for women actors.<\/p>\n
The language used is largely Malayalam script, which is a positive sign of how technology and online spaces are becoming more accessible to non-Western, non-English populations.<\/p>\n
However, it sends mixed messages when viewed from the perspective of feminism. Even among the women who have commented, the sentiment value is polarized, and heavy on the negative side. This could be the combined result of many factors, such as:<\/p>\n
(a)Pervasive and fearful control of patriarchy on the minds of Malayali women which dictates them to scorn feminism as an ideology\/movement, and mistrust women\u2019s initiatives that topple established gender roles and stereotypes.<\/p>\n
(b)Women\u2019s lack of access, time or knowledge about such an online initiative (domestic and technology restrictions).<\/p>\n
(c) Absence of women in the Middle East regions from where the second largest set of comments originate, since the majority of Malayali males lives a life of forced bachelorhood in the Gulf.<\/p>\n
(d) The possibility that this is an exclusive space that has a restrictive boundary which only addresses the concerns of a few female celebrities, thereby ignoring the struggles of the common woman. Such a reputation creates a sense of alienation in the minds of women whose lives are clearly out of the boundaries of limelight and whose fights and concerns are different from those iterated by Women in Cinema Collective.<\/p>\n
However, the fact that such a space has been created, which is the first of its kind both from a Malayali perspective as well as from the state of Kerala, is a heartening symbol of feminist resistance and women\u2019s solidarity on online spaces. This page could well be the harbinger of more such feminist initiatives that raise uncomfortable questions about the patriarchal status quo and offer platforms for discussion and discourse, and formulate practical and policy-level changes to impact women\u2019s empowerment in the State.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
References<\/p>\n
Gajjala, Radhika. \u201cConsuming\/producing\/inhabiting South-Asian digital diasporas.\u201d (2006): 179-185.<\/p>\n
Gajjala, Radhika, ed. Cyberculture and the Subaltern: Weavings of the Virtual and Real. Rowman & Littlefield, 2012.<\/p>\n
Gajjala, Radhika. \u201cInterrogating identities: Composing other cyberspaces.\u201d Intercultural alliances: Critical transformation (2003): 167-188.<\/p>\n
Hemphill, Libby, et al. \u201cFeminism and social media research.\u201d Proceedings of the companion publication of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing. ACM, 2014.<\/p>\n
Ilias, M. H. \u201cMalayalee Migrants and Translocal Kerala Politics in the Gulf: Re-conceptualising the \u2018Political\u2019.\u201d Diasporas of the Modern Middle East (2015): 303.<\/p>\n
Ravi Raman, K. \u201c\u2018Currents and eddies\u2019: Indian-Middle East migration processes.\u201d Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 5.2 (2012): 189-206.<\/p>\n
Subramaniam, S. \u201cFrom the Streets to the Web: Feminist Activism on Social Media.\u201d (2014).<\/p>\n
Sweetman, Caroline. \u201cIntroduction, feminist solidarity and collective action.\u201d Gender & Development 21.2 (2013): 217-229.<\/p>\n
Travers, Ann. \u201cParallel subaltern feminist counterpublics in cyberspace.\u201d Sociological Perspectives 46.2 (2003): 223-237.<\/p>\n
Wilding, Faith, and Cyberfeminist International. Where is feminism in cyberfeminism? 1998.<\/p>\n
Wikipedia contributors. \u201cWomen in Cinema Collective.\u201d Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 23 Feb. 2018. Web. 4 Apr. 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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