Beyond 'Othering': Reconstituting the Cultural Stereotypes in

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Beyond ‘Othering’: Reconstituting the Cultural

Stereotypes in Malayalam Cinema

Greenu Ans Thomas

Greethu Elizabeth Thomas

1, 2

Department of English

St. Thomas College, Palai, Kerala,

Sacred Heart College, Thevara, Kerala

gree[email protected],

[email protected]

Abstract

This study examines Malayalam Cinema as perpetuators of cultural and intersectional othering

through the portrayal of people living in the high ranges of Kerala, comprising of Idukki and Malabar

regions, as unrefined and uncivilized. In the light of characterizations in the movies Varathan(2018) directed

by Amal Neerad, Jallikattu(2019) directed by Lijo Jose Pellisserry, Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha(2019) by

Nissam Basheer and Loudspeaker(2009) by Jayaraj the paper seeks the politics inherent in the repeated

portrayal of the high ranges as uncouth and inferior. It also argues that the concept of othering is well suited

for understanding the power-relations as well as the binary positions created by movies intentionally or

unintentionally. Homogenization of masses is what that happens in such a situation where particular is

generalized. The study also delves into the hidden layers of cultural stereotyping and addresses the need to

reconstitute the idea of the high range as the ‘other’.

Keywords: othering, ontology, stereotype, polyphony, subaltern

Visual representations create a real imagined space apart from the ontological essence intrinsic in it.

The represented images create a prism which might even blur the boundary between the real and the

represented space. Mapping regions in visual culture has its own politics and poetics. Spaces associated with

subaltern are often misrepresented. The wide circulation of these visual signs, mainly through films, creates

stereotypes not only about the region but also about the people and their culture which occupy that space.

Heterogeneities, contradictions and polyphonic voices unique to that region are often erased to create a

monolithic space. This would create a cultural binary within the spectators which caters ‘cultural

stereotyping’ or creation of the ‘Other’.

As a systematic theoretical concept ‘Othering’ was coined by Gayatri Chakravorthy Spivak in 1985

in the context of man-woman relationship, men as the norm and female as the other. The notion draws on

several philosophical and theoretical traditions. Significantly, it draws on an understanding of self which is a

generalization of Hegel’s Master-Slave dialectic as developed in Phanomaologie des Gaistes. This

understanding of self and the other, put forward by Hegel was universalized by Simone de Beauvoir in The

Second Sex not only in relation to gender but also in relation to other hierarchical social differences. Early

postcolonial writing is another reference point (Said 1995/1978). Said writes of an imagined geography

which constructs the Orient as ‘other’ in a reductionist, distancing and pathologizing way while the

Europeans are the superior Occidents. Orient is exoticized. It is a postcolonial phenomena found even in

Kerala. Within the state, we could find the binaries created between low-lying areas and the high ranges

considering the culture and people of the latter, the stereotyped other. This general notion is fueled by the

depiction through cinema.

A detailed analysis of select Malayalam movies using the theoretical framework of ‘Othering’

theorized by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, literary theorist and feminist critic and brought to Indian context

by Edward Said, a founder of the academic field of post-colonial studies is aimed through the study. In this

era of heated discussions on political correctness in media, and attempts to knock down binaries inherent in

gender, race, class etc., this paper tries to point the importance to initiate an effort to resurrect a region from

the clutches of age-old stereotypes associated with it. . The politics of classifying the entire people of a

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region into these two groups, ignoring the gray area between the two, is problematic. The question is why a

particular region is being repeatedly labelled as the ‘other’ and inferior.

The concept of othering builds on a Hegelian heritage; it is inspired by both feminist and postcolonial

theory, and it is from the very beginning an intersectional concept. It marks a structuralist thinking which

privileges a gaze that fails to see the in-between, or the “thirdspace” between self and other, occident and

orient. This thought even denies the gray space in between, boosting the notion of binaries of superior and

inferior. Said writes about an imaginary, geographic space which constructs orient or the other in a

pathologizing and distancing way and occident as superior self. This notion becomes more or less

psychological as it is a mental construct of considering oneself superior to everything outside the norm that

they create. As othering has surpassed all the traditions and branches of thought, we could consider it as a

phenomenon found even in post colonial countries within a single society and culture. Orient or the other is

exoticized. It is a postcolonial phenomena found even in Kerala. Within the state, we could find the binaries

created between low-lying areas and the high ranges considering the culture and people of the latter, the

stereotyped other.

This general notion is fueled by virtual depictions and agencies like cinema as they fashion a real

imagined space creating much impact on the general perspective of people. To consider it the movie

Varathan(2018) in particular represents the binaries in its multiple levels of that the vulnerable female and the

superior male who in turn becomes her protector. To see it in more post colonial terms or in the eyes of

Edward Said, a superior self and inferior other is created by the movie which places the couple from Dubai as

superior and the native village folk of the high ranges as uncouth with the only intention to peep into other

people’s life even denying their privacy or even as threat to their existence. When it comes to Jallikattu(2019),

the motif of the movie is worth discussing. It emphasizes on the savage nature of humans in spite of their

claim to be civilized. It is something that underlines the animal element in every human mind as denoted by

Freud. The setting chosen is the high ranges to portray the hidden animal element of human psyche. The movie

consciously or unconsciously points to the idea that to show the narrow line between the animal, instinctive

nature and human civilized nature the setting apt is Idukki where unrefined people live as per the general

conception. The portrayal of people of Idukki as innocent often could be read as a mask for the lesser depiction

given by the meaning makers, in a away the empirical self.

Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha(2019) shows lesser knowledgeable hero who in turn commits marital rape

due to his lack of basic sexual knowledge. This shows a growing tendency to justify the inferior portrayal as

something that marks their innocence and closeness to nature. But this adversely affects the perception of

people, as the viewers get acquainted with the less refined characteristics and the tendency to associate such

distinctive features solely to the people of the high ranges. This becomes a pertinent issue to be discussed, as

othering which was termed to be a post colonial phenomenon, is seen within a culture itself when people of a

single society take two extreme points creating a cultural binary among them. This would cater such public

notions just as Spivak was afraid of. The people of low lying areas are attributed the status of empirical self

giving power to define the other according to the self.

The geographical dimensions are lesser significant as the psychological distinctions are taken into

manifestations as there is no visible difference of ‘more humane quality’ in the people who claim the position

of the colonial Occident. This claim is unintentional in most of the cases, but the images could manipulate the

thought process of the viewers making a wider audience adhere to this binary ignoring the grey place between

them. There is also the creation of binaries within the people of the high ranges either portraying them as the

hard core estate owners or as poor, unrefined folks in other end. The negation of the third space is one among

the serious concerns of the theory of othering as majority of the people of the high ranges do not belong to

either of the oppositions but to the in-between space. So, the homogenization of masses which was a serious

Marxist concern is also dealt as othering also involves the denial of anything other than the superior and

inferior binaries. Through such depictions in Malayalam films, they unconsciously become harbingers of

othering.

"Othering" has become a pertinent theme in continental philosophy and various fields of critical

theory. The purpose of othering in interpretation in turn helps to insight about the other and ourselves. All

cultural forms of representation hinge on the issue of identity creation. The represented images even create a

prism that would blur the distinction between the real and the represented. Movies are the main agency of

representation which has got significant influence in human minds. Mapping regions in visual culture has

got its own politics and poetics. As representing the high ranges as the other, movies have created a deep

impact in the minds of Keralites, since decades. Even the very recent movies, where the locale is set in the

villages of Idukki, continue to exhibit the same traits of cultural othering marking the low-lying areas as

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culturally superior as thought by the occident on the upper hand of colonizers. Though cultural othering is

recognized as a post-colonial phenomenon, these depictions in Malayalam Cinema force us to point it further

into the level of an intra-societal concern.

While having a read on Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Jallikkattu which was much acclaimed for its expressionist

portrayal of human condition which shares only a narrow line of distinction from the animal behaviour, we

could find that the locale is a remote village of Idukki. The politics behind choosing Idukki or the high ranges

to set a plot which marks the uncouth nature of human beings, is similar to that which Spivak claims to create

an empirical self, making everything incomprehensible to them as the other. The tendency to mark people

who live in harmony with nature as unrefined is a Hegelian tendency of assuming oneself the master, gaining

cultural supremacy over the other, by their own.

There is a discursive dominant structure which challenges the cultural equality among the people of

Kerala, creating transgressive images of the people so much so that, when there is a depiction of uncivilized

folk, people tend to associate it with regions, such that of Idukki. The cultural othering has also created such

impact in viewers’ minds about the regions of Idukki as well as rural areas of Wayanad and Kannur. There is

a profitable tendency of commodification of narrowed depictions of culture, by the people who claim to be

the key bearers of refinement, where people from the victimized areas are presented as something exotic

even as a backdrop to highlight the glimmer of mainstream culture, by exploitation of “otherness”. Varathan

being a typical example of the nasty representation of the other, creates a binary opposition of superior and

inferior culture of the village, the latter being a threat to the former, the civilized class of people. Let us

consider it as a discourse structured around polarized oppositions creating stereotypes which perpetuates

social order and a stark distinction between self and the other. By the creation of such stereotypes people are

reduced to a fewer traits that exaggerates or simplifies the person to fit into a mass. This is what happened

for the people in Jallikkattu as well as Varathan.

The grouping of people of the high ranges into extreme ends, negating the third space, is a tendency

seen in Malayalam Cinema for a decade or two. Either the characters are hard core estate owners or poor

folk with lesser knowledge about essentialities, basically unrefined. This denies the existence of the in-

between-space which contains the majority of the population of the area. Also, there is a tendency to

attribute the characteristic of innocence to the character, that is incapable to blend with the dominant culture,

who in turn becomes an object of ridicule. This innocent image attributed could be seen as mask to cover up

the intentional or unintentional marketing of coarse representation of people. We could fine Sleevachan, the

protagonist of Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha, attributed the quality of innocence and purity of heart for the

marital rape he committed, like a single wrong of an otherwise perfect man. The choice of setting is the high

ranges where these stereotyped heroes are placed.

. In Varathan, the couple who lived in Dubai in golden standards comes to a village, where both the

ambience as well as the people disturbs their unassuming lives. The village is shown creepy and secluded

from the rest of the world which is accompanied by bizarre shots and suitably arresting background score

which would suffix the depiction of obtrusive village people. The maker’s decision to seclude the place and

to introduce native characters with uniform but superficial characters like lecherous, culturally-

appropriating, intimidating and the unmannered likes, caters the notion of orient, which is considered exotic

and also to channelize the product of othering, that is, homogenization of masses.

Grouping people into one or two masses create stereotypical representations about the region and its

people. Just as in Jallikkattu, the enter village is running behind a buffalo in frenzy, awakening the

primordial instinct in every man of the village. Pellissery’s idea to rip off the so called civilizations that we

claim to exist and to prove that man is basically an animal, was intentionally set in high ranges as it would

be easier to depict the already marked other as uncouth than choosing a village out of the usual setting. The

deliberate character portrayal includes butchers, outlaws and callous land owners to show up the type of

people in the land. There are certain obscene comments made by the people themselves about each family’s

migration to the high ranges just as the teashop owner makes a comment, “All who came to the land was on

exile as they were either thieves or had some blemishes in their personal history” (“Jallikkattu” 00:32:33-

38). The movie-makers have inverted the history of the other, and have created a parallel history written by

the self-claimed elite class. Spivak suggests a clear political agenda behind such depictions of the history of

the subaltern as unworthy to mention or which does not suit with the mainstream, dominant representation of

culture (Spivak 247). The movie seldom speaks about the individual stories, rather the movie denies

individualization and presents the characters as expressionist images for the purpose of communicating the

metaphor buffalo, a tale between machismo and wild.

Most of the movie-makers opine that, the setting of the high ranges is chosen for the lush green space

and to support innocent characterization. But in recent movies innocence and ignorance are often used

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interchangeably so as to create an image of the mapped region as a dark place of ignorance. This

(mis)knowledge about the rural areas of Idukki is not created by people who lives the history of the region but

by the superior self who claim themselves to be privileged to formulate history and identity for the other.

Works Cited

Ashcroft, Bill et al. Key Concepts in Post-Colonial Studies. Routledge, 1998.

--- editors. The Post-colonial Studies Reader. New York: Routledge,1995.

Jallikkattu. Created by Lijo Jose Pellissery, Opus Penta, 2019.

Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha. Created by Nissam Basheer, Magic Frames, 2019.

Said, Edward. Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient. Penguin, 1991.

Spivak, G.C. Can The Subaltern Speak? University of Illinois Press, 1988, pp 271-313.

Varathan. Created by Amal Neerad, Fahadh Faasil and Friends and Amal Neerad Productions, 2018.