A Case Study of Chak De India Nancy Kaushik* Ph.D
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Innovation: International Journal of Applied Research Research Article December ISSN: 2347-9272 (Volume-1, Issue-1) 2013 Exclusion in Cinematic Space: A Case Study of Chak De India Nancy Kaushik* Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India. Abstract: In the present scenario, multi- media serve multiple functions, including the construction and transmission of social meanings that are visible in cultural artefacts. Films do more than that, with its narrative function, cinema offers works of art and "richly layered cultural practices". Such practices result from the interconnection of cinema with culture. In the spatial construction of society, spaces have a material reality and symbolic significance that can take on life of their own. Therefore, this paper attempts to explain the construction of cinematic space wherein the movie “Chak De India” is the representation of real world and from which the incidences of exclusion have been carved out. Chak de India is such a movie that attracts audience as it is a simple tale told with a classical style. Patriotism is one of the important elements reflected within this cinematic space, ranging from representation of feelings to the selection of landscapes. Patriotism is a common emotion and its awareness unites countrymen in spite of the unmatched diversity. The cinematic space of Chak de India greatly supports the fact. Though there have been various factors of diversity on the basis of identity, exclusion, region, language etc. This paper attempts to figure out the incidences of exclusion reflected in this particular cinematic space under the following broad heads- on the basis of religion, language, gender, region, popularity and development. This paper focuses on the issue of exclusion which can clearly be labelled as an ill to the society and is also a hindrance in the path of nation building. Key Words: Cinema, Exclusion, Space, India, Social I. INTRODUCTION Spaces are scientific and geometric, filled with an accumulation of social facts, providing an accurate but simplified representation of a more complex real world. In the spatial construction of society, spaces have a material reality and symbolic significance and can take on life of their own. Spatial patterns not only express but also shape social relations. Therefore, this paper attempts to explain the construction of cinematic space wherein the movie “Chak De India” is the representation of real world and from which the incidences of exclusion have been carved out. Over the time scholars agree that mass media serve multiple functions, including the construction and conveyance of social meanings observable in cultural artefacts (Coleman, 1995). Films do more than that, with its story-telling (narrative) function, cinema offers works of art and "richly layered cultural practices" (Corrigan, 2003). Such practices result from the interconnection of cinema with culture. Noted scholars Gerald Mast and Marshall Cohen (1985) observed that what is significant from a cultural perspective is, "the way films shape or reflect cultural attitudes, rein- force or reject the dominant modes of cultural thinking, and stimulate or frustrate the needs and drives of the psyche". As a form of narrative, cinema joins the objective with the subjective, merging the historical with the personal (Entrikin, 1991). Cinema thus embraces a double-edged social constructionist frame: messages and meanings are constructed within film, and audiences actively sort, discard, and construct meaning in their interactions with film (Baird 1996; Blumer 1969; Edgerton and Jackson 1996; Mead 1934). Writing about film, Robert Scholes (1985) called this process "narrativity," in which the perceiver "actively constructs a story from the fictional data provided by any narrative medium. A fiction that guides us as our own active narrativity seeks to complete the process that will achieve a story". It is the cinematic space that redefines expressions like reel patriotism without stroking hatred for another nation. Indian cinema has contributed immensely to the cultivation of the uniting and uplifting feelings of nationalism. Patriotic films, as a special and much admired genre of Indian cinema, have had a tremendous impact on our people, cutting across religious, regional, linguistic and economic identities. Moreover, they have also proved their unsurpassed power of communicating both to educated and illiterate masses. Cinematic space is the enduring source of image of their nation as a vast and diverse land bounded by the Himalayas in the north, surrounded by oceans on three sides, girdled by sacred rivers like Ganga, Yamuna and Godavari and blessed with captivating natural beauty and rich resources. For people it is also the primary source of knowledge about national heroes, martyrs, the struggles and sacrifices of our forefathers, the work of our social reformers, and the wars of the pre- and – post Independence era, including the recent and on-going war against cross-border terrorism and our achievements as a free and democratic nation. II. BACKGROUND “Chak De India” is the story of a coach‟s fight to make his team, Team India, the best in the world. It is a film about self- confidence, determination, fortitude and the human spirit to fight and win. It‟s a story of a man mentoring a hockey team of young and feisty girls. Their determination, ambition and skills are put to test in an ultimate contest with the world‟s top teams. For the girls it is a chance to make their nation proud along with to prove them and for their coach it is a chance to reclaim his lost honour and identity. Kaushik et al. Page 27 Innovation: International Journal of Applied Research Research Article December ISSN: 2347-9272 (Volume-1, Issue-1) 2013 The plot is loosely based on the life of Mir Ranjan Negi, the Indian goalkeeper of hockey in the 1982 Asian Games Final where India lost to arch rival Pakistan by a whopping 7-1. Negi was made the scapegoat for that defeat and the humiliation made him vanish from the hockey scene for years only to return as the coach of the Indian Women‟s Hockey team and lead them to victory in the Commonwealth Games in 2002. In this particular context there are various elements identified like identity, exclusion, differences, factors of nation building etc. out of which Exclusion is the focus of this paper. There have been several incidences of exclusion reflected in this particular cinematic space under the following broad heads- on the basis of religion, language, gender, region, levels of development, exclusion of a game, on the basis of seniority etc. III. EXCLUSION Exclusion is strongly connected to the idea of stigma referring to the way in which particular individual or groups may come to be viewed as standing apart from and as posing a threat to normal society. According to Chris Philo: Exclusion refers to a situation in which certain members of society are, or become separated from much that comprises that normal “round” of living and working within society and should be thought of “as simultaneously social and spatial”. Indeed, excluded individuals will tend to slip outside, or even become unwelcomed visitors within, those spaces which come to be regarded as the loci of mainstream social life for example Middle class suburbs, up market shopping malls, or prime public spaces. Exclusion is a word that many people are familiar with but may find difficult to define. As is used in different contexts- Social exclusion: A phrase that suggests a concern with material inequalities- of health care, education, housing or employment, for example, for others the word may have quite different connotations. Social exclusion is a concept used in many parts of the world to characterise contemporary forms of social disadvantage. Dr. Lynn Todman, director of the Institute on Social Exclusion at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, suggests that social exclusion refers to processes in which individuals and entire communities of people are systematically blocked from rights, opportunities and resources. There are other viewpoints also like “Whatever the content and criteria of social membership, socially excluded groups and individuals lack capacity or access to social opportunity.” (Hilary Silver, 2007) The concept of exclusion in terms of social exclusion is a relatively recent import into the field of development studies, and debate continues about its usefulness. Some development academics believe that the concept of social exclusion is useful because the emphasis on the social and economic processes that create exclusion helps academics and policy makers to better understand the causes and consequences of exclusion and deprivation (Ann Nevile, 2007) The first person to explore the notion of the geographies of exclusion in any detail was the social geographer David Sibley. In his “Outsiders in Urban Society” (1981), he noted how stigmatized groups commonly inhabit the geographical margins of society. Sibley also investigated the role that spatial boundaries play in maintaining social boundaries. As he recognised, as those considered socially marginal are either pushed towards or, in an attempt to avoid confrontation and abuse, seek out geographically marginal spaces, spaces emerge as both an expression of and a means by which exclusionary practices gain purchase and meaning. Developing these ideas further, in “Geographies of Exclusion” (1995), Sibley set out to explain the dynamics of such practices. Drawing upon the ideas of „Objects Relation Theory‟, Sibley argued that western identities are structured by an innate need to differentiate between those identified as fundamentally different or other. Having constructed such a distinction in their infancy, people are then engaged in a life long struggle to maintain this distinction lest that which is different undermines a clear and coherent sense of self. One way of maintaining this distinction is to ensure a suitable physical distance is also maintained between “Self” and “Other” though, as Sibley recognizes, distances per se is rather less important than the fact a clear an unambiguous boundary as established between the two.