Silence in Sri Lankan Cinema from 1990 to 2010
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COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Director of Copyright Services sydney.edu.au/copyright SILENCE IN SRI LANKAN CINEMA FROM 1990 TO 2010 S.L. Priyantha Fonseka FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy at the University of Sydney 2014 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. S.L. Priyantha Fonseka 29 October 2014 ii ABSTRACT This thesis explores the characteristic silence that dominates the new wave of Sri Lankan cinema after 1990 in a socio-cultural approach. The central concern of this study is to examine the phenomenon of silence in relation to Sri Lanka’s social, political and cultural history and contemporary trends in national cinema. This is an in-depth study of the underlying theories exemplified in the characters in the films, their expressions of silence and the whole concept of silence. The silence in the films selected for this study reflects the forces of Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism that trigger the civil war, youth unrest, social and systemic imbalance in the socio-political landscape of Sri Lanka. The thesis’s arguments are validated by relevant characters, the visual texts, narrative and the socio-cultural setting of the films studied. Further, based on the theoretical concepts of silence the thesis proposes the idea of ‘silence as a weapon’ seen from a two-fold perspective: silence safeguards personal and cultural identities and creates space for a ‘shield’ to ward off the violence directed at the self, to make an appropriate counter response to the hegemonic authority that seeks to control personal identities. The weapon of silence employed by the characters in the films lays bare their internal monologues while the silence in the setting of the film crystallizes the weapon of silence to pinpoint the common space that it inhabits. The thesis finally purports that the recent oppression of freedom of expression of filmmakers and cinema by the formal and iii informal organs of hegemonic authority are nothing but its own state of panic and the fear of this weapon. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This research thesis is a result of a tiresome two and a half years. It should be mentioned that if not for the encouragement and help received from various characters met at different places, there was no way that I could finish this successfully. I hereby wish to thank all of them. Before anybody else, I should thank my research supervisor Dr. Laleen Jayamanne. Since my father passed away in the early stages of my research, I set about my studies in this unfamiliar land bearing in mind the shock of a heartache and the difficulties of a half scholarship. Dr. Jayamanne understood this background; acted as an advisor and as a mother. I went through such hardship that I gave this up, if not for her constant encouragement. When the written part was being done, she used to criticize it sharply and explained me the spots where I needed to revise. Starting from her office in the Department of Film Studies before her retirement, through coffee shop in the University, she took me to her study in her home in Glebe without actually retiring; helped me, whose mother tongue was not English, with the thesis. She showed me the correct path I should take as a researcher in anthropology by engaging me in her panel which she presented at the Conference on Inter-Asian Cultural Studies Society in Singapore and by analyzing my research paper which I presented to the conference on ‘social justice’, organized by the School of Law of the University of Sydney. First of all, I thank her with respect. Dr. Richard Smith of the Department of Film Studies and Mary Roberts, Head of the Department both were concerned about me as they understood the shock I got v from my father’s death and the physical suffering I endured by doing part-time work as I was on a half scholarship. These two are among the first few that I should thank because they facilitated an additional semester for me as a recovery and comeback period from the grief caused by my father’s death. Ministry of Higher Education in Sri Lanka granted me a scholarship advising me to do a post-graduate degree at a Sri Lankan university. I thank Professor Lalith Munasinghe of the HETC Project who assisted me by getting permission to go out of Sri Lanka as post-graduate film degrees are not offered within the country. I thank with respect the staff of NCAS who acted as a second donor and the staff of HETC office of Colombo University for facilitating financial grants. Dr. Tudor Weerasinghe, The Rector of Sri Palee Campus, University of Colombo where I work, and my colleagues and friends of the Department of Performing Arts Bhagesri Fonseka, Thumindu Dodanthenna, Uthpala Herath, and Chathurika Nimalachandra coordinated my official matters from time to time, encouraged me to finish my work successfully, and awaited my return. I thank them for those encouragements and friendships. It was the Lankan crowd including relatives and friends who were full of warmth and cool just like the Sydney weather, who brought me coolness when it was warm and brought me warmth when it was cold during the entire two and a half years. I offer my heartfelt gratitude to the fine family of Nihal, Pradeepa, Sarangi and Sam who made me a second family in Sydney; to Dhananjaya and Suromi who looked after me often and who had scholarly discussions; to Nalaka who hung out in vi cinemas with me and Darshi, his wife who was alright with it; to uncle Premasiri and aunt Pushpa who treated me and my wife not as tenants but their children; to brother Rukshan, sister Sashi, brother Asanka and sister Dilani who always cared for me; to uncle Nimal and aunt Kumari; to Ricky; to Suranga; to Kithsiri; to Dharshana; to Uditha; to Sanjaya; to Hasitha; to Malaka; to Nishan; to Gugo; to Lalith; to Buddhi; to Amal; to Chatura; and to the staff of the Sri Lankan Consulate in Sydney. Norman Yusoff is like a brother to me who came to me after receiving a cue from Laleen when I was walking lost among the thousands of Sydney University students, who joined me in scholarly discussions, accompanied me to cinemas, and chatted with me in coffee shops and in restaurants in cold evenings. I take this opportunity to thank him. Further, I thank my university friends Alice Williams and Qiu Zitong and my colleagues at the beginning of the Sydney journey Patrick, François, and Jun. I remember with thanks, Lohan, a friend who never left me, who connected through the internet without hesitation whenever I felt lonely and whenever I wanted to be with a Lankan; Janani who was a sister to me; Athula Samarakoon who helped me tirelessly and encouraged me; friends Sulari De Silva, Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, Liyanage Amarakeerthi, Sudesh Manthillake, Wijayananda Rupasinghe, Aruna Lokuliyana, Chammika Jayawardena, Anusha Gajaweera, and Mihikala Dharmaprema. I also thank Ajantha Kalyanarathne and Misska Hettiarachchi who took a time off to look after me while studying for post-graduate degrees in different vii places; friends Sanjeewa Pushpakumara and Rohana Seneviratne; Manel, Sanjeewani and Saman who always cared for me. I thank everybody including my uncle Preme, who was determined to not to let me feel the loss of my father’s love who died soon after I started my research, my own brothers who stood by me all the time, sister Kumudu, brother Chandana and family, brother Pavithra, uncle Chooti and family, mother-in-law who accepted me in to the family with motherly love, dear sister Subha who walked through an enormous number of bookshops and libraries in Sri Lanka searching for material necessary for my research, and brother Nimantha. Finally, I thank my friend Harindra who edited and translated my writing where necessary, with great effort. This would not have been possible, if not for him. I must also thank Prof. Jacob Burkhardt who volunteered to proof-read the thesis.