Research Article | Open Access
The Construction of Mentally Disabled in Malayalam Movies: Study Based on Chotta Mumbai and Mizhi Randilum
Jenita Elizabeth George
Pages: 1728-1733
Abstract
Disability Studies is an interdisciplinary area of study which tries to understand disability with reference to culture, society, and politics rather than conceptualizing it in terms of Medicine or Psychology. It explains the meaning, nature and the consequences of disability. This field of study tries to interpret disability and tries to understand the feeling of ashamedness and loss of reputation because of the disease, illness and impairment, including those that cannot be healed or explained by biological sciences. It also looks up how ‘normal people’ behaves towards the people with disabilities. The society has constructed several norms and it expect people to abide by the same. When an individual deny to accept these norms, the society brand them as freaks or mentally disabled. Through the course of history, one could find how women were claimed to possess fits of madness in their blood when they deny the patriarchal authority.
This paper tries to analyse how mentally unstable characters are created in a movie. The paper understands the sanity hid behind the veil of insanity in the characters in the movies Chotta Mumbai andMizhiRandilum. In both these movies certain characters are branded as mad and is used for comic relief. This paper also tries to understand the inconsiderate nature of the society of such fragile situations. This paper tries to prove how madness is imposed upon certain characters and later on the costumes, dialogues and mannerisms are used in a such a way to concrete the imprinting of madness in them.
Keywords
Disability studies, madness, patriarchy, social norms, women.