Cinema, Digital Media, and Ecological Representation: An Indian Perspective

Abstract

The new dimensions in recent decades have given the manifestation of the environmental consciousness in the Indian cinema, as well as in the digital media. This research paper focuses on ecocinema as it appeared and developed in the context of Indians. It focuses on regional films, independent documentaries and Adivasi media practices by going beyond mainstream Bollywood. It states that in an Indian environment, the concept of environmental representation is deeply connected with such questions as caste, class, colonialism heritage, and development politics. The research paper is split into four parts: the first examines historical changes of green themes in the Indian cinema, the second examines the new forms of storytelling in the digital era such as web series and community media projects, the third takes into account the methodological innovation used in the study of the Indian cinema, and lastly the fourth part challenges the material aspects of media infrastructure and the issue of environmental justice. All along, it has been argued that Indian approach provides new orientations to ecocinema research in the world, especially in the environment of postcolonial ecology and the voice of the marginalized.