Analyzing caste in media production cultures: A case study from South India

Abstract

This paper sifts through the affective connotations and methodological issues that crop up during conversations about caste with dominant caste (savarna) women working in the Malayalam language film industry in Kerala, India, in the context of a heightened focus on gender in the post #MeToo era. Drawing on arguments from critical whiteness and critical race theories, it argues that caste ought to be viewed not just as an ontological entity but as an epistemological framework which shapes how knowledge about the world and selves are produced and transferred. It also explores the methodological challenges in broaching the topic of caste with women occupying powerful social locations and how in failing to explore caste in seemingly gender-focused studies, the researcher contributes to an epistemology of ignorance, rendering invisible a crucial power differential.