Media Portrayal Of Indian Culture

Culture defines the way that people go about their daily lives, including what they eat, what they believe, and what they do. In a place where a certain culture prevails, it is only natural that the core beliefs and the customs of a culture are reflected in the media. The cultures within the U.S. and India influence the media portrayal of women in unique ways and specific stereotypes: women are often objectified and sexualized in U.S. culture whereas women are restrained and viewed as sexual fiends in Indian culture. Culture affects the ways that women are portrayed in Indian and U.S. culture, but, at the same time, the depiction of women in media and the treatment of women within the culture can be simplified into two themes: sex and power.

In recent years, the media has made great strides, increasing female representation in movies and in other previously-male dominated field. However, a lot of progress needs to be made to combat the pervasive image of the female in the media. According Jezebel, the ideal woman has Mila Kunis’s eyes, Jessia Alba’s smile, Sofia Vegara’s breasts, Rihanna’s abs, Gabrielle Union’s arms, and Blake Lively’s legs. In essence, the media in the United States places a lot of emphasis on female appearance and frequently objectifies women as sexual objects and weaker beings to their strong heroic male

Men, on the other hand, are not open like women, and are not required to be restricted in the ways that women are. In the media of India, this sexualization is present in a few ways. First, the news media focuses on stories that sexualize women such as a frequent stories of rape cases. Because the culture supports a belief that women instigate sexual acts, these stories are not acknowledged by the government or dismissed by the traditional culture. Additionally, in Indian movies, also known as Bollywood movies, women are portrayed a love-seeking and naive objects to be won over by dashing males. However, in recent years, more and more Bollywood movies feature independent female leads, including Queen, a film about a young woman who leaves her fiance to travel and find herself. At the end of the movie, the woman decides to keep her independence. Finally, women are underrepresented in the Indian media workforce, outnumbered by a ratio of four males for every female according to India