This is a 4 days – appreciation and analysis course –  tracing the goddess myths as recurring patterns in popular films and web series. 

  • When: (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun) 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st August 2021; 3:00 to 6:00 pm IST
  • Where: Online

How have Parvati and Lakshmi’s myths dominated mainstream cinematic plots for over five decades? Why does the Kali figure so often in horror films? Who is the most enduring manifestation of Saraswati in Bollywood? How is the female cop almost always the Durga archetype? How do Claire Underwood of the House of Cards and Olivia Pope of Scandal make such convincing Lakshmis? Shyaonti Talwar, the course director will critically examine cinematic narratives and trace in them the archetypal presence of Indian goddesses and their myths. 

Shyaonti has authored the book by the same name, ‘The Devi in the Diva’. Through the course, as in the book, Shyaonti will radically deconstruct the hegemonic notion of the goddess. She will look at the goddess, not as a divinity or a religious entity but as a socio-political construct and approach it from anthropological and ethnographic perspective. By tracing these archetypes through the myths, Shyaonti will extend this archetypal analysis of the goddess to cinematic texts from popular cinema.

The course also looks at the role of archetypes in creating the brand value of celebrities and defining the trajectory of their success. 

The course could be an exciting exploration for creative directors of films and ads, writers, actors, visual artists, media, communications and branding consultants, fashion designers, image consultants and leadership programmers. It could also interest those in the fields of analytical psychology, anthropology, Indian mythology and gender studies. 

Myths and Archetypes are universal, they cannot be contained within geopolitical confines; and they cut right across time. The course will help participants better decipher the archetypal projections of the feminine; and the media practitioners can create and present more empowering and non-normative projections of women in the media (cinema and advertising).


To know more, please visit – https://filminstitute.auroville.org/2022/07/11/the-devi-in-the-diva/
OR call/ message +91 9969879319