https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i3.102
Fluid Bodies, Fluid Ecologies: A Hydrofeminist Analysis of Perumazhakalam and Ullozhukku
MS. SREELEKHA CHANDRASEKHARAN
Research Scholar
Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbathore
DR. PL. VISALAKSHY
Associate Professor
Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbathore
Abstract: Hydrofeminism is a mode of Posthuman Feminist Phenomenology that understands our bodies as being fundamentally part of the natural world and not separate from or privileged to it. This concept was developed by the cultural theorist Astrida Neimanis in her book Bodies of Water: Posthuman Feminist Phenomenology. It calls for humans to examine our relationship to oceans, watersheds, and other aquatic life forms from the perspectives of our own primarily watery bodies. It also connects our ecological, poetic, and political connections to other bodies of water. In films water or water bodies represent the fluidity of female self in different ways. It plays as a metaphor for emotions, boundaries, confinement and self. It might be in the form of rain, rivers, or sea. Perumazhakalam and Ullozhukku are two films which explore themes of love, forgiveness, grief, and human resilience. The constant presence of rain in the films symbolizes the emotional turmoil faced by the four women characters, which plays a significant role in the movies. The presence of rain and river in the background metaphorically represent the tears of the major characters. These movies also tried to depict the tragic plights of women who are the victims of patriarchy in Indian families.
Keywords: Bodies of Water, Rain, River, Women, Posthumanism, Phenomenology, Hydrofeminism, Malayalam Cinema
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