https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i3.063
Stirring the Pot: Exploring the Intersection of Food, Space and Gender in Juice
ALPANA
Assistant Professor in English
Government College, Jatauli Haily
Mandi, Gurugram, Haryana
Abstract: Traditionally, the task of food preparation has been predominantly allocated to female household members. The kitchen becomes a distinct site of a variety of cuisines, methods, and meanings. However, it also emerges as a symbol of oppression and empowerment, cultural memory and nostalgia, confinement and innovation, a cultural narrative and therefore, a means of transmission as well. That’s how the kitchen becomes a contesting space witnessing the constant making and remaking of gendered identities. In Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory, Pramod K. Nayar rightly underlines the role of capitalism and patriarchy in demanding certain gender roles from women in public as well as private space. (Nayar 131) This paper puts in perspective the connection among food, space and gender being intricately intertwined in an award-winning Hindi short film, Juice (2017), directed by Neeraj Ghaywan. The proposed study relates to Edward Soja’s concept of “thirdspace” by looking at the domestic space, in this case, a kitchen, problematizing the conventional gendered roles by creating a counter-discourse. I intend to look at how a possibility of renegotiation and reformation in terms of space and the resultant identity emerges towards the end of the short film. The paper also explores how a film surfaces as a potent vehicle of representation constructed through the strategic deployment of camera, lighting, a peculiar arrangement of props, and other similar techniques involved in filmmaking. My paper attempts to analyze gender politics and its representation in films in order to understand the positioning of such a film in the broader spectrum of OTT-enabled viewership and/or consumption.
Keywords: Domesticity, Space, Food, Gendered Identity, Patriarchy, Hindi Short Film
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