Using discourse analysis, critically evaluate the ...· Using discourse analysis, critically evaluate

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Using discourse analysis, critically evaluate the portrayal of gender,

specifically of the politically violent women, in The Terrorist.

Abstract

This essay uses discourse analysis to evaluate the way in which women are portrayed in

Santosh Sivan's film, 'The Terrorist'. Adopting discourse analysis as a methodological

technique brings to the fore the subvertion of gendered norms and the fluid and

dynamic nature of gender discourse. Moreover, this essay has sought to contextualise

the portrayal of politically violent women in 'The Terrorist' within dominant theoretical

insights and real-life situations, including the assassination of Indian Prime Minister

Rajiv Gandhi, upon which the film is loosely based. Malli, the politically violent female

character, is 'masculinised' through various techniques throughout the film. However, a

discourse analysis reveals that 'masculinisation' in a male-oriented system does not lead

to gender equality. The portrayal of gender within the film demonstrates the way in

which conventional, stereotypical understandings of gender are initially challenged,

only to be reinforced later in the film. Ultimately, discourse analysis as a theoretical tool

can be used to provide invaluable insight into the denial of agency to politically violent

actors, particularly in analyses of politically violent women.

[I] tried to simply tell the story of a girl fighting for a cause, being brainwashed

about the future of the country and ending up screwing up her own future

(Sivan as told to Walsh, 1998).

A discourse analysis of the 1998 film The Terrorist by Santosh Sivan brings to the

fore many discussions on gender. In order to contextualise these discussions, we

must accept gender to be an intersubjective social construction that constantly

evolves with changing societal perceptions and intentional manipulation

(Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007: 5). Simply put, discourse analysis is a general

inquiry into how people make meaning, and make out meaning, in texts. These

meanings represent particular beliefs and values that define ways of thinking

about the world (Widdowson, 2007: xv). Discourse analysis as a method may be

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applied outwith text, to both imagery and film. Critical discourse, according to

Lazar, is known for its overtly political stance and is concerned with all forms of

social inequality and injustice (2005: 2). It is with the acknowledgement of such

concerns that this essay will proceed.

The film parallels the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by

female suicide bomber Thenmozhi Rajaratnam in 1991. 19-year-old Malli is

chosen to assassinate a politician referred to only as the VIP. Throughout her

weeklong journey, we see a shift in the portrayal of Malli as a politically violent

woman. This is due in part to the gendered portrayal of individuals surrounding

her. Whilst recognising the complexities involved in utilising such an approach,

this essay will use discourse analysis to identify the portrayal of Malli in two

distinct ways as her character progresses throughout the film. This essay will

demonstrate that as a woman with politically violent intentions, Malli possess no

agency, and is an atypical figure within the monster narrative (Sjoberg and

Gentry, 2007). Later developments within the narrative and shifting gendered

dynamics show conformity to a stereotypically feminised position.

Why do discourse analysis?

Discourse is not simply an entity we can define independently: we can only arrive

at an understanding of it by analysing sets of relations

(Fairclough, 2010: 3).

In order to proceed with a discourse analysis of The Terrorist, one must first

identify its purpose. According to Jackson (2009), discourse analysis is used to

identify the relationship between the unit of analysis and the wider socio-

political context. This essay begins by acknowledging the breadth of

interdisciplinary research that has developed over the last 40 years. The

international system remains a world of stark gender inequalities (Steans,

2006: 4), and a discourse analysis of The Terrorist allows insight into both the

construction and re-production of such gendered inequalities. This essay will

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subject The Terrorist to Jacksons (2009) first and second order critique

identifying contradictions within the film to undermine principal conceptions,

and further utilising the discourse to reflect upon the wider significance of the

gendered portrayals within the film.

The application of an intersectional analysis allows for concepts to be

understood in a wider context. Davis understands intersectionality to be the

interaction of multiple identities and experiences of exclusion and

subordination (2008: 67). Whilst a notoriously ambiguous concept, oftentimes

it is this flexibility that has led to its successes as a methodological approach

(Davis, 2008). The intersections between gender, age, and education provide

insight into the portrayal of Malli as a politically violent woman. Finally,

attention must be paid to aspects seemingly absent within the film. Discourse

analysts are primarily interested in studying the process of construction itself,

how truths emerge, how social realities and identities are built and the

consequences of these, [rather] than working out what really happened

(Wetherell, 2001: 16). In The Terrorist, Mallis identity as a masculinised female

is constructed in a number of ways, which will be explored further in this essay,

including her willingness to engage in violent behaviour.

Subverted gender norms and the monster narrative

Women are not supposed to be violent

(Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007: 2).

In the opening sequence of the film, only male voices are heard. Masculine

prefixes are used until Malli is spoken of, at which point gender-neutral language

is adopted. By concealing Mallis identity as a woman and surrounding her with

male voices and faces, the opening sequence perpetuates the sentiment

articulated in the above quote. Discourse analysis reveals Malli to be a

masculinised figure possessing traits stereotypically associated with the

ideal male: bravery, courage, and strength (Sjoberg Cooke and Neal, 2011: 4).

For instance, after Malli kills the traitor in the opening scene, her female friend

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tells Malli that she is hero-worshipped, further stating, If you were a man, Id

marry you. The masculinisation of Malli subverts the norm that whilst war and

combat have been conventionally viewed as masculine activities, peace has

been associated with the feminine (Steans, 2006: 4). Malli becomes the anti-

feminine woman. Thus, we are able to identify discourse to be an active

construction (Wetherell, 2001: 17) which, in this instance, subverts gendered

conventions. Within The Terrorist, women are not only both victims and

perpetrators of political violence; there is also a deconstruction of the

masculine/feminine and peace/violence binaries (Ahall, 2011).

Malli is portrayed as a masculinised distortion, possessing character traits that

the ideal types of womanhood in gender norms exclude (Sjoberg and Gentry,

2007: 41) as an individual who fits within the monster narrative. According to

Morrissey, such monsterization denies agency by insisting upon the evil nature

of the murderess, thus causing her to lose humanity (Morrissey, 2003: 25). With

such a loss of agency, neither they nor their gender are responsible for their

actions (Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007: 41). Thus, politically violent women seen as

monsters are regarded as irrational and possess no agency. In such instances,

causal factors lead to a loss of humanity. Analysing Mallis experiences in

conjunction with academic literature (e.g. Sjoberg and Gentry, 2007), we arrive

at the narrative suggestion that grief leads to insanity.

Whilst Malli has been masculinised, this is not to say that she is presented as

equal to her male counterparts. Despite the honour and privilege of sacrificing

her life for the greater cause, Malli is still within a position of inferiority. She is

not consulted on any decision-making; her involvement is limited to fittings and

rehearsals of the assassination. Discourse analysis in this instance reveals the

way in which gendering has maintained notions of power distribution. The

camera pans up whenever Malli is listening to the Leader, and looks down upon

Malli when she is being spoken to. Whats more, the leader of the organisation is

never named; nor is the father of Mallis potential child, or the faceless VIP

chosen as the assassination target. The anonymity of several key male figures

within the film warrants further investigation. This may serve to suggest that

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Mallis private life is truly private; in this sense, she is conforming to

conventional notions of femininity and its association with the private sphere.

Additionally, this may serve as a further example of gendered distributions of

power.

As Van Dijk remarks, a primary purposes of critical discourse analysis is to

reveal inequalities in power (1993: 249). As such, the intersections between

gender, education and age