Contesting the Norm? Live-in Relationships in Indian Media Discourses
A recent trend in television advertisement of staging unconventional social constellations includes an advertisement released by the tea brand Red Label in 2015 featuring a live-in couple facing an awkward family situation that eventually dissolves into intergenerational harmony. The one-minute comm...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud
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Series: | South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |
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Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/4371 |
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author | Fritzi-Marie Titzmann |
author_facet | Fritzi-Marie Titzmann |
author_sort | Fritzi-Marie Titzmann |
collection | DOAJ |
description | A recent trend in television advertisement of staging unconventional social constellations includes an advertisement released by the tea brand Red Label in 2015 featuring a live-in couple facing an awkward family situation that eventually dissolves into intergenerational harmony. The one-minute commercial visualizes not only an alternative to the married couple but invites us to re-imagine the relationship between parents and children as well. Based on the assumption that society and media co-construct each other, this paper asks whether the act of rendering the unconventional visible is already a challenge to the idea of the Indian family. Further, it analyzes the conflictual online discourse evolving around the short film. In particular, looking at viewers’ comments reveals conflicting attitudes that reflect different discourses in Indian society. Apart from the obvious topic of cohabitation, viewers “see” a multitude of interconnected themes reflected in the commercial and go on to discuss gender roles, sexuality and the visual symbols of “Indianness.” |
first_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:16:32Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-53cf3ab663a24ec6b8c679aa0a0967fe |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1960-6060 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:16:32Z |
publisher | Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud |
record_format | Article |
series | South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal |
spelling | doaj.art-53cf3ab663a24ec6b8c679aa0a0967fe2024-02-12T15:38:41ZengCentre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du SudSouth Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal1960-60601610.4000/samaj.4371Contesting the Norm? Live-in Relationships in Indian Media DiscoursesFritzi-Marie TitzmannA recent trend in television advertisement of staging unconventional social constellations includes an advertisement released by the tea brand Red Label in 2015 featuring a live-in couple facing an awkward family situation that eventually dissolves into intergenerational harmony. The one-minute commercial visualizes not only an alternative to the married couple but invites us to re-imagine the relationship between parents and children as well. Based on the assumption that society and media co-construct each other, this paper asks whether the act of rendering the unconventional visible is already a challenge to the idea of the Indian family. Further, it analyzes the conflictual online discourse evolving around the short film. In particular, looking at viewers’ comments reveals conflicting attitudes that reflect different discourses in Indian society. Apart from the obvious topic of cohabitation, viewers “see” a multitude of interconnected themes reflected in the commercial and go on to discuss gender roles, sexuality and the visual symbols of “Indianness.”https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/4371live-in relationshipsadvertisingfamilysocial mediagender rolessexuality |
spellingShingle | Fritzi-Marie Titzmann Contesting the Norm? Live-in Relationships in Indian Media Discourses South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal live-in relationships advertising family social media gender roles sexuality |
title | Contesting the Norm? Live-in Relationships in Indian Media Discourses |
title_full | Contesting the Norm? Live-in Relationships in Indian Media Discourses |
title_fullStr | Contesting the Norm? Live-in Relationships in Indian Media Discourses |
title_full_unstemmed | Contesting the Norm? Live-in Relationships in Indian Media Discourses |
title_short | Contesting the Norm? Live-in Relationships in Indian Media Discourses |
title_sort | contesting the norm live in relationships in indian media discourses |
topic | live-in relationships advertising family social media gender roles sexuality |
url | https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/4371 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT fritzimarietitzmann contestingthenormliveinrelationshipsinindianmediadiscourses |