Dialogism, heteroglossia, and polyphony in Shyam Benegal’s teledrama series Amaravati ki Kathayen
Article

This study offers a critical analysis of ShyamBenegal’sHindi language-based teledrama series AmaravathikiKathayen utilizing Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of dialogism, heteroglossia, and polyphony. It is common sense to think that Bakhtin, the philosopher of dialogism, would be sympathetic to the drama form in which dialogues are the most natural mode of expression. Instead, Bakhtin argues that the monological selection of languages in drama does not allow the dialogic interaction of different registers. Second, drama, for upholding its unity of plot, cannot allow its characters to abide by a truly multi-level dialogic engagement. However, this act is especially performed in the novel by the inter-animation of the narrator’s all-encompassing language and the language of the characters. Against this, this study brings to the fore the historical premisesof Bakhtin’s reservations against the dramatic form. Recognizing the merits of Bakhtin’s philosophy of literature and language, two episodes from AmaravathikiKathayen, a Hindi language-based teledrama series,areanalyzedto place them before the global audiences as well as to ascertain the relevance of Bakhtin’s poetics across the genres. Above all, a return to dialogism as a critical inquiry is important to promote the values of plurality, dialogue, and peaceful co-existence.

Volume 20 Issue 02 · December 2023 · Threads and Trajectories in “Asian” Communication · Main Article

Gloc-9 as Organic Public Intellectual: Hip and Polished, Raw and Cool
Article

This paper will present Aristotle Pollisco—the singer-rapper-songwriter known as Gloc-9—as an organic and a as-yet-unrealised public intellectual. The term “organic” describes Gloc 9’s lack of academic or institutional recognition. No academic institutions recognize his level of influence and power. As a public intellectual, however, Gloc-9 enjoys immense popularity with his core fanbase, which is largely made up of listeners from the lower classes.

This paper uses both Antonio Gramsci’s definition of the organic public intellectual and Edward Said’s claim regarding the exhortation of public intellectuals who exercise their political will in the public sphere. Mikhail Bakhtin’s discourse on the carnivalesque will bolster this paper’s claim that Gloc-9 assumes the role of an organic public intellectual through his music. In attempting to confront powerful institutions, Gloc-9 upends the social order through his songs rather than engaging other public intellectuals and scholars in ideological discourse. The paper will closely examine five of Gloc-9’s chart-topping songs dealing with poverty, social injustice, gender inequality, and corruption.

Volume 14 Issue 02 · November 2017 · Artists and Intellectuals and Their Public Spheres · Main Article