Date of Award

1-1-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Music

First Advisor

John J. Sheinbaum, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Diane Waldman, Ph.D.

Keywords

Bollywood, Ethnomusicology, Hindi film, India

Abstract

This thesis seeks to augment previous scholarly research on Hindi film song through the presentation of a multivalent approach to thoroughly understanding and interpreting Hindi film song sequences. In a case study of the song sequence “Pardā Haı̃ Pardā” ("There Is a Veil,"? from Manmohan Desai's 1977 film Amar Akbar Anthony), the three essential elements of these sequences (on-screen visuals, text, and music) are connected to the context of South Asian history and culture to demonstrate how scholarly approaches to music, film, and cultural studies can be united to create a more interdisciplinary approach to analysis. The approach also incorporates principles of semiotics: in the case of “Pardā Haı̃ Pardā” the symbol of the veil alludes to the themes of contested spaces and tradition and modernity. Such a study offers a form of rebuttal to the argument that song sequences are "disposable": it uncovers and draws attention to elements within the sequence that communicate meaningful cultural themes through particular musical, formal, and symbolic structures.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

Rights holder

Maria A. Souliotis

File size

216 p.

File format

application/pdf

Language

en

Discipline

Music, South Asian Studies, Film Studies

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