{"id":280,"date":"2020-06-24T05:57:35","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T05:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/?p=280"},"modified":"2020-06-24T05:58:52","modified_gmt":"2020-06-24T05:58:52","slug":"imaging-geographies-in-the-film-semiotic-analysis-of-the-portrayal-of-kumbalangi-in-the-malayalam-film-kumbalangi-nights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/24\/imaging-geographies-in-the-film-semiotic-analysis-of-the-portrayal-of-kumbalangi-in-the-malayalam-film-kumbalangi-nights\/","title":{"rendered":"Imaging geographies in the film: Semiotic analysis of the portrayal of Kumbalangi in the Malayalam film Kumbalangi Nights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The chapter is part of <strong><em>Media Management in Communicating Tourism: Edited Essays<\/em><\/strong> (ISBN: 9781648054341).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Teenu AF<sup>a<\/sup>, Soniya Antony<sup>a<\/sup> and Dr. Juby Thomas<sup>b<\/sup><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It has become a trend among people to visit\nthe places that have been portrayed in films which made a remarkable hit in the\nbox-office. Kumbalangi, an Island village located in the suburbs of Kochi,\nKerala and is a noted spot that caters to the local fishermen community. The\npresent study focuses on the semiotic analysis of the Malayalam film Kumbalangi\nnights; to identify the portrayal of this geographic location as a part of the\nnarratives to the audience. The purpose of the research is to identify the\nvarious elements and techniques used in the film. Kumbalangi Nights portrays\nthe only movie which depicts this geographical destination, the culture the\nflora and fauna. Hence, the film can have a tremendous impact on audiences\nacross the globe, across time. The portrayal of the raw lifestyle of the\nfisherman community, their food habits, conversations, and actions can be other\ninfluencing factors. This study focuses on the semiotic analysis of the film,\non how the destination \u2018Kumbalangi\u2019 is being visually presented to the\naudience. The movie revolves around the plot of the tourism sector, where there\nare scenes of a foreigner residing and getting along with the localities, the\nscenes that describe coir making are few direct conveyances of culture and\nother connotative and denotative aspects will be explored through the study.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Words:<\/strong><strong><em>\n<\/em><\/strong><em>Kumbalangi, Semiotic Analysis, Symbolic and Oral Representation<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a \u2013 MA Student, Kristu Jayanti College, Bangalore, India<br>b \u2013 Assistant Professor, Kristu Jayanti College, Bangalore, India<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>\n<strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the current scenario, many commercial, as well as\nnon-commercial movies, are finding a space in the hearts of people with its\nrealistic film making technique. The films are said to be realistic with their\nactual depiction of the destination or the locations where the story sets in.\nWith the technical innovation, the real portrayal of destination without losing\nits aesthetic essence is possible nowadays. When some filmmakers still banging\non graphics to reduce the expenses some others opening the window to the world\nof reality. By knowing the actual interest of the viewers, the filmmakers in\nthe Malayalam industry makes efforts to embrace this effective method of\nstorytelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many films already hit the box-office with this new\npractice. This includes Maheshinte prathikaram, Ordinary, Iyobinte Pustakam,\nOttayal, In Love with Kerala and many more that can be added to the list. This\nreal depiction had made a strong impact in the tourism industry. Kumbalangi\nNights, a Malayalam blockbuster movie has succeeded in capturing the beauty of\nthe place called Kumbalangi, an Island village located in the suburbs of Kochi,\nKerala. After the movie, the place becomes popular among people within Kerala\nas well as audiences across the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The present study focuses on how the real portrayal\nof Kumbalalangi has been depicted through the movie and was successful in\ncapturing all elements representing the destination. The study also concentrates\non finding the elements in the movie which require ardent observation from the audience\u2019s\nside to understand the connotative as well as denotative aspects connected with\nthe destination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the filmmakers adopt an extraordinary initiative to bring more connection with the destination, the various elements and treatments within the movie may also directly or indirectly influence the target audience. As per the review of the literature, it\u2019s evident that the movie had an impact on promoting tourism in Kumbalalangi. Thus, an exploration of the imageries of this destination and its influence on audiences is highly significant. When it comes to Tourism, which is a requisite factor for the economic development of the state, studies of this kind can be beneficial to both government and businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An analysis of the film provides wide variety of angles, which portrays the traits of Kumbalangi and mostly their culture through various imageries. The shots of the movie have many connotative and denotative meanings, where a majority of those; is used in the portrayal of the destination, people, and their culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Review\nof Literature<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An article on \u2018Destination Marketing and Promotion through Film Tourism:\nAn Empirical Study of Hadoti Region of Rajasthan\u2019 by A Sharma talks about the\nfactors which attract the film producers\/directors to shoot at a certain\ndestination. The article also highlights the factors which can attract\ntourists. It includes films; television shows which offers effective way of\npromotion compared to traditional tourism promotional campaigns. In the\narticle, the researcher has shared his observation and analysis after an\nin-depth study about the growing trend of destination positioning in films and\nalso said that; similar to brand positioning, Destination positioning is also\nseen as the vital tool of advertising as it gives access to wider markets. The\narticle makes use of various examples including Indian films as well as\nHollywood movies to support the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The article, Destination Promotion through Malayalam Cinema: A Study on\nthe Idukki District of Kerala by BM Balan talks about the portrayal of the\nplace Idukki in Malayalam Movies. The article mainly focuses on the growing\ntrend among tourists to visit places which are being used as filming locations.\nThe researcher also concluded that the trend of visiting the filming locations\nhave immensely helped in the exponential increase of tourism growth in those\nplaces and a notable influence on the livelihood of the people residing in\nthose areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The article, \u2018How film and television programs can promote\ntourism and increase the competitiveness of tourist destinations\u2019 by Claudia\nTuclea and Puiu Nistoreanu; talks about the influences of film in people for\nmaking their travel choices. The researcher observed the significant value of\nthis strand of tourism to the economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>General Objective of the study is\nto analyze the destination portrayal in the movie \u2018Kumbalangi Nights.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Specific Objectives of the study\nare as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>To depict how each\nelement in the scene portray the destination; through a symbolic study<\/li><li>&nbsp;To analyze how the verbal conversations, play\na role in imaging geographies in the film<\/li><li>To depict the\nconnotative and denotative meaning hidden through symbolic and oral\nrepresentation of the film<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Methodology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The data was collected using both primary and secondary data\ncollection methods. The researchers adopted a qualitative approach to gather\nthe primary data and employed semiotic analysis as a method to analyze the\ncontent, to identify the symbolic and oral representations of the destination,\npeople and their culture. The Malayalam movie \u2018Kumbalangi Nights\u2019 is one of the\nmovies that portray one single destination throughout the film. For a detailed\nstudy on the topic; secondary tools such as journals, blogs, and other online\nsources were taken. The movie is evaluated in a tabular way by arranging\ndifferent categories of elements from the scenes; and analyzing its impact and\neffect through Icon, Index, and Symbol. Also, oral representation of the movie\nis studied through connotative and denotative analysis of the conversations.<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Data Analysis and<\/strong> <strong>Findings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers focused on the following\ncriteria with the help of a coding sheet to analyze the destination portrayal which\nare as follows: <br>\na) Elements of imageries <br>\nb) Type of elements placed <br>\nc) frequency of portrayal of various elements to identify the significance\ngiven to each element, <br>\nd) characters\u2019 involvement and setting of the scene and finally the meaning conveyed\nthrough the settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An\nanalysis of the various elements of imageries portrayed in the movie resulted\nin identifying the following elements associated with the lower middle-class\nfishing community. Fishnet, Fish Curry, Aquarium, Fish cap, Bralu Fish;\nMosquito Repellant Machine, Mosquito bat; Landscape Portraits, Harbour, Cat, Cactus\nand Shell curtain depicts the richness of fishing community life. The daily\nencounters of such elements and their associations with the characters\nthroughout the movie depict \u2018Kumbalangi\u2019 as a predominantly fishing community\narea. The other elements such as Coir, Mangrove Forest, Bamboo houses, depict\nthe ecotourism aspects of the locality. The depiction of church, statues and\ncross denotes the religious practices of the area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oral\ndepictions of Varkala issue (rape of a tourist in another locality) and\nnecessity of scholarship for education are the other socio-economic issues\nportrayed in the movie. When the child artist says that he has a scholarship,\nwe can assume that it is because he belongs to an OBC, where Latin community\ncomes under OBC, and Kumbalangi is a place where the majority is Latin\nChristians. And it is said the predecessors of Latin Community are Fishermen.\nMentioning of Tuesday being a holiday gives a hint to the prospectus tourists the\npossibilities of challenges they may encounter during the visit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Visual\nrepresentation was predominant to depict the scenic beauty and life of fishing\ncommunity. The Fishnet is the element that is shown more frequently. It was\nmade common, to show the destination and its main occupation. Also, Fish curry,\nsince it is obvious that it would be their staple curry. It is visually seen in\nboth the Hero\u2019s and Heroine\u2019s house and the characters mentions about it as\nwell. Whereas, through dialogues and conversations the socio-political and\neconomic conditions are depicted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Frequency\nof various elements <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How\nmany times an element is placed is very important in creating an impact on the mindset\nof audience. The very best example of it is the fish Net. It has been shown on\n21 times in the movies, visually. And that sets the background of the film.\nAlso showing shell curtain in the actor\u2019s house depicts the significance of shells,\nwhich are mostly found near water bodies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\naquarium is another such example, which is shown in both the Hero\u2019s and\nHeroine\u2019s house; four times. Depiction of the presence of the cat is a\nconnotative relation of the presence of fish in the surroundings. Cat was found\nnear the Hero\u2019s house and areas that are associated with fish. The important\nelement is Kavaru which is placed orally by the Hero and is seen visually\nthrice. Kavaru is bioluminescence, popularly known as sea sparkle, sighted\nalong coasts, estuaries and brackish waters. The present study also identified\nthat the depiction of \u2018Bioluminescence\u2019 (Kavaru), indicating the magical glow\nin the waters in Kumbalangi Nights as a rare magical phenomenon evokes the\ncuriosity of audience. Coir is portrayed visually and orally multiple times.\nThe purpose of placing coir was a direct promotion of the destination, where\nthe heroine, who is a tourist guide, speaks about coir, how it is made. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nimageries of mangrove forest are another major element other than the island\nand depicting a blend of three: Bioluminescence, island and mangrove forest,\nthe film makers successfully communicated to the audience that the destination\n\u2018Kumbalangi\u2019 as a model tourism village in Kerala, famous for its backwaters\nand a unique aquatic ecosystem. <strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nresearchers found that through the movie Kumbalangi Nights, the destination\n\u2018Kumbalangi\u2019 is well portrayed with sufficient placement of various elements in\na realistic manner. There were few iconic, symbolic, and Indexical depictions\nof the place, people and their lifestyle and culture. &nbsp;The oral representation of Bralu fish,\nconnecting to the life of a human being is a very best example of symbolic\nconversations. The hero says when Bralu is passing in water; it can be spotted\nif it is surrounded by its children showing an orange circle. And, he says, it\nis because of the children that the fish is caught by any fisherman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers\nidentified that the movie depicted more symbolic elements connecting to marine\nlife and depicted Kumbalangi as a marine destination with unique features. The\nmovie has various connotative and denotative meanings hidden, especially about\nthe socio \u2013 political and economic aspects. The character selection and\nbehaviours depicted the feminine and masculine aspects. In terms of the\npromotion of the destination, it had used maximum realistic elements, but the\npresent study suggests an incorporation of more intensive elements that\ncommunicate the lifestyle of people in Kumbalangi than, the raw representation\nof marine elements could have been much more impactful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Balan, B. M. Destination Promotion\nthrough Malayalam Cinema: A Study on the Idukki District of Kerala. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nair, P. (2002). In modernity&#8217;s\nwake: Transculturality, deterritorialization and the question of community in\nIc\u00edar Bolla\u00edn&#8217;s Flores de otro mundo (Flowers From Another World).&nbsp;<em>Post\nScript<\/em>,&nbsp;21(2), 38.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sharma, A. (2017). Destination\nMarketing and Promotion Through Film Tourism: An Empirical Study of Hadoti\nRegion of Rajasthan.&nbsp;<em>Journal of Applied Management and Investments<\/em>,&nbsp;6(2),\n118-129.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Talbot, J. L. (1999).&nbsp;This is\nnot an exit: the road narrative in contemporary American literature and\nfilm&nbsp;(Doctoral dissertation, Texas Tech University).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tuclea, C., &amp; Nistoreanu, P.\n(2011). How film and television programs can promote tourism and increase the\ncompetitiveness of tourist destinations.&nbsp;<em>Cactus Tourism Journal<\/em>,&nbsp;2(2),\n25-30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The chapter is part of Media Management in Communicating Tourism: Edited Essays (ISBN: 9781648054341). Teenu AFa, Soniya Antonya and Dr. Juby Thomasb It has become a trend among people to visit the places that have been portrayed in films which made a remarkable hit in the box-office. Kumbalangi, an Island village located in the suburbs of Kochi, Kerala and is a noted spot that caters to the local fishermen community. The present study focuses on the semiotic analysis of the Malayalam film Kumbalangi nights; to identify the portrayal of this geographic location as a part of the narratives to the audience. The purpose of the research is to identify the various elements and techniques used in the film. Kumbalangi Nights portrays the only movie which depicts this geographical destination, the culture the flora and fauna. Hence, the film can have a tremendous impact on audiences across the globe, across time.&hellip;<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/24\/imaging-geographies-in-the-film-semiotic-analysis-of-the-portrayal-of-kumbalangi-in-the-malayalam-film-kumbalangi-nights\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-indepthcommunication-publications"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281,"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions\/281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indepthcommunication.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}