How Kerala Shaped Gulf Media | Bindu Menon

Kawalis | Cinema, Television & Theater from the Arab World

What is the Gulf-Kerala connection? This episode of Kawalis is a deep dive into migration, media, and cultural exchange. Filmmaker Alia Yunis hosts associate professor at Azim Premji University, Bindu Menon, as part of a three-episode special on cinema in the Arab Gulf. They navigate the intricate ties between Kerala and the Gulf, delving into the historical and cultural connections shaped by migration and the oil economy of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). From early media exchanges to contemporary creative industries, we discover how migration has influenced media production, consumption, and everyday life from the United Arab Emirates to Qatar. Special focus includes the audio cassette culture, the iconic dhow, and the evolution of Malayalam cinema in the Gulf – highlighting some key players and contributors. Learn how these elements jointly contribute to a shared cultural heritage and media modernity between India and the Gulf region.
00:00 Introduction: Kerala's Influence on the Gulf
01:07 Meet Bindu Menon
02:30 Historical Ties: Kerala and the Gulf
07:40 Migration and Media: the 70s to the 90s
12:47 The Audio Cassette Revolution
25:59 Video Cassettes and Film Culture
43:54 The Dhow: A Symbol of Migration
52:02 Modern Malayalam Cinema and the Gulf
59:09 Conclusion and Reflections
(Thumbnail image by https://www.instagram.com/vishpash/)
Bindu Menon is Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the School of Arts & Sciences, Azim Premji University, Bangalore. Her research work explores relations between media technologies, publics and politics in India. She is completing her book on the history of cinema and sensory publics in early 20th century South India. Her current research project examines the movement of media objects and forms along the path of migration between Kerala and the Gulf Council Countries with a particular focus on audio technologies, musical genres of love and belonging and devotional and spiritual genres. Through mapping the ark of these sonic registers, she tries to explore questions that are relevant to the formation of political communities. Her research papers on history of cinema, amateur video movements and rap music videos have been published in peer reviewed journals such Biography, Bioscope and the Journal of Creative Communications. She has served as Assistant Professor at the University of Delhi and held post-doctoral positions at International Institute of Asian Studies at Leiden, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies at Shimla and the Centre for Study in Religion and Society, University of Victoria, Canada.
Connect with Bindu 👉 https://in.linkedin.com/in/bindu-menon-a785842a?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Hosted by Alia 👉 https://www.instagram.com/alia__yunis/
Alia Yunis is a writer, journalist and filmmaker. She is also a visiting associate professor of film and heritage studies at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns