Abstract
In the second half of the twentieth century, Tamilnadu (Tamil Nadu) in South India witnessed a proliferating growth in the production of feature films on the goddess Mariyamman. At least twelve Tamil films, produced between 1970 and 2003, contain the name of the goddess Mariyamman, the goddess of rain, fertility, and ammai (poxes and measles) in their title, and the narratives of these films are woven around the figure of the goddess. In addition, some other films have employed the affliction of ammai as an effective narrative device for articulating the social concerns that one encounters in a “modern” era.
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Bibliography
Tamil Films Cited
Athi Parasakthi. Direction: K. S. Gopalakrishnan. Production: Ashoka Pictures. 1971.
Nattaiyil Muttu. Direction: K. S. Gopalakrishnan. Production: Chitra Productions. 1973.
Vazhaiyadi Vazhai. Direction: K. S. Gopalakrishnan. Production: Chitra Productions. 1972
Samsaram atu Minsaram. Direction: Visu. Production: A. V. M. Productions. 1986.
Works Cited
Ambler, Rex. “The Self and Postmodernity.” Postmodernity, Sociology and Religion. Ed., Kieran Flanagan and Peter C. Jupp. New York: St. Martin’s, 1996, 134–51.
Jervis, John. Exploring the Modern: Patterns of Western Culture and Civilization. Maiden, MA: Blackwell, 1998.
Hopkins, Donald R. The Greatest Killer: Smallpox in History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983.
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© 2010 Diana Dimitrova
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Srinivasan, P. (2010). The Creative Modern and the Myths of the Goddess Mariyamman. In: Dimitrova, D. (eds) Religion in Literature and Film in South Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230105522_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230105522_5
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