Demystifying Women’s Affordances in Spaces towards Nurturing Noetics An Analysis of the Movie Thappad (2020)

Abstract

Thappad by Anubhav Sinha is a movie which tells us about the struggles of various aspects of being a woman affecting them in the societal and domestic praxis. The article investigates the availability of space in the context of Indian women to tend their mind for their well being as portrayed in the movie. It also contrasts the realization of women performing their gender as they lose their individuality. The search of ‘self’ is a modern concept in Indian literature often associated with women after long years of being daughter, wife and mother. Gender is a repetitive performance according to Judith Butler. Scholarly debates show that the kitchen tales all around the world signifies the unending entrapment loop of women in the kitchen space still. Though there are women achieving great heights, there are movies like this showcasing the demarcation of gendered spaces and entrapment of women. As Confucian school of thought with its theory of mind helps us to foster the authenticity of mind for the well being of humans. Mencius claims the mind as an entity that exists in space. Its dimensions can be altered with human experiences in turn affecting its horizon. Psychologist Gibson also expresses that space is what constitutes the mind. And the visualizable spaces affecting the mind. Space here has no disparity of physical,mental,and temporal dimensions. Qualitative analysis of space as a category for the mind’s wellbeing and self realization of women losing their self portrayed in the movie is discussed in the article.