Challenging the Normal through Thappad and The Liberation of Sita

Abstract

Women have been taught to hold on, to turn a deaf ear and to dismiss the acts of injustice perpetrated against them. Whether in epics, social norms or behavioural expectations, women have been constructed as the silenced ones, frequently as the ones who have always been oppressed by the dominant or the powerful. However, with the ascension of popular culture, film media and literature, these social expectations have been challenged. This paper examines how the film Thappad by Anubhav Sinha and the book The Liberation of Sita by Volga have questioned the current understanding of resilience, attributing new meanings to it. Although set in different times, both works question the long-standing idea that a woman must be sacrificed and endure. In Thappad, a single slap from the husband was enough to call into question a whole culture’s propensity to accept small acts of violence. In The Liberation of Sita, Sita takes back her voice, gaining strength and wisdom through interactions with other women who have experienced their own injustices. Utilising feminist revisionist mythology, this paper delves into how ancient stories can be re-told to empower women to the extent that they were previously denied. The essay seeks to analyse why stories in film and literature leave a broader influence on the audience through media convergence theory. Through trauma theory, the paper considers the individual cost of injury, but reinforces the healing through solidarity and self-determination. Finally, both Thappad and The Liberation of Sita are not only artistic works or retellings but also exercises in cultural rewriting. They ask readers and spectators to dream of a world in which women are not determined by their pain, but by their decisions, their dignity.