Abstract
This study has investigated how the language in Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s Oscarwinning documentary A Girl in the River: The price of forgiveness assigns
different gender roles to men and women. The analysis was carried out using a
qualitative method based on the approach of critical discourse analysis. In this
regard, Reisigl and Wodak’s referential strategies (2001) and Walby’s theory of
patriarchy (1990) were used as the theoretical framework of the study, which also
provided us with the tools to conduct an in-depth analysis. The findings of this
study reveal that the documentary orbits around the theme of patriarchy. With the
help of strategies of critical discourse analysis such as spatialization,
somatization, the findings show that the language of men, e.g. Saba’s father
Maqsood, her uncle and even the elderly neighbor exercise power not only on her
but also on other women in their families. Overall, the documentary attempted to
challenge the prevalent patriarchal structures in the society, however; it
paradoxically ends up reinforcing them by framing a firm system of patriarchy
where men have been given more agency not only in domestic affairs but also in
social and legal shperes.
Farwa Qazalbash, Muhammad Islam, Irshad Ullah, Badriah Khaleel. (2019) Reinforcement of Patriarchal Structures in Pakistani Society: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Chinoy’s A Girl in The River: The Price of Forgiveness, Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, Volume 56, Issue 2.
-
Views
1311 -
Downloads
171
Article Details
Volume
Issue
Type
Language
