Swarnavel Eswaran
Biographic Data
| ID | 1356341 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Swarnavel Eswaran |
| GIVEN NAMES | Swarnavel |
| FAMILY NAME | Eswaran |
| SIGNATURE | ESWARAN S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Michigan State University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 5 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 5 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
The Genre Question
As soon as genre announces itself, one must respect a norm, one must not cross a line of demarcation, one must not risk impurity, anomaly, or monstrosity.Jacques Derrida, “The Law of Genre” (1980
Reading Mysskin’s Serial Killers Through Bataille and the Buddha
This essay analyzes Mysskin’s films Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum (2013) and Psycho (2020) through the philosophical lens of Georges Bataille, particularly his theories of transgression, sacrifice, and the sacred. It argues that Mysskin’s serial killers embody Bataillean figures who rupture societal taboos, seeking a form of continuity or sacred experience through extreme violence, consequently challenging normative perceptions of morality and order. Br…
Tirunelveli, touring talkies and tent cinemas
Maadathy-An Unfairy Tale
This essay engages with Maadathy (dir. Leena Manimekalai, 2019) to explore how space is constructed as a marker of caste and interrogate the concomitant intersection of caste and gender in a divided community. Through the retooling of myth, Maadathy explores the horror at the heart of a patriarchal society that is invested in caste as a means of oppression, violence, and inequity. However, such a perverse agenda comes back to haunt the community,…
Periyar as a Biopic
This essay engages with the biographical picture Periyar (2007) to analyze how history is represented through the life of one of the most significant revolutionary figures in Indian politics of the last century. It explores the representation of Periyar through the persona of Sathyaraj, a leading star of Tamil cinema, and analyzes the episodic structure of the film to study the strength and weaknesses of making a biopic on the life and times of a…
No prominent works on this page.
Periyar as a Biopic
This essay engages with the biographical picture Periyar (2007) to analyze how history is represented through the life of one of the most significant revolutionary figures in Indian politics of the last century. It explores the representation of Periyar through the persona of Sathyaraj, a leading star of Tamil cinema, and analyzes the episodic structure of the film to study the strength and weaknesses of making a biopic on the life and times of a…
Maadathy-An Unfairy Tale
This essay engages with Maadathy (dir. Leena Manimekalai, 2019) to explore how space is constructed as a marker of caste and interrogate the concomitant intersection of caste and gender in a divided community. Through the retooling of myth, Maadathy explores the horror at the heart of a patriarchal society that is invested in caste as a means of oppression, violence, and inequity. However, such a perverse agenda comes back to haunt the community,…
Tirunelveli, touring talkies and tent cinemas
The Genre Question
As soon as genre announces itself, one must respect a norm, one must not cross a line of demarcation, one must not risk impurity, anomaly, or monstrosity.Jacques Derrida, “The Law of Genre” (1980
Reading Mysskin’s Serial Killers Through Bataille and the Buddha
This essay analyzes Mysskin’s films Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum (2013) and Psycho (2020) through the philosophical lens of Georges Bataille, particularly his theories of transgression, sacrifice, and the sacred. It argues that Mysskin’s serial killers embody Bataillean figures who rupture societal taboos, seeking a form of continuity or sacred experience through extreme violence, consequently challenging normative perceptions of morality and order. Br…
South Asian Cinema and Culture (5 works) · Art (3 works) · Literature (3 works) · Sociology (3 works) · Aesthetics (2 works) · Cinema and Media Studies (2 works) · Law (2 works) · Movie theater (2 works) · Political science (2 works) · Politics (2 works)