How OTT Films Perpetuate an Upper Class, Caste Aesthetic for the Social Media Generation http://theswaddle.com/how-ott-films-perpetuate-an-upper-class-caste-aesthetic-for-the-social-media-generation/
By Rohitha Naraharisetty Mar 8, 2022
OTT streaming services.. allow creators to explore uncharted territory while retaining the same class-caste subtexts – especially if they feature big stars in the cast. The result is something akin to a pretty picture with a profound Instagram caption, leaving many to come away with something more to be desired...
Through the decades, when the class film migrated from being a “multiplex film” to an “OTT film,” it carried a sheen of subversiveness. OTT promises multitudes – filmmakers and actors now have much more leeway to tell stories without worrying about censors. And yet, they have taken this as an opportunity to show and not tell.“OTT film is a class film aesthetic. It is a continuation of the multiplex film, which in turn was the class film… It has similar conceptions in terms of what it is and whom it is for,” explains S.V Srinivas, professor of film studies at Azim Premji University. Whom these films are for, in other words, are the ever-burgeoning, aspirational middle class.