6 programmes on education of mentally handicapped
children;
1 on smokeless 'chula';
1 on participation of women in water and sanitation
project in Uttar Pradesh;
8 programmes made by Chitrabani students;
1 based on the book MEDIATION by Gaston Roberge
16 mm FILMS
2 for Satellite Instructional Television
Experiment (SITE);
1 on Pilkhana children;
4 ten minute films by Chitrabani students.
TELEVISION
In collaboration with Audio Visual Research
Centre (then part of Chitrabani, and now an independent
institution under EMRC), and Max Mueller Bhavan, Kolkata,
Chitrabani produced a series of 93 spots on AIDS and HIV
in 1994.
The spots lasting one to three minutes
each,had several formats in order to make them interesting
to different age groups. This comprehensive package
is available to NGOs and governmental bodies working
with AIDS and HIV. Private channels interested in
telecasting these spots could contact the Director.
Chitrabani is considering a proposal to offer
tailor-made spots on AIDS to interested NGOs and government
departments.
AUDIO CASSETTES
Over the years, Chitrabani has produced
several audio cassettes, mainly in the fields of devotional
and folk categories.
Some of the more popular devotional cassettes were
dealing with
•
Christmas and Easter
•
Ram Kumar Chatterjee
•
Songs of Jeevan Dhara Ashram, Jaiharikhal,
Himalayas.
BOOKS
BOOKS ON COMMUNICATION
by Gaston Roberge have formulated the philosophy and
pedagogy of Chitrabani.
A few of the Chitrabani Publications are mentioned
below :
1)
CHITRA BANI : A book on
film appreciation with a preface by Satyajit Ray,
Calcutta, Chitrabani, 1974
Rs. 25.00 (Out of Print)
2)
Mass Communication and Man
(shorter edition of Chitra Bani) Allahabad: St. Paul
Society, 1974.
Rs. 8.00 (Out of print)
3)
Films for an Ecology of Mind,
Essays on realism in the cinema, Calcutta:
Firma KLM (P) Ltd.
1978. Rs. 25.00 (Out of print)
4)
Mediation, the action
of the media in our society, New Delhi: Manohar
Book Service, 1978.
Rs. 200.00
5)
Eisenstein's IVAN THE TERRIBLE
: An Analysis. Calcutta : Chitrabani, 1980.
Hard cover Rs. 150.00
Paperback Rs. 125.00
6)
Manab Aur Samuha Samachar
(Hindi translation of Mass Communication and Man).
Indore : Satprakashan Sanchar Kendra, 1980.
Rs. 12.00. (Out of print)
7)
Cinemar Katha (Bengali
translation of Chitra Bani). Calcutta : Bani Shilpa,
1984. Second Edition, 1995
Rs. 100.00 (Out of print)
8)
Natun Cinemar Sandhane
(Bengali translation of Another Cinema for Another
Society). Calcutta : Bani Shilpa, 1984.
Rs. 28.00 (Out of print)
9)
Another Cinema for Another Society,
Calcutta : Seagull Books, 1985. Second Edition: 2005: INR
150.00
10)
Swasthyakarmir Sahayika
(Bengali). Calcutta : Chitrabani & CINI, 1985. A manual
for health workers.
Rs. 50.00.
11)
Swasthya sevika ki sahayak pustak
(Hindi). Calcutta : Chitrabani & CINI, 1989. Hindi
version of manual for health workers.
Rs. 75.00
12)
The Subject of Cinema,
Calcutta : Seagull Books, 1990. Second Edition: 2005: INR
150.00
13)
The Ways of Film Studies, Film
Theory and the Interpretation of Films, Delhi
: Ajanta Books International, 1991.
Rs. 150.00
14)
Communication Cinema Development.
From Morosity to Hope.( Received a National
Award (special mention) at the 46th National Film
Festival of India, 1999. [Also available in Bengali]
Delhi: Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 1998
Hard Cover: INR 450.00
PAPERBACK: INR 250.00
Encounters with Civilizations:
From Alexander the Great to Mother Teresa: a
collection of essays by Gëzim
Alpion and edited by Gaston Roberge. Published
by Meteor Books in association with St. Xavier's College,
Kolkata. 2007. Rs.
18)
Satyajit Ray: a
collection of the
articles by Gaston Roberge on Ray from 1970 to 2005.
2007, Price (hard cover only) 695 Indian Rupees /
Euro 12.5
ISBN 81-7304-735-9
Published by Manohar Publishers, Delhi
Distributor: Sarat Book House (Academic Booksellers)
18B, Shyama Charan Dey Street, Kolkata-700 073
Ph: (033)241389::Fax: + 91
33 2241 8060 email: sarat@cal2.vsnl.net.in
19)
Media Dancer, Who Sets the tune?
Anand: Gujarat Sahitya
Prakash, 2008. Rs. 260
US$ 25.00
ISBN 978-81-89317-63-8
20)
Humanity Under The New
Empires Kolkata:
Sampark Publishing, 2009. Rs. 650
US$ 30.00
21)
The Indian Film Theory: Flames
of Sholay; Notes and Beyond. Kolkata:
Sampark Publishing, 2010. Rs. 200
US$ 12.00
Cyberbani
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Cyberbani
is introduced as a contribution to a "pedagogy
of the media-oppressed". For, while the new communication
media promise to deliver extraordinary benefits to
humankind, in fact, they are used in such a way as
to exclude the majority of our brothers and sisters
from those benefits. Moreover, the same media are
used to maintain the poor in subjection the better
to exploit them as laborers and consumers.
Twenty
years ago, the Author had written Another Cinema for
Another Society (Seagull Books) proposing a militant
program for another cinema committed to the building
up of another society. Now, in the context of the
new, electronic, cybernetic, digital media, Cyberbani
proposes a militant program of media education, starting
with media awareness and leading to collective action
in cyberclubs. The aim is to bring about cultural
revolutions.
Review
Cyberbani:
the Manifesto for Revolution
Cyberbani: Being a Human in the New
Media Environment, Gaston Roberge, Gujarat Sahitya
Prakash, P.B. 70, Anand - 3800 001, Guajarat, pp.
x +208, 2005, price = Rs.250.00
This is a dangerous book! It sows the seeds of a revolution
as cataclysmic, if not more than the Communist Revolution
in the twentieth century which promised the triumph
of the proletariat. The author who lives in Kolkata
for the last 45 years has absorbed, seemingly by osmosis,
the tenets of Marxian socialism and boldly exposes
the subtle media creed of the kingdom which promises
to deliver extraordinary benefits to the global masses,
yet exclude the majority of our brothers and sisters
from those media benefits.
The author further shows how the same media are used
to maintain the poor in subjection the better to exploit
them as labourers and consumers. He also adds a fresh
role to the classical media functions, saying media
"inform, educate, entertain and advertise."
(p.31).
Exposing contemporary communications theories, the
author denounces four harmful ones: 1) Popular media
programs do not come within the academic purview;
2) The image is inferior to the word; 3) Modernism
and Television; and 4) the glance theory or 'people
do not watch television attentively'. (pp. 102-107)
The author further presents a new class of people
- the precariat. They don't have (and mostly don't
want) long-term jobs, and so are deprived of basic
social rights such as maternity or sick leave or the
luxury of paid holidays. They are hirable on demand,
available on call, exploitable at will, and fireable
at whim." (p. 60)
In the present volume, the author deviates from Aristotelian
philosophy and Thomistic Theology killing several
holy cows and shattering myths like "everything
ought to be seen in the light of reason" or "democracy
is the only desirable form of social organization
and all peoples should strive for it" (p.182).
These are pseudo-absolute realities subsumed under
the name modernity. The problem, the author says,
people who "believe" in modernity expect
all other people to evolve and become modern.
On the practical side, the author provides definitions
for 42 (often pairs of words) cyber terms starting
with Analog/Digital to Web and Internet. (p.21). A
four page questionnaire (p.117-120) helps profile
the reader as a media user.
Including an essay on modern day religion called Mediasports
by Siddharth Kochar, as well as a note on precarity
by Patrice Riemens and five orginal graphics by Priya
Biyani are genuine signs of author's solidarity with
the precariat strengthening the belief and pointing
the right direction for cyberclub revolution…
Keeping
with the earlier work The Faithful Witness
(1999), the author has maintained the HTML style in
book layout and design. This book is bound to fire
your imagination and seek out like minded people in
the cyberclub!
C.M.Paul
NEW
BOOKS Encounters with Civilizations:
from Alexander the Great to Mother Teresa
a
collection of essays by Gëzim Alpion and edited
by Gaston Roberge. Published by Meteor Books in
association with St. Xavier's College, Kolkata.
2007.
Globalization
has brought an increased awareness of the interconnectedness
of cultures, while a historical awareness shows the
hubris involved in any presumption of a privileged
centre. Dr. Gëzim Alpion is the ideal companion
in travels across and within cultures. He brings a
sensitive humanism and the eye of an acute scholar
to address diverse issues of cross-cultural understanding
in divided worlds. These essays will be necessary
reading.' John Holmwood, Professor of Sociology, University
of Birmingham, UK
'Academics
today are expected to specialize in a subject and
not attempt to address big issues so it's refreshing
to find Dr. Gëzim Alpion bringing an acute intelligence
and critical eye to the question of civilization;
what it means and how identity is shaped by religion,
place, culture and society. His work is augmented
by a foreword and two essays from the editor of the
anthology, Professor Gaston Roberge, whose own encounters
with civilizations bring an added depth to this account
of a journey of discovery.' Brian Shoesmith, Professor of Media Studies
and Journalism, University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh/Edith
Cowan University, Perth, Australia.
Amidst
talks about clashes of civilizations this book brings
a message of hope; civilizations can co-exist, but
not if some are written off as footnotes while others
impose themselves as the norm. The fifteen articles
included in this book will serve as essential reading
for scholars, students and general readers who are
interested in encountering the 'other' without prejudice.
The
Author
Gëzim Alpion is Lecturer in Sociology and Media
Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK. He received
a PhD from the University of Durham, UK, in 1997.
His works include Vouchers (2001), Foreigner Complex
(2002), If Only the Dead Could Listen (2006), and
Mother Teresa: Saint or Celebrity? (Routledge, 2007).
The
Editor
Gaston Roberge, M.A. Theatre Arts (UCLA), was born
in Montreal, Canada, in 1935. Since 1961 he lives
in Kolkata where he teaches Film and Communication
at St. Xavier's College. One of his books, Communication
Cinema Development (Manohar, 1998), won an award at
the National Film Festival of India in 1999..
MEDIA
DANCER - Who Sets the Tune?
1. Media Dancer - who sets the tune? aims to help
people regain some of the freedom they have lost to
the "empire of mind" under the fire of its
"soft weapons of mass distraction."
2. Today's media oppressed do not read books as was
done up to a recent past. They deal with books as
they deal with the Web. Hence, Media Dancer has been
conceived as a non-book, with some of the characteristics
of the new media: non-linearity, fragmented presentation,
open text, and images. The cover and page design are
by Aparajito Chakrabarty, a sixteen year old Bengali
residing in Kolkata, and a student of Class X.
3. Media Dancer comprises twenty self-contained modules
of two pages each. The modules deal with subjects
like: media awareness, copyright, the digital divide,
and others. The modules are complemented by over thirty
texts, mostly of one page each, and identified as
'fragments.' The user is invited to browse through
that material.
4. Each module suggests a reading from the author's
previous book Cyberbani - being a human in the new
media environment (2005). Thus, Media Dancer is a
companion to Cyberbani. Each module carries a set
of five questions for individual or group discussion.
In addition, five more questions are appended to each
module for revision, or examination if the program
is offered as a course.
5. Pending the eventual publisher's concurrence Media
Dancer will be under copy left license, and will be
available on the Net. The text itself will remain
'tentative' and open to corrections, additions, and
improvements.
6. Media Dancer has a module on 'revolution.' But
what sort of revolution?
We opt for revolutions
devoid of oppositional aggressiveness
triggered by a detached understanding of things
nurtured by an irenic hope
based on a cosmic confidence in oneself and in others
strengthened by the quiet certainty that we shall
not so much overcome
as succeed
in an open collaborative network
vibrant with an infectious joy. Cyberbani, p.184
7. The author fervently hopes that Media Dancer will
bring joy and ways to freedom to media oppressed who
behave, sadly, like happy 'media dancers.'
Comments
for the book launch (The Indian Film Theory)
1.
Dr. Daya Thussu
Professor of International Communication
and Co-Director of India Media Centre
Communication and Media Research Institute
School of Media, Arts and Design
University of Westminster
United Kingdom
Dr
Thussu wrote to the author on 9th June 2010:
'As
cinema in India has matured and globalized, its
academic study too has become innovative and increasingly
sophisticated theoretically. Gaston Roberge's important
new book is a major contribution to this change.
I wish the book every success.'
2.
Dr. Chandak Sengoopta
Department of History, Classics and Archaeology
Birkbeck College, University of London
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HX
United Kingdom
Dr.
Sengoopta wrote to the author as follows on the 10th
June.
Gaston
Roberge has long been a prolific and perceptive
analyst of the media, in particular the Indian media.
His pedagogical initiatives, embodied in the pioneering
institution Chitrabani, enriched the cultural life
of Calcutta, and his many books and articles have
continued to stimulate, edify and energize all who
are interested in the media.
His latest book, The Indian Film Theory¸
is both a summation of his work as well as a departure
from it. In it, Roberge focuses on the celebrated
hit Sholay and constructs a theoretical analysis
of why that film was so successful with audiences.
The reasons for Sholay's popularity, he argues,
can help us understand the implicit theory - or
theories - with which Indian filmmakers work.
Roberge
emphasizes the need to abandon the antiquated distinction
between "art cinema" and "commercial
cinema" that we all grew up on, and which continues
to blight today's academic film scholarship. He
revises some of his own earlier views on cinema
in the light of the Natyashastra's precept
that as far as the rules of art are concerned, it
is the audience that is the ultimate authority.
At
least as far as Indian films are concerned, it is
emotional content that is of the greatest importance,
not intellectual or social analysis. Using examples
from the work of Satyajit Ray - Pather Panchali,
Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, Ashani Sanket - Roberge shows
how even that preeminent exponent of the so-called
art film operated with the fundamental principles
of the Natyashastra.
The
book also reprints some of Roberge's earlier publications,
some of the conclusions which he now disagrees with.
The book, therefore, not only provides fresh food
for thought but also charts the intellectual and
cultural trajectory of its author. Readers - including
those who would not agree with all of Roberge's
contentions - should find it an inspiring volume,
a book to learn from and debate with.
3.
Dr. Bonita Aleaz
Head of Department
Political Science
University of Calcutta
Alipore Campus
1, Reformatory Street
Calcutta700027
Dr.
Aleaz sent these comments to the author on 11 June
2010:
"The
fine and at the same time difficult art of theory
making is all here. The fact gathering, the dealing
with concepts, data and variables, finally one also
finds verification and reason. Roberge has done
a remarkable job, in this little yet immensely readable
book."
4.
Amitava Nag
Film and media scholar, editor of the art magazine
'Silhouette'. Comments received on 13
June 2010. Mr. Nag is now on a tour in Singapore.
"Mr.Gaston
Roberge's The Indian Film Theory is an extremely
pertinent book. Not only is the book much awaited
but also it is very well presented with the author
laying down the steps for his logic with utmost
care. Not that I agree with his rationale in many
cases but I have no doubt in admitting that this
is a serious topic which needed much attention.
I too believe that the Indian film (however varied
the term's definition can be) needs to be looked
from the heritage of Indian culture of performing
arts rather than the Western academic theories.
The book also marginally touches upon interesting
aspects of tradition and modernity as well as aesthetics
vis-à-vis populism. An interesting read,
it provokes ideas and we can only do justice to
our times if we can engage in similar debates and
look beyond the obvious."
5.
Spandan Bhattacharya M. Phil. Student at JNU. Now in Kolkata. Comment
sent on 13 June 2010. Spandan wrote one of the rare
constructive analysis of Slumdog Millionaire
in the magazine 'Silhouette', Vol. VII, 2009, pp.
87-95.
Gaston
Roberge's book The Indian Film Theory offers
a fresh insight and a new vision in the academic
debates and discussions on Indian Cinema. Questioning
widely accepted formulations and universal categorizations
(art/ commercial, mass/ popular or even 'good' cinema/
'bad' cinema) this book marks a provocative intervention
in theoretical paradigm concerned with Indian cinema.
Each of the chapters elaborates the limitations
of taking Western film theory and its theoretical
assumptions to be granted in formation of frames
of reference within which disciplinary conventions
and dominant discourses are formulated for the discussion
of Indian cinema. Pointing to the harms done by
elitist ignorance of mass acceptance and popular
performance in the academic discussions and scholarly
writings on Indian cinema Gaston Roberge asserts
the need of a new theory for Indian cinema. Can
India have its own theory of movies? And how does
India in this age of global intermixing and interactive
cultural field of mass media sustain its monopoly
over "a" theory that is essentially "Indian"?
In response to that this book invites the readers
to start a debate rather than closing or concluding
with a proposition. He states there may be many
"Indian film theories" but since none
has been formulated why not have the first one!
6. Ujjal Chakraborty A
member of the Faculty of the Indo-Italian Institute
of Films & Social Communication, 'Roop Kala Kandro',
Kolkata, an Institute of the West Bengal Government.
Comments received on 14 June 2010.
The
reincarnation of Gaston Roberge
'The Indian Film Theory' is a path-breaking
work. Let me tell you why I think so.
The
most striking feature of this book is a term coined
by Gaston Roberge : 'Folk Movie'.
The
author believes that, what we summarily dismiss
as profit-making trash - actually reflects the psyche
of the people of India. Therefore, instead of dismissing
those ventures, we should sincerely try to unearth
the roots of those movies, to know the people -
to know our society.
In
his marvelous quest of finding the ancestry of those
alleged 'commercial' movies, he returns back to
the times of Bharata Muni who wrote his discourse
- 'Natyashatra' - on the Indian Performing Arts
about 2000 years ago. From the Muni's treatise,
Gaston Roberge has quoted striking couplets which
taught - and still teach - us to pursue the heart
of the faceless people, while writing and directing
plays. Roberge reminds us that - according to Bharata
Muni - the main aim of the playwrights and directors
is to create an emotion in people's hearts. People
will 'feel' the truth and eventually understand
the truth in that emotional state.
The
author's great achievement is to apply Bharata Muni's
philosophy on a phenomenally popular film 'Sholay'.
He has dissected 'Sholay' into 36 segments;
and has made an amazing table analyzing every mood
created by the film in its each and every division.
It is a surprising work which comes near the periphery
of a discovery. No one before Gaston Roberge tried
to analyze an Indian 'Folk Movie' in so much detail.
And he has not stopped there. He has applied the
tenets of Bharata Muni on the divisions of 'Sholay'
to establish that the authentic ancestry of a really
popular 'Folk Movie' is the treatise of Bharata
Muni. This is truly an awe-inspiring finding. Here,
we must say, the book is a path-breaking work.
Gaston Roberge has devoted his life to the Indian
Cinema. Yet, he has the courage to admit that cinema
has become "less important" in the first
decade of this century. The TV and, finally, the
Internet, have pushed back cinema from its throne
placed on the peak of culture, in the last century.
Now
what we - the film lovers - will live for? Gaston
answers the question. Here we can almost touch the
author's heart which is saturated with optimistic
ideas. He has suggested us to organize seminars
on 'Internet'. He has also suggested us to organize
a seminar on 'Charulata' shown in a small screen.
Does the meaning of the film change while being
shown on the small screen? He summons us to find
out the truth. He has also called us to see 'The
Lawrence of Arabia' in an I-pod !!
Here
Gaston Roberge has truly evolved - from the era
of big screen to the age of I-Pods. It's a reincarnation.
Real courage is required to face a changed world.
