The Woman behind the Story: Archetypal Patterns in OTT Depictions of Female Journalists
Anjali Devi,
Ph.D. Research Scholar,
Department of English and Modern European Languages,
Gautam Buddha University,
Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Abstract: This study explores
the representation of female journalists in contemporary media, focusing on the
portrayal of female characters in popular Over The Top (OTT) web series. The
research aims to understand how these portrayals reflect or challenge existing
gender norms and the impact they have on the audience’s perception of women in
media professions. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, the study
examines selected OTT web series featuring female journalists as protagonists.
The seminal critical text to study the representation of female journalists is
“The structure of feminine psyche” by Toni Wolff. The structure of the study
would be understanding the female journalists about the four female archetypes
that are Mother, Hetaira, Amazon, and Medial Women. The OTT shows under
consideration are Scoop, The Journalist, and Pinocchio, all of which are aired
on Netflix. Findings reveal that while female journalists are often depicted as
strong, independent professionals, they also face stereotypical challenges
related to gender, power, and personal sacrifice. The paper concludes by
discussing the implications of these findings for media representation and the
role of gender in shaping public perceptions of journalism. This research
contributes to the broader discourse on gender representation in media and
offers insights for future studies on women’s roles in the media industry.
Keywords: Archetypes, OTT, Web series, Female representation
Introduction
“I measure the progress of a community by the degree of
progress which women have achieved” – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Jitendra76). This
quote has proven the test of time, as nobody can deny that women build a nation
with their equal participation in every aspect. In current society, men and
women both are protectors, service providers, lawmakers, caretakers, and
nurturers of the young. This being the reality of today, we can see the same in
the media representation of women, as the media is the mirror of society, it
plays a crucial role in the creation as well as its perception of the reality
it shows. The role of the media is to present what is happening in society, but
one cannot deny that it also possesses the power to create reality. If we go
into a discussion about media, OTT platforms are the major players in this
game. Within a decade, the viewership of these platforms has increased
tremendously worldwide, including the Indian subcontinent. These OTT platforms
offer not just movies or web series but also health-fitness related content,
reality shows, and podcasts. The reason for their increasing popularity is
their affordable and easily accessible exclusive content, which can be viewed
anytime and anywhere if you have a smart device with an internet connection.
More than a hundred OTT platforms are available to Indian audiences, which
provide high-quality unlimited content from all over the world with commendable
customer care services (Agarwal 95; Ghildiyal 265, 266).
However, this study concerns itself with the study of the
representation of female journalists in the selected OTT web series, namely
Scoop, The Journalist, and Pinocchio (all of which are available on Netflix).
The selection of the above-mentioned web series is based on the criteria that
they contain the central plot of a female journalist who is dedicated to her
responsibility to present reality in society. The selected web series are from
different nations of Asia, but considering that OTT platforms present the
content from all over the world and the Indian audience being one of the
largest consumers, it is decided to take various web series from different
South Asian nations that have viewership in India. The study aims to critically
evaluate how the character of a female journalist is created in this media
and what image it portrays to the audience. For the sake of evaluation, the
text The Structural Forms of the Feminine Psyche by Toni Wolff is
considered, which talks about the four archetypes of female, namely “the
mother, the hetaira, the medial woman, and the amazon”. This study seeks to
answer the questions that how female journalists are portrayed in popular OTT
media, whether they reflect or challenge the existing gender norms, and the
impact they have on the audience's perception of women in media professions.
Literature Review
“The media is a conduit for information, concepts,
beliefs, and viewpoints” (Ghildiyal 265). Here Ghildiyal talks about the impact
(both positive and negative) media have on the lives of the people, as it
influences create and recreate that how individuals see themselves (265). While
discussing media, one must consider the OTT (Over The Top) content. It includes
various streaming platforms like Netflix. Jio Hotstar, Amazon Prime, to name a
few. These OTT platforms provide “exclusive content” to which young audience
relate more than the other forms of cinema, it is easily accessible on just a
mobile device, pocket friendly, as well as has various content for the mass
audience which it is catering from web series, movies, podcasts to educational
content, health and fitness shows, reality shows and sports (Agarwal 95;
Ghildiyal265, 266). As the research concerns itself with the women’s
representation through female characters, various studies show that the
creators of web series cater the current scenario through female centric web
series which off course try to destroy the stereotypes around females and gender
roles and reflecting their (females’) realities (Agarwal 97,98; Ghildiyal 266,
267; Berezhna31), whereas, an article of News 18 presents an interesting
insight that the strong women narrative is acceptable until it costs the
“fluidity of the narrative” (qtd. in Agarwal 97), in many cases of these web
series, it is said (rather than shown) that the lead female character is
independent, powerful, one who is taking her own decisions without any
influence from her male counterparts but does nothing as such to show the same.
Han says that film studies now employ Jung’s concept of
archetypes as a prototype for the characters (qtd. in Berezhna 29), taking a
similar approach, this study considers the archetypes as the primary image of
the portrayal of the female characters (playing the role of the journalists) of
the selected web series which is further inspired from the study by Poonam
Sharma named A STUDY OF SHASHI DESHPANDE’S FICTION IN THE LIGHT OF TONI
WOLFF’S THEORY OF FOUR STRUCTURAL FORMS OF FEMININE PSYCHE, in which she
discussed about the seminal female characters of various novels by Shashi
Deshpande with regards to the four female archetypes as discussed by Toni Wolff
in the above mentioned text. She discussed the females who manifest multiple
archetypes at the same time, while some characters have negative sides of a
certain archetype, and some have not yet manifested their archetypes
completely. The idea behind discussing these archetypes is to make the readers
understand the complexities of the female psyche and how it is being manifested
through their identity, which ultimately presents the image of female
characters in the considered texts. If we talk about the seminal text that is
considered to study and analyse the female characters, Toni Wolff’s Structural
Forms of the Feminine Psyche (1956). In this text, Jungian theorist Toni
Wolff discussed the four female archetypes, namely: the mother, the hetaira,
the amazon, and the medial woman. She says that a female can manifest more than
one archetype at different stages of her life or even simultaneously. The
Mother archetype has characteristics of nurturing, providing selfless care to
her children, whereas the negative characteristics are of control of her
children’s lives, and the husband becomes the passive provider or protector.
The Hetaira plays the role of a companion who is concerned about personal value
and relationships. The Amazon archetypes independent and self-contained, one
who is dedicated to her endeavours. The Medial Woman is the reflection of the
voice of the time, one who considers the larger good above everything. Another
text by Jo Pierson, Remembering Toni Wolff’s Structural Forms, talks
about the relevance of these four archetypes as discussed by Wolff. It helps to
create a contemporary understanding of these archetypes, which aligns with the
feminist ideas that are more relevant to today’s women.
Research Methodology
As afore-mentioned, this study focuses on the
representation of female journalists in selected OTT web series available on
Netflix. The study is a qualitative analysis that includes textual as well as
visual analysis of the characters. For critical evaluation of the
representations of the characters, the seminal text would be “Structural Forms
of Feminine Psyche” (1956) by Toni Wolff, a Jungian theorist. Furthermore,
other supporting texts of archetypal criticism. In the text “Structural Forms
of Feminine Psyche”, Wolff has characterised the female psyche into four
archetypes or archetypal images. Another text that is considered to study these
archetypes is Jo Pierson's Re-membering Toni Wolff’s Structural forms, which
is more relevant to modern women. The journalist characters would be studied
and interpreted according to these archetypes and how they are presented to the
audience. There could be cases where a single character may inherit multiple
archetypes (which is quite evident). Based on this evaluation, their
personality would be studied by answering the questions regarding
· What
image do these characters create or present to the Indian audience?
· What
problems are these characters facing as female journalists regarding their
familial relationships, and economic growth?
· How
are they presenting the ethical responsibilities of journalists towards the audience?
The purpose of the study is to investigate and find out
the images of female journalists presented to the Indian audience by OTT web
series, which would further open the gates for investigating the audience’s
reception to these images and their reaction in the larger discourse of women's
development in Indian society.
Findings
The discussion will proceed in the division of the web
series as discussed above. First of all, I’ll be considering “Pinocchio”. The
lead character InHa is valiant towards her duties as a journalist. She is
committed to her responsibilities of presenting the facts and truth among her
viewers without creating any interpretation by herself, which probably leads to
misinterpretation of the news. One incident that confirms this is when the
trainees of two popular new firms were asked to investigate the case of an
obese woman who died due to heart complications during her workout in the gym.
After the investigation, it came into light that she lost 20 kg within a few
weeks, she is divorced, and her ex-husband has decided to remarry. With
mentioned data, the rest of the team interpreted it as a case of jealousy, and
further connected it with a previous case which creates the idea that the cases
of quick weight loss are increasing due to insecurity about body type but, InHa
was not convinced with the story and decided to interview the daughter of the
dead woman. She came to know the deceased lady wanted to donate her liver to
her ill daughter; for that reason, she must lose 30 Kg. The fake news made the
daughter suffer, whereas the factual report resulted in her getting a
donor. Furthermore, InHa is financially independent and decides to pursue her
life according to her own accord, but both her parents were against her
becoming a news reporter. However, the story reveals a bittersweet relationship
between mother and daughter. The mother left her young daughter to focus on her
career, which led to her being greedy for success, so that she ended up being
heartless and irresponsible towards her daughter. She only focused on creating
sensation over the news and gaining profits for the firm and herself. InHa
decides to confront her mother about her doing and asks her to apologize to the
viewers.
By the above data the character of Inha portrays the
Medial woman archetype because she is concerned about social good above her
own. She is dedicated to her duty to society. She does not prefer to wait for
something bad to happen in front of her and be a spectator so that she can
report that later. Rather, she decides to help because of her ideology to
support the larger cause of humankind. Also, she has certain characteristics of
the Amazon and Hetaira archetypes. She is financially independent, achieving
her triumphs of being a successful reporter. She is also playing the role of
supporting partner for Dal Po. She helps him prepare for the reporter’s exam
and stands by his side, going against her mother. She is playing the role of
his lover. However, if we focus on Song Cha’s character (In Ha’s mother), she
portrays the Amazon archetype. She is brave and hardworking when it comes to
her career. She single-handedly took care of the major viewership. Her mind
only maps to the profits of her firm. Furthermore, she also portrays the
negative mother archetype as she denied her motherly roles towards her only
daughter, she didn’t consider having any knowledge about her or to console her
when they met after years. Also, she decided to use her daughter as an
advertisement for the viewers, her daughter being a Pinocchio (who cannot lie).
Let us now discuss “Scoop”. Jagruti, the lead character,
is a crime journalist who has become a deputy investigator within seven years
of her career. She embodies the Amazon archetype; she is brave, a fighter.
People around her are often seen saying that she is a powerful woman who has
proven why she belongs in the place. In the crime investigation department, she
has links and ties with officers who give her hints about the stories, which
she confirms after her investigation. She manages her personal life as well,
taking care of her child and family. She decided to get a divorce and get out
of an oppressive and abusive relationship with her husband, which again shows
her inclination towards the Amazon. She also embodies the mother archetype
because she tries to spend time with her child and manages to admit him into a
prestigious school. But there are times when she is suffering because her child
complains about her being busy, also it is observed that she is engrossed in
the case when she was on vacation. She suffered a lot during the questioning
session and almost gave up in prison, but managed to stand with the truth,
which presents her traces with the medial woman archetype. Her Hetaira traits
are visible when she helps the trainees in getting their front-page stories.
However, when we talk about other female journalists in the web series, there
is Dipa (the trainee reporter) who decided to feed on her senior’s life for her
personal gains. She embodies the negative amazon and media archetype. She makes
conversation with people to dig for information rather than maintaining genuine
relationships. She knowingly decides to propagate fake and half-cooked stories
against Jagruti, going against the advice of her editor and selling these
stories to the competitors of their newspaper. She is focused on her career
goals, but at the price of her colleague’s demolished lives and respect. There
is a character, Leena, the head of the competitor newspaper, who is not on good
terms with Jagriti. Irrespective of her personal ideas about Jagruti, she
decides not to share or feed on the fake news about her. She says that “she is
a powerful woman, and powerful women are often considered a threat” (Scoop).
She embodies the Amazon archetype with traits of Hetaira, not in the form of a
companion, but when she decides to support her colleague.
All in all, the web series has beautifully presented the
lives of female reporters in the Indian context. Lives of women striving
for success, managing families, being mothers, friends, and daring
personalities. Jagruti often faced criticism because of her high reach with the
help of her links. Often, male colleagues accused her of having
multiple affairs and sleeping with people to gain stories and promotions. Lastly,
it also presented the lives of women in prison, being bullied by their mates
and officers.
Lastly, if we talk about “The Journalist”. The web series
has many women who are worth mentioning, but the female journalists are under
consideration; Anna Matsuda’s character is considered. She is a Medial Woman
archetypal embodiment. She is resilient in her work to serve the readers.
Rather than her gains, she was more concerned about becoming “the voice of the
voiceless” (The Journalist). She was accused of working for her own gain
because her brother suffered while working for the government. But Anna decides
not to care. She has traces of the Hetaira archetype as well, as she was
considerate about Mr. Suzuki’s wife gave her strength to face the investigation
and stood by her side, helping raise her voice for her husband’s justice.
Lastly, she has Amazon qualities too, because she has decided not to give up
until the very end. She faced the negative comments about her on social media
and carried on with her work as a journalist, facing the fear of losing her one
and only family, her brother.
In the concluding remarks, it has been observed that the
OTT media is creating awareness among the audience. With regards to the
representation of the representatives that are the journalists, contemporary
OTT media has managed to showcase different stories. The female journalists
studied in this investigation are quite similar in their views about their
responsibilities towards the citizens of the nation. They are committed to
their job to present the truth and facts. The Medial woman archetype is most
visible in the representation of female journalists. They are brave and loyal
towards their jobs and responsibilities, showcasing their Amazon archetypal
traits. They are mothers, sisters, and daughters, irrespective of their hectic lifestyles;
they never give up on their nurturing and caretaking nature, which is the
mother archetypal representation. As far as the Hetaira archetype is
considered, it is visible when these female journalists decide to lend a
helping hand towards fellow females or anyone who they think needs help.
Lastly, there are certain representations which signify the negative traits of
these archetypes, a controlling and careless mother or a Hetaira who is lost in
her personal profits, without noticing that it torments their colleagues.
Conclusion
This study focuses on the representation of the female
journalist among the Indian audience. It investigates three OTT web series. After
the evaluation of these web series, it has been observed that the female
journalists are represented as strong, honest, and dedicated towards their
work. They are not just responsible citizens but also loving and nurturing
caregivers. There are certain remarks that can be made that they face gender
disparity with regards to respect at the workplace, as well as among the
viewers who can easily be manipulated by the half-cooked stories of their
personal lives. It is a commonly observed agenda to distract attention from
their hard work. However, they are represented as guides and supporters for
their colleagues. The lead characters have the personality traits of empathy,
self-sacrifice, but they are also ambitious beings. They are making their own
decisions, whether it is about investigating a certain case, choosing a career
option, or getting out of an oppressive relationship. The idea behind this
study is to create an awareness of what is being presented to the Indian
audience. Especially, the female audience, who is most affected by this
discourse of women's roles in media or journalism, and how people see them.
This further raises the question of what the audience’s reception is to these
popular OTT web series, which are easily accessible and affordable to the
largest population. This could be considered as the limitation of the study,
that it doesn't include the audience review or interviews about these OTT web
series. Yet, it is the question to be answered in further research.
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