Affiliation:
1. Eastern Connecticut State University, USA
2. Institute for Human Development, University of Missouri-Kansas City, USA
Abstract
This chapter examined Tamil film music as a vehicle for nationalist message production and intersectional ethnic discrimination. The authors sampled the history of Tamil nationalism in India and Sri Lanka separately and found evidence that converges such territorial nationalistic content on the grounds of a common identity marker—the Tamil language. Taking notes from Tamil film music, the authors critiqued the messages promoted through this medium and applied them to the socio-political state of the ethnic conflict brewing both in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Further, the authors also identified prevalent themes of Tamil nationalism, refugee plight of Eelam Tamils, irredentism, and othering in Tamil film music that contribute towards a broader scholarship of music as an effective medium for political messages.