The politics of biopics: Analyzing propaganda films in Bangladesh's political context

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dc.contributor.authorKhan, Nahaly Nafisaen
dc.contributor.committeechairLogan, Nnekaen
dc.contributor.committeememberMyers, Marcus Cayceen
dc.contributor.committeememberMielczarek, Nataliaen
dc.contributor.departmentCommunicationen
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-09T08:03:04Zen
dc.date.available2025-05-09T08:03:04Zen
dc.date.issued2025-05-08en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis investigates the use of state-funded cinema as a vehicle for political propaganda in contemporary Bangladesh by analyzing two government-funded films: Hasina: A Daughter's Tale (2018) and Mujib: The Making of a Nation (2023). The former is a docudrama centered on the personal and political life of Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, narrated by Hasina herself, while the latter is a fictional biopic of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the nation's founding leader and Hasina's father. Notably, both films were released in close proximity to the national elections of 2018 and 2024, respectively. Employing a modified ideological criticism as a methodological framework, this study examines narratives and character portrayals to assess how dominant ideologies are constructed and circulated through these cinematic texts. The analysis aims to uncover the films' functions as propaganda in reinforcing political narratives to legitimize the Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) regime's hold on state power, thereby contributing to broader discussions on the intersections of media, ideology, and political propaganda in South Asia.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralThis thesis explores how two recent government-funded films in Bangladesh may have been used as tools of political propaganda. The films -- Hasina: A Daughter's Tale (2018), which tells the story of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her own words, and Mujib: The Making of a Nation (2023), a dramatized biography of her father and Bangladesh's founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman -- were released just before national elections. By analyzing how these films portray their main characters and the country's history, the study explores whether they were designed to promote the ruling party, the Bangladesh Awami League. This research helps us understand how films are used as propaganda tools to strengthen the legitimacy of those in power.en
dc.description.degreeMACOMen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:43617en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/130406en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectPropagandaen
dc.subjectIdeologyen
dc.subjectIdeological Criticismen
dc.subjectBiopicsen
dc.subjectPoliticsen
dc.subjectHistoryen
dc.titleThe politics of biopics: Analyzing propaganda films in Bangladesh's political contexten
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineCommunicationen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMACOMen

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