Hidden Agenda behind Constructed Imagery: Identity Politics in Indian Advertising

In the modern world where reality is mediated, the import of Coca-Cola, i Phones or Hollywood films is not merely a commercial activity of the West. What is more serious is the import of the idea of culture through these material ‘icons’. The import of culture is to be viewed from a much more serious angle than the multicultural ‘theory-of-acceptance’ of globalization, propounded by the American academics. The paper brings forth the nature of global subcultures that are guided by the fundamental questions: What am I? Where am I? And who am I ? The paper also analyses the qualities of cultures of the lower income countries that value survival, and higher income countries that value individualism and self-expression. The paper discusses the fundamental differences of the cultures that derive their principles from a system of ossified dogma as opposed to the cultures whose principles are derived from the spirit of reflective self-enquiry. From the above introductory references, the paper reflects upon the native cultures all over the world and their need to defend themselves against the depredation of Western Cultural Imperialism. With special reference to the native cultural fabric of India, during the times when it was culture that defined nationality and the cultural geography that defined the boundaries, our paper discusses the outrages of western invasions. Our discourse focuses on the western depredation through mass media in contemporary India which is in its path of material progress, through the intellectual and artistic medium of advertising and films. What follows next is an iconological interpretation of the imagery employed in certain print advertisements and TV commercials, and the way the imagery is expected to influence the identity politics of postmodern India.