From Folk Community to Digital Self: Identity and Performance in Contemporary Bengali Cinema and Web series

From Folk Community to Digital Self: Identity and Performance in Contemporary Bengali Cinema and Web series
Payel Dutta

Abstract

Nowadays, storytelling plays a crucial role in shaping identity and collective belonging in Indian society, particularly in Bengal. Bengal possesses a rich tradition of folklore, reflected in practices such as Baul songs, Jatra theatre, and Patachitra storytelling, which have created communal cultural spaces where identity is formed through participation and shared experience. Traditional folklore, including folktales, proverbs, and chants, largely reflect the social values, norms, ethics and cultural practices of specific communities. Such practices emphasize collective values, moral instruction, and community participation rather than individual self-expression. However, contemporary Bengali society shows a keen interest in digital and media-driven environments, where identity is increasingly shaped through social media and digital visibility. Individuals today often construct and perform their identities online, seeking validation through likes, shares, and digital recognition. This shift in the modes of dissemination of Bengali folklore: from traditional storytelling to digital self-representation in the early twenty-first century, has led to new forms of anxiety and self-consciousness, often described as an algorithm driven performance culture. In the modern era, the mediums of storytelling have transformed from print media and performative traditions such as Baul songs and Jatra theatre to electronic media, television, animated cartoons, cinema and web series. Contemporary Bengali screen media captures the transformation of urban relationships and social interactions shaped by digital culture.This study seeks to explore how identity shifts from collective folk belonging to digitally mediated self-performance by analysing selected works of contemporary Bengali cinema and web series. By comparing folk traditions with modern narratives, the study examine show storytelling reflects evolving modes of identity in contemporary Indian society. It further seeks to examine how contemporary Bengali cinema and web Series represent this transformation from collective community belonging to individualized digital selfhood, while also analysing the social and psychological consequences of digital visibility.