CINEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY – EXPLORING THE HEALTH COMMUNICATION NARRATIVE

Abstract

With an increase in interest in health communication, there has been a significant rise in mass media campaigns which not only address a wide variety of needs defined by policymakers but also helps them to expand their reach and spread health messages globally. Cinema as an effective form of media constructs and reconstructs discourses on health communication. However, in terms of the quantum of work in this space, the output is meagre. This study uses social construction of reality as the theoretical basis and narrative analysis as the research method to examine the cinematic representation of the Bhopal Gas tragedy, which left an extremely destructive impact on the city of Bhopal (India). It explores how cinema builds narratives around health communication and establishes how a real-world disaster was explored from different angles. The research paper positions the critical need to engage in deeper conversations on health ecosystems through films and locates how other dramatic elements overshadowed the serious engagement with the narrative of health communication.