How Vijay Uses the Politics of Silence
By holding himself above the common political fray, making few statements, and allowing his fans and detractors to battle it out among themselves without his help, Vijay becomes difficult to define, let alone taint.
Orientalist framings of movie stars in South Indian politics tend to reduce the phenomenon of actors gaining political power to a weakness in the electorate, where the voter is described as foolish or incapable of distinguishing between reel and real life. These framings misunderstand the role of cinema in politics. The electoral success of C. Joseph Vijay in Tamil Nadu is about more than celebrity worship. While the tools used by his campaign are the products of modern fan culture, his victory is indicative of a deeper discontent with the status quo. It points to the existence of a…
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