Paper short abstract:

In this paper, I will explore how organ transfer is ‘re-presented’ in the movies and documentaries from Kerala and elicit responses from the public.

Paper long abstract:

Since the beginning of 1990s, several movies and documentaries depicted the process of organ transfer in Kerala from various vantage points. Some of them are the inter-subjectivity of the transplant recipient, the opposition to the commodification of organs, and the extraordinary nature of organ transplantation in a developing country. By examining these perspectives, I want to explore how the knowledge of organ transfer is ‘re-presented’ and how its depiction creates a living relationship with its audience. On the one hand, the characterisation of organ transfer in the films and documentaries is largely shaped by the transcendental notions of ‘good human being’ and ‘good life.’ On the other hand, drawing on my fieldwork for the PhD, I show how my informants raise their concerns about age, health and utility of the body, as well as kinship, the economic status of the future recipient, and the role of the state in organ transfer. I demonstrate how my informants challenge, criticise, and help re-make the knowledge of organ transfer as portrayed in the films and documentaries through their daily lives.