Grids of Hegemonic Control: The Coloniality of Power and Ecological Extraction in Contemporary Malayalam Cinema: A Study of Eko

Abstract

This study explores the intersections of postcolonial power dynamics, human subjugation, and environmental degradation as portrayed in the contemporary Malayalam film Eko by Dinjith Ayyathan. It sets the film within broader discourses of coloniality of power, describing how colonial hierarchies persist in postcolonial societies and postcolonial ecocriticism, which explores how power works on both human and non-human nature. The analysis focuses on three primary levels: the systemic marginalization of indigenous or rural subjects by a hegemonic elite, the psychological internalized coloniality within the protagonists, and the objectification of nature as a resource-rich "other" ripe for extraction. Analysing plot, character arcs, setting, and symbolic elements, this study proposes that Eko foregrounds the interplay of domination and resistance at interpersonal, social, and ecological levels. It reveals how relationships of control, whether between human characters or between humans and animals, reflect structural continuities from colonial domination into contemporary new world power structures. The film’s engagement with ecology, especially its use of the hill landscape and dogs, serves as a metaphor for resistance to hierarchical domination and offers insight into how contemporary Malayalam cinema negotiates postcolonial themes of authority, subjugation, and ecological ethics.