Analytical study on the Psychological and Social Impacts of Child Abuse
Seenudhasan. P
, Dr. K. Manikkam
Por Thozhil, Tamil movies, child abuse, traumas, attachment theory, violence, film narrative, psychologic examination.
This is a lengthy abstract describing a research that critically analyzes the deep representation of childhood abuse and the drastic psychological effects of the same in the 2023 Tamil movie, Por Thozhil. Traditionally, Indian movies, especially their mainstream versions, have been used to influence societal perception of social issues and offer solutions to these problems. The problem of abuse of children in families, however, has been underresearched over time, and is typically resolved in cinematic tropes that either make it sound more sensational or simply diminish the injuries to preserve the typical family values. These general tendencies of normalization and the tendency to downplay parental abuse are pointed to in comparative literature about Indian cinema. The continuity of the authority of parents and the fantasy of the forgiving family often intersects with the perceived realities of psychological injury, such as in movies such as Em Magan and Viruman where parental violence itself is often shown as a deviation that is eradicated by means of swift catharsis. In this cultural setting, the seemingly redemptive and easy-lauded solutions often offered in the genre of literature seem to be thwarted or even avoided in Por Thozhil as a significant cultural text specifically addressing the roots of trauma in the psyche.
This study, through placing the analysis in solidly decided psychological paradigms, that is, Attachment Theory (Bowlby) and the Trauma/Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) paradigm, unravels the precise way in which cinema stories and visual art are used to explain the trajectory of tragedy between abuse in early life and patterned violence during adulthood. To this end, the study utilizes sound research methodology that is systematically and scene-by-scene based on qualitative content analysis. The work deconstructs visual tropes, dialogue, and plot to absorb images of abuse, and, in particular, trace the mental evolvement of the antagonist. To analyse the systematic mapping of the causal pathway of the initial disruption of abuse, through the intermediary psychological dysregulation, to the end result of violence, the analysis uses both theoretical and filmic evidence. The paper explores certain intermediate outcomes, including affect dysregulation, empathy impairment, and changes in cognitive beliefs, to unravel how these impact to attain repetitive episodes of violence in the movie story.
This paper has found that "Por Thozhil" offers a refreshing and subtle reflection of refusing to absolve, redeem, or sentimentize the toxicparenting structures. Rather, the film faithfully recorded the long aftermath of the trauma on the criminality of the antagonist as well as his normal life full of emotions. The qualitative interpretation of concrete scenes including the abusive childhood memory sequence and emotional numbing and violence outbursts of the antagonist in adult age revealed a regularity of cinematic use of psychological theories. Aesthetic choices of the film, including lighting, tight framing, and editing, are a visualization of disorganized attachment, chronic hyperarousal, and failure of emotional regulation.
This story (and style) is ultimately a revelation against the long-established habit of mainstream Indian popular cinema to redeem the toxic family structure and legitimize the parent figure despite the damage incurred. What the movie is promoting is a far more critical connection with the rudiments of societal awareness of the hidden causes and the long term consequences of childhood trauma. The results underline the idea that the emergence of cinematic texts is a kind of semiotic system that can depict deep psychological realities and go way beyond the entertainment. Thus, this study highly suggests further film and academic focus on the essential intersection of the Indian popular culture on psychological theory and film representation, and calls to ethically committed film development that responsibly displays the truths of mental health and abuse.
"Analytical study on the Psychological and Social Impacts of Child Abuse", JETNR - JOURNAL OF EMERGING TRENDS AND NOVEL RESEARCH (www.JETNR.org), ISSN:2984-9276, Vol.4, Issue 4, page no.b174-b191, April-2026, Available :https://rjpn.org/JETNR/papers/JETNR2604147.pdf
Volume 4
Issue 4,
April-2026
Pages : b174-b191
Paper Reg. ID: JETNR_233672
Published Paper Id: JETNR2604147
Downloads: 00044
Research Area: Social Science All
Country: Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
ISSN: 2984-9276 | IMPACT FACTOR: 9.87 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2023
An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 9.87 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator
Publisher: RJPN (IJPublication) Janvi Wave
