Visualising the Metaphysics of Pain: Trauma, Identity and Resistance in Saim Sadiq’s Joyland

Author(s)	Ms. Utsha Nishad
Country	India
Abstract	Trauma is a common worldwide phenomenon that affects more or less all individuals’ day-to-day lives. The emotional reaction to trauma varies greatly, as the individual’s socio-cultural history significantly influences it. Diving deep into the metaphysical dimensions of experience and expression, visual media aims to intervene with the contextual analysis of pain, trauma and anxieties as reflective categories in literature and cinematic narratives. The visual media and modernity seek to engage and go beyond current tendencies in trauma studies, sharing the complex interactions between presence and absence and the ‘impossibility’ of representation. The present study is on Saim Sadiq's movie Joyland (2022), which aims to address the plural voices in narrative, weighing more considerations to women's conditions affected by emotional abuse, psychological abuse, discrimination and marginalisation that lead women towards ‘domestic trauma’.It also acknowledges the queer themes, emphasising their resilience and quest for dignity amidst societal stigma. At large, the paper deals with the cinematic language of trauma, offering insights into the intersection of personal and collective suffering in post-colonial society.
Keywords	Domestic trauma, gender, identity, film, narratives
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 3, May-June 2026
Published On	2026-05-19
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i03.78989

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