Joyland: A Cinematic Representation of Pakistani Patriarchal Joint Family

Joyland, a 2022 Pakistani film that gained popularity worldwide but got banned in Pakistan, depicted the problems of patriarchy, suppression of individuals’ self-identity, intervention in sexual and reproduction liberty of married couples, taboos associated with women employment, household participation, and sexual pleasure. This study adopts multimodal discourse analysis which critically discusses the patriarchal influence of Pakistani men in a joint family system, by purposefully selected scenes of the film that showcase the characters’ depiction of being dominated by the ideology of a patriarchal mindset. It further analyzes the role of a man, the eldest in the family, who decides everyone’s fate, irrespective of gender, financial status, or sibling positions in the family. This study also sheds light on how the sexual lives of individuals get affected through joint family pressures, which results in disoriented sexual relationships and indecisive preferences between partners.