Title

Magical Misery Tour of India

Creator

Ponnam, Asmitha

Abstract

Magical Misery Tour of India is a satirical performative piece that critiques the representation and consumption of poverty through the lens of tourism. By adopting the role of a tourist guide, the performance exposes the moral contradictions, epistemic violence, and power asymmetries involved in observing suffering from a position of privilege. Drawing on Spivak, Mbembe, Sontag, and Kincaid, the project interrogates who is allowed to speak for poverty and how spectatorship risks commodifying pain. The work challenges audiences to question whether witnessing suffering constitutes ethical engagement or detached consumption.

Keywords

poverty tourism

spectatorship

epistemic violence

Subject

interdisciplinary

Date Available

May 28, 2026

Type

Video

Course

HHU 2208 Poverty as Spectacle

Course Offering Term

Fall semester 2025

Instructor

Axiotou, Georgia

Session

Honors Creative Projects

Location

Student Lounge

Event

Year 2026 | 10th Annual Student Research and Creative Arts Symposium