South Asians on the U.S. Screen

Just Like Everyone Else?

Häftad, Engelska, 2018

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How does the media influence society? How do media representations of South Asians, as racial and ethnic minorities, perpetuate stereotypes about this group? How do advancements in visual media, from creative storytelling to streaming technology, inform changing dynamics of all non-white media representations in the 21st century? Analyzing audience perceptions of South Asian characters from The Simpsons, Slumdog Millionaire, Harold and Kumar, The Office, Parks and Recreation, The Big Bang Theory, Outsourced, and many others, Bhoomi K. Thakore argues for the importance of understanding these representations as they influence the positioning of South Asians into the 21st century U.S. racial hierarchy. On one hand, increased acceptance of this group into the entertainment fold has informed audience perceptions of these characters as “just like everyone else.” However, these images remain secondary on the U.S. Screen, and are limited in their ability to break out of traditional stereotypes. As a result, a normative and assimilated white American identity is privileged both on the Screen, and in our increasingly multicultural society.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2018-03-23
Mått152 x 230 x 15 mm
Vikt281 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor178
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing Plc
MedarbetareMatthewW. Hughey
ISBN9781498506588

Tillhör följande kategorier

Sociologi inom Samhälle och politik
Socialhistoria och kulturhistoria inom Historia och arkeologi
Medievetenskap inom Samhälle och politik
Etnicitet inom Samhälle och politik

Foreword: The Browning of American Media and the Whitewashing of Inequality, Matthew W. HugheyPreface: Just Like No One ElseIntroduction: South Asians in 21st Century U.S. Television and FilmChapter 1: Seeing is Believing: A Brief History of Non-Whites Representation in U.S. Television and Film Chapter 2: A Snapshot of South Asian Characters in U.S. Media (2010)Chapter 3: Three Degrees of Ethnicity: Racialized Representations of South Asians Chapter 4: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Representations of Gender, Ethnicity, and Nationality Chapter 5: What’s the Matter with Outsourced? Conclusion: The Future of South Asians on the U.S. ScreenAppendix A: Research Methods and Data Appendix B: Survey QuestionsAppendix C: Interview Questions

Thakore (Elmhurst College) is a sociologist, and in this book she is concerned with cultural appropriation (a term recently made current by novelist Lionel Schriver) and cultural misappropriation. Many scholars have accepted the inevitability of globalization, but others have pitched a culture war against appropriation. Thakore is on the side of the latter. First, she argues, South Asians are underrepresented. Then, when they are represented, they are stereotyped (as in the case of Slumdog Millionaire). In addition to being stereotyped, these characters are rarely three dimensional. Though Thakore comes down hard, she does not overlook work that achieves limited success. Kal Penn’s character in the television series House committed suicide but that was to free Penn up to take a job with the Obama administration. In the end, Thakore contends, in presenting South Asian characters the screen offers them not as multidimensional but as assimilated white Americans—"just like everyone else"—the current trend toward globalization notwithstanding. Thakore uses graphs and survey reports to illustrate her argument. Of interest for those interested in sociology as well as film studies. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.