Archive for 2016

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[ecrea] New book: South Asians on the U.S. Screen

Mon Jun 27 19:51:33 GMT 2016




South Asians on the U.S. Screen: Just Like Everyone Else?

Bhoomi K. Thakore

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498506564

DETAILS:

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 21^st 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 21^st 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.

AUTHOR:

Bhoomi K. Thakore is visiting assistant professor and director of the sociology program at Elmhurst College.

TOC:

Foreword: The Browning of American Media and the Whitewashing of Inequality, Matthew W. Hughey

Preface: Just Like No One Else

Introduction: South Asians in 21st Century U.S. Television and Film

Chapter 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. Screen

Appendix A: Research Methods and Data

Appendix B: Survey Questions

Appendix C: Interview Questions

REVIEWS:

Racialized representations in the U.S. media are not limited to ‘black and white,’ but incorporate all non-white groups. One group seldom studied as subject to racialized representations is South Asians. In South Asians on the U.S. Screen, Bhoomi K. Thakore uses data from media audiences on South Asian characters and actors and convincingly shows that most of their representations, even the ones deemed by many as “progressive,” privilege white identity thus reproduce white supremacy at the semiotic level.

— Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Duke University; author of Racism Without Racists

Through analysis of popular South Asian characters on television as well as the responses of viewers to these representations, South Asians on the US Screen offers insights into the stereotypes that organize media portrayals of South Asians. The book will be of interest to those who want a better understanding of the role played by the US media in the marginalization of racial minorities.

— Nazli Kibria, Boston University

This book is a fresh and analytically incisive addition to the burgeoning sociological scholarship on racial representations in the mass media. A rich mixed-methods investigation of the historic and contemporary role of South Asians (e.g., Indians) and their representations within the American mass media, Thakore’s book is an important intervention in this growing body of literature for both empirical/substantive reasons as well as the potential to develop theoretical understandings of how racial and ethnic representations operate in a colorblind/postracial society still structured by white supremacy.

— David L. Brunsma, Virginia Tech

This book is an excellent study of the racialization of South Asian Americans. Building on the work of scholars who have documented South Asian Americans' experience with racism, this book breaks new ground by looking specifically at South Asian Americans on US screens in the 21st century. Dr. Thakore shows how depictions of South Asian Americans are used to uphold contemporary race boundaries, while US television and films appear to be inclusive of a diverse group of people . A well-researched, thoughtful book. A must read for people who are interested in understanding racism.

— Bandana Purkayastha, University of Connecticut

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