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

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

---------------
ECREA-Mailing list
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier and ECREA.
--
To subscribe, post or unsubscribe, please visit
http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
--
ECREA - European Communication Research and Education Association
Chaussée de Waterloo 1151, 1180 Uccle, Belgium
Email: (info /at/ ecrea.eu)
URL: http://www.ecrea.eu
---------------