Typecasting South Asians on the Big Screen
Student and U.K. radio host Nila Varman writes about misrepresentation and the need for authentic South Asian characters in the media.
read moreStudent and U.K. radio host Nila Varman writes about misrepresentation and the need for authentic South Asian characters in the media.
read moreIn a recent interview, singer Gwen Stefani responds to a question about her cultural appropriation past by claiming a fake ethnic identity.
read moreNegative experiences and discrimination on dating apps are causing some Black people to feel alienated. Others are avoiding the apps altogether.
read moreAAPI hate crimes have disproportionately been against women who already experience a specific type of racialized, sexualized, and gendered violence.
read moreThe Southwest Asian/North African (SWANA) community is one example of a group that has faced harmful representations and stereotyping in Hollywood. A 2016 report uncovered many findings that support this fact, particularly on television. A majority of television characters from this region (67%) appear in crime or geopolitical dramas. Among those characters, 78% are “trained terrorist/agents/soldiers or tyrants,” which reinforces the stereotype that this group should be understood as a threat. On top of that, two-thirds of all television characters from the Middle East “speak with pronounced foreign accents,” solidifying the idea that those from the region will always be “foreigners” in the United States (MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition). In other words, these findings illustrate how Hollywood co-signs the belief that those in the SWANA community do not and cannot belong within the bounds of the nation.
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