A Comparative study on the depiction of South Asian Ethnicities in big budget Western films

Deva, Akhil

Savannah, Georgia: Savannah College of Art and Design (Atlanta)

2019-11

Thesis (M.F.A.) -- Film and Television

Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Film and Television

Includes bibliographical references (pages 22-23)

"This thesis discusses the ever-present stereotypical portrayal of South Asian ethnicity in Big Budget Western feature films since the inception of cinema until recent times. Considering the tropes of gender, occupation, speech, and class, a comparative study is devised on how these tropes, when addressed to South Asian ethnicities, have manipulated the attitudes of American citizens towards Indian and other South Asian ethnicities. Focusing on four films as case studies, The Party (1968) by Blake Edwards, Slumdog Millionaire (2008) by Danny Boyle, which succumb to the stereotypical portrayals, in contrast to Mississippi Masala (1991) by Mira Nair, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (2004) by Danny Leiner, which broke through the stereotypical representation of South Asian ethnicities."

*Includes the short film "Distant," directed by the author, which tells the story of a young illegal Indian immigrant in America and the cultural, economic, and personal challenges he faces as he dreams of returning to India and the dying mother he longs for

*Keywords: race, cinema, stereotype, ethnicity, India, Hollywood, film, South Asian

CHAIR: Kinney, Michael

Orear, Quinlan

Lucas, Stephen

English

Film and Television

Text, film

PDF : 23 pages + 1 film (approximately 19 min.) : MP4, sound, color

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