Comedian Hari Kondabolu's documentary The Problem with Apu dropped a trailer in advance of its debut on TruTV. The film surveys opinions on one of the most recognizable Indian-American characters in the media: Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and his outsize, often negative, role in shaping opinions on Indian depictions in the media. Read the rest
In her new series The FREQ Show, Anita Sarkeesian digs into insidious, pervasive Hollywood stereotypes about Muslims and Arabs, and how those stereotypes fuel real-world Islamophobia. As Sarkeesian puts it:
To so many Americans, people in the Middle East have never been established as human beings with real lives, hopes, dreams, and struggles. When almost every story you’ve ever seen about a particular part of the world paints the people who live there as monolithic, evil, and scary, you’re a lot more likely to believe that it’s actually true.
And it’s not just fictional representation that’s a problem. According to a study by University of Illinois professor Travis Dixon that analyzed 146 episodes of TV news programing between 2008 and 2012, 81 percent of the terrorist suspects discussed on TV news were Muslim. In real life, however, Muslims accounted for just 6 percent of actual FBI terrorist suspects during that time period.
From the Statue of Liberty and Chipotle to big boobs, Trump and racism, South Koreans tell us what they think of America – and Americans – in this episode of "What Asians Think of America" series by Asian Boss. Read the rest
In this video for Mic, comedian and actor Mamoudou N’Diaye auditions for the 11 roles black men are so often asked to play in Hollywood. Read the rest
