Mississippi Masala Film Notes
- music = mix of Uganda and delta style
- Asians pushed out of Uganda – parallels between exile and colonization in US history
- Indians brought over by British to build railroad : Chinese coerced to US to build railroad
- What happened to mixed race during that time?
- colorism, “darkie,” acting white = believe they’re better
- family = home
- quote on how racism is like a tradition that’s passed down like a recipe and poc have to decide what to eat and what to leave
- What is home when you’ve been forced out? Forced in?
- relationship w police
- interracial/cultural relationships/”rules,” loyalties
- love & shame – race and sex
- money & class
- “running away” from neighborhood vs. “getting out”
- don’t like to see others of own race do well
- mother tongue/language
- “stranger’s country” – Aimee Phan
- Okelo and his perspective
- masala
- father and mother figures
- assimilation
South Asian Representation in US Media & Pop Culture
- map of “South Asia” – borders become subjective
- 1st South Asians in US and history of riots
- “Asiatic Zone of Barred Citizenship”
- 1923 court case to prove whiteness, similar to Japanese
- allowed in if have skill, but also came in as refugees
- 1920s, guru philosophies and rise of science & spirituality
- inspired music like the Beatles
- legitimacy doesn’t matter if you have a following
- (Mis)representation
- themes of associating w cultural practices/artifacts rather than indiv. people
- brown face, Peter Sellers
- Eat, Pray, Love
- math, science stereotypes
- exotification
- themes of associating w cultural practices/artifacts rather than indiv. people
- Effect of 9/11 on South Asians
- rise in Islamophobia = rise in hate against South Asians
- shift from orientalism/mysticism to menacing
- confusion of Sikh with Muslim
- Malala and other political faces
- Reclaiming Narratives
- trend of breaking into mainstream by appealing to white audience by accessing/appropriating black culture in a way that appeals to whiteness
- ex: MIA
- Nora Jones and Freddie Mercury = ex.s of opposite, hiding/not acknowledging South Asian identity, getting closer to white closer
- Tamo – difficult to talk about self authentically
- accent vs. no accent
- South Asian vs. South Asian Am.
- representation of South Asian women
Writing Workshop: Problem Solving
- confront your writing problems
- perfectionism
- college education is voluntary
- progress not perfection
- citing work and being consistent in MLA style
- don’t be lazy w works cited
- transfer skills to Academic Statement