Global Muslim Audiences’ Polysemic Reading of “My name is Khan”: Toward an Emergent Multiculturalism
Sponsor
This article‟s publication was funded by the Portland State University Open Access Article Processing Charge Fund, administered by the Portland State University Library.
Published In
Journal of Media and Communication Studies
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2018
Subjects
Indian cinema, War on Terrorism (2001-2009) in mass media, Mass media -- Qualitative studies, Multiculturalism, Mass media -- Audiences -- Cross-cultural studies
Abstract
In this study, we learn how audiences make sense of a non-dominant text that is conveying a nonWestern story about the Global War on Terror (GWOT). The audiences affective narratives affirm Deuze’s argument that media is not separate from our lived experience; we live in media rather than with media. This study was conducted on an urban campus in the Pacific North-West, with film audiences of over fifty Saudi Arabian, Baharanian, Iranian, Iraqi, Yemeni, and other Arab and non-Arab Muslims. Multiple screenings of Hindi language film, My Name is Khan, shows that it speaks to a global, transcultural, primarily Muslim audience that has lived in the pall of a world changed by 9/11. As audiences, they weave an oppositional narrative of security, multiculturalism and Muslim identity. While their visas define them as students, their experience as simply Arab or Muslim women and men situates them, in a wider articulation of their transnational identity.
DOI
10.5897/JMCS2018.0610
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/26161
Citation Details
Kapoor, P. (2018). Global Muslim audiences polysemic reading of My name is Khan: Toward an emergent multiculturalism. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 10(5), 34-45.
Description
Originally appeared in the Journal of Media and Communication Studies, Vol. 10(5),pp. 34-45, May 2018. Published by Academic Journals. May be accessed at https://doi.org/10.5897/JMCS2018.0610.
Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License.