On November 5, the Center for Media and Information Literacy hosted a screening and post-screening panel discussion of the documentary “The Problem with Apu”. The film focuses on the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, an Indian immigrant in the animated sitcom The Simpsons who, for a period, was the only figure of South Asian heritage to appear regularly on mainstream U.S. television. The film explores encounters with negative stereotypes, racial microaggressions and slurs against people of Indian and South Asian heritage disseminated through the character.
The screening was one event in a series of events in celebration of US Media Literacy Week, November 6-10, 2018. Details at https://medialiteracyweek.us/
FEATURED PANELISTS
Lori TharpsTemple University, Journalism
Lori Tharps is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism at Temple University. She is also founder of the blog “myamericanmeltingpot” and author of several critically acclaimed nonfiction books. For more information, see her bio here.
Anna Arabindan-Kesson
Assistant Professor,
Princeton University
Anna Arabindan-Kesson is an Assistant Professor of Black Diasporic Art with a joint appointment in the Departments of African American Studies and Art and Archaeology. Additionally, she is a Laurance S. Rockefeller University Preceptor. For more information, see her bio here.
Ashutosh Malik
Ashutosh Malik is a junior at Temple University’s Fox School of Business. He is currently pursuing a double major in Economics & Finance. He is also currently serving as Economic Analyst at The William C. Dunkenberg Owl Fund (University Fund) and is the President of Kaafila: The Indian Student Association at Temple. He expects to graduate in May 2020.
Imran Siddiquee
Imran Siddiquee is a filmmaker, writer, speaker, and activist challenging the representation of race and gender in popular media. For more information, see his bio here.