A popular program that shows Asians in a comedy aspect is “Goodness gracious me,” this show is made humorous to attract the audiences, although they often make fun of themselves and there religion the program attracts a wide audience of different race’s.
The Asian aspects have realism of real Asian families such as clinging mothers, girls regarded as second class citizens, the snobbery of assimilating Englishness but the themes were universal - enough to widen the audiences who, though of different backgrounds, could appreciate the comedy and Asian aspects.
Another program that makes fun of Asians, while played by Asians is “The Kumar’s at No. 42,” This is a sitcom/talk show. The Kumar’s are an Asian family who has their own talk show! Sanjeev Kumar, the host, talks to the guests while his family asks questions!
Both these programs are aired on the BBC, although its comedy aspect and the entertainment aspect would usually be expected to be aired on channel 4. The BBC is funded by the tax payers and by TV licensing, so the reason this is aired is for partly entertainment but its main value is to show a worldwide view of all religions, races and groups throughout.
This is also shown in films, a key film showing this is my beautiful launderette directed by Stephen Frears, is a highly innovative and fantastical exploration of marginalized cultures in Thatcher-era London. Set in the Pakistani community of South London in the 1980s, the film focuses on two youths, friends from schooldays. Johnny is a working-class white whose friends belong to the National Front, a fascist group whose members extol "white power" and bash immigrants. Omar a homosexual Pakistani, they are school friends who have got back together and the relationship builds as they open a launderette together.
The film shows race is a number of different way, White women are portrayed as money grabbers, this is shown by the uncles mistress, he buys the drinks, gives her money to go shopping etc, but Asian women are portrayed in a negative way, the audience see the women as isolated and represented almost as ‘slaves’ e.g.: A scene when the women are serving drinks and the daughters are massaging the uncle.
The Asian men are portrayed in a one sided way because we only see them as always wanting more money and the aspect they are all quite rich and if another Asian is not then they try and fix this, e.g.: the uncle giving Omar a job to raise money.
Programs made can often just have one view so the view is not equal, for example a documentary called Harlsdon hotspot was released, and this used all black views so the documentary was bias.
In many films though black people are portrayed as ‘thugs’ this is because stereotypes of thugs being black can develop, for example, Save the last dance a film about a white girl moving into a black neighborhood, throughout the film blacks are referred to as thugs, But as political correctness develops films can be turned around so the blacks are the good guys and whites can have thug images, e.g.: bad boys, where will smith is a hero cop which would stereotypically be played by a white male. Mediation is also a large factor in creating representations because the more programs using different races, the more educational and aspects of different cultures can be learnt.
Visual techniques are often used to portray an equal race so it attracts a bigger range of audience, a good example of this is within the gap advertising, the newest advert is a TV advert called ‘Love’ and it portrays a family sweater advert and has a mixed race cast including Asian, black, and whites, and they have even used a mixed race for the music to show this developing equal ness.
