Representations of South Asians in Japanese animation

Dastagir, Syada Fatima (2023) Representations of South Asians in Japanese animation. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.

Abstract

This thesis examines the representations of South Asians in Japanese animation in the context of increased South Asian visibility in Japan within the last 30-40 years. Depictions of South Asians in mediascapes across the world have often fallen into globalised tropes and stereotypes and assumptions made by both creators and audiences. This research examines the codification of these stereotypes as racialised cultural markers to provide a basis for measuring and examining the depiction of South Asians in Japanese animation. Analysis of the chosen case studies has been done by centring the racial and cultural politics of race representation in anime. As there is little to no research specifically on the subject of South Asian representation, I have drawn from and applied cultural, film and race theories and contextualised anime depictions within the wider context of the Japanese mediascape. In doing so I have determined the extent to which South Asians are “Othered” in Japanese media through a range of globalised and indigenised tropes as well as issues regarding cultural homogenisation of South Asians, racial and cultural hierarchies within South Asian communities. Despite a growing population of South Asians in Japan, this topic remains a relatively new one in academia, this thesis aims to provide a foundation from which future research into race representation in Japanese animation may go beyond the usual scope.

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