The Media's Biased Gaze with Professor Evelyn Alsultany {Re-Release}
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Ep #77 - In a media landscape that continues to demonstrate its selective empathy, the recent disparate coverage of two tragic and avoidable deaths starkly illustrates Professor Evelyn Alsultany's core argument about media representation. While extensive airtime has been devoted to the death of a white CEO, the death of Black Girl Disney's Dominique Brown has received far less attention—a painful reminder of how media systematically determines whose stories matter and whose lives are deemed worthy of collective mourning.
Media representation isn't just about entertainment—it's a powerful force that shapes our perceptions of marginalized communities. In this compelling re-released interview, Professor Alsultany dismantles the harmful stereotypes and narrow narratives that reduce complex human experiences to simplistic caricatures.
In her groundbreaking book, Broken: The Failed Promise of Muslim Inclusion, Professor Alsultany dissects the harmful “logics” that justify exclusion and inequality. She boldly challenges the idea that marginalized people should need to be a "good" version of themselves to be accepted.
As a Cuban-Iraqi American, a childfree Latina, and a leading expert on Arab and Muslim representation, Evelyn's work exposes how Hollywood and media narratives that legitimize exclusion and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. Through her research, we gain a better understanding of how our perceptions are shaped—and how we can push back against injustice.
This episode explores themes of identity, representation, and accountability in the wake of historical events currently unfolding in Arab and Muslim countries, and how our media is covering them. The professor invites us to step out of our comfort zones, confront the systems of oppression we live within, and listen to voices we too often ignore.
⚠️ Content note: This episode discusses terrorism, rape, school shootings, and genocide. Also the death toll in Palestine as of Dec 9, 2024 is now 42,000 people.
To get the full show notes, including Professor Alsultany's bio, and an episode transcript, go to PauletteErato.com/shownotes. This is episode 77.
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