(Mis)Representation And Stereotypes: Racial Biases Of North- Eastern Women In Entertainment Media With Special Reference To The Movie Axone.

Abstract

The way race is shown in the media plays a big part in how people see and feel about others. Media is a robust platform that shapes our perceptions and understanding of the world around us. It’s not only about what’s presented but also about how it’s represented before the audience. Racial misrepresentation on a global scale is rooted in such systematic disparities that all races might be similarly tainted. This paper looks at how casting, roles, and stories in entertainment media lead to unfair ideas. It focuses on understanding media portrayal of stereotypes and racial discrimination against women of North- East, India. Film as a cultural artifact, has been used as a communication tool that indicates the reflection of stereotypes and prevalence of racial discrimination against one community (especially women of North-East) in our society. Women of the North-East in India have faced pervasive racial discrimination through mainstream media since time immemorial, often plainly stereotyped. In turn, these representations lead to a host of cultural interpretations, marginalization, and the "othering" of North-Eastern communities in the Indian socio-cultural milieu. These representations further the cultural misconstructions, hence strengthening the marginalization and "othering" of NorthEastern communities within the larger socio-cultural frame of India. Axone (2019) is a rare exploration of identities and struggles of North-Eastern Indian folk on screen and thus serves as a significant case for critical examination. These further analyze how the film works within and against a dominant narrative. The nuanced workings that either reinforce or contest the stereotype, such as that of being "exotic," "unwanted outsiders," and "persistent victims of systemic discrimination," are the objectives that this research seeks to achieve by analyzing character portrayals, dialogues, and narrative arcs. This study utilizes a content analysis approach, wherein it seeks to evaluate Axone as a cultural artifact that not only exposes but also critiques racial biases while checking how it developed the sense of empathy and understanding without enforcing some stereotypes. Within the larger ambit of media representation in India, it emphasizes a researched and compelling case for the need for varied, inclusive, and genuine narratives to depict North-Eastern women as being multifaceted and not as caricatures. The main objective of the study is to understand the narrative structure of the film highlighting stereotypes, identity crises and racial discrimination against North- Eastern women in the film. The study is qualitative in nature; Observation method has been employed to analyze This is a case study of a movie "Axone" released in 2019 on Netflix. This study's aim is to promote the more equitable and inclusive representation of such content in entertainment media. This paper also finds out how racial stereotypes are perpetuated and the consequences of such portrayals on common people. The study urges the necessity for ethical and inclusive representation in the entertainment media and to turn away from harmful and negative stereotypes towards diversity and equality.