Thursday, February 11, 2016

"Hymn for the Weekend" -- Stereotyping India?

Recently, Beyoncé and Coldplay released their music video for their new song, "Hymn for the Weekend." The video depicts the artists in India, singing around colorful and busy streets, decked out in extravagant Indian jewels and dress. After the video came out, there was controversy with how Beyoncé and Coldplay depicted India. In an interview with CNN, Mihir Joshi, an Indian Musician, claimed that the music video played into classic Indian stereotypes. He explained that they showed clichés of what India used to look like, but not what it has developed into. On the other hand, Sonam Kapoor, an Indian actress, argued that even though not all of India looks like that nowadays, some of it does. So, the music video isn't stereotyping India, it's just showing one part. This reverts back to the idea that in media, producers can choose what their audience does and does not see. In this music video, that part of India is all the viewers are seeing. In reality, that is a part of India, but there are many more parts that differ.


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