“Their films have been increasing in popularity throughout the US. Not only are video rentals from ethnic stores growing in numbers; occasional showings in second-rate—and often derelict—theatres are also decreasing (Brosius 2005; Dudrah 2007)” (Matusitz and Payano; 72).
"Winning eight Academy Awards and grossing more than $100 million in revenue, Slumdog Millionaire is being acknowledged as bridging the cultural gap between key elements of Indian pop culture (for example, poverty, survival, love and triumph) and the inclusion of Western elements” (Matusitz and Payano; 72).
“This re-imagining process has a specific resonance for US audiences which are, like any audience, members of an ‘imagined community’ (Anderson 1991). Through shared cultural practices and media, they establish a new fan base of a movie genre (Kao and Do Rozario 2008)” (Matusitz and Payano; 72).
MY ANALYSIS
In regards to the last quote above... Imagined communities is they key term here that exemplifies how this consumption of the Bollywood contra-flow has decreased the amount of xenophobia felt about Indian people and Indian culture by Westerners. An imagined community is the belief that a nation is a community socially constructed, imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of a group. Perceiving another group of people, from another country and of a different race is a perfect way to exemplify this decrease in xenophobia. One would not consider someone they did not like or did not relate to to be a part of the same “group” as them. Bollywood and their successful films such as Slumdog Milionaire are proof that contra-flows are able to erase xenophobic thoughts about different cultures and people, while dominant media flows fail to do so.
