Running head: MY NAME IS KHAN—DEREK LOUGH

Media Critique: “My Name is Khan”

Multiculturalism in a Global World

Derek Lough

University of San Francisco

Spring Semester of 2012

Running head: MY NAME IS KHAN—DEREK LOUGH

Citation:

Johar, H. Y., Khan, G. (Producers) & Johar, K. (Director). (February 11, 2010). My Name is

Khan (Motion Picture). India. Dharma Productions.

Rationale:

Despite the fact that I originally chose a different topic/media piece, I read an interesting article

about the “King of Bollywood” being detained at an airport while on his way to Yale. That

article discussed the doubly-ironic nature of one of the most widely known names and faces in

the world being detained as a terrorist-suspect—and the fact that one of his most recent roles was

that of a man who experienced exactly that. My critical consciousness about the world outside

Illinois began on September 11, 2001. I was interested to see how Muslims look back at the last

decade.

Abstract: Briefly discuss the topic of the submission.

The article recommended, “My Name is Khan” as a glance into life for Muslims in a post-9/11

America. Following an Indian Muslim born with Asperger Syndrome, we see the struggle of a

brilliant man coming to the United States with a single-minded drive and the inability to lie. The

hero embodies the advice given to him by his mother during the Bombay Riots: There is no

difference between Hindus and Muslims; there are only good people who do good deeds and bad

people who do bad deeds. As the film shows the audience how Muslims are treated in the United

States in the year after 9/11, the viewer will embrace this simplistic take on the world, laughing,

singing and crying with the characters on the screen.

Thesis Statement:

The core message behind “My Name is Khan” ties in closely with the good deeds/good people

quote above. It calls for citizens of the United States to lead them and their government towards

tolerance and acceptance of people based on nothing but the contents of their character. We as a

nation seem to be reminded every few generations of the importance of not judging others, or

living our lives in fear.

Briefly describe an argument for the thesis statement:

Rizvan Khan has no qualms falling in love with a Hindi woman, braving a hurricane in order to

help a few people who touched his life, or spend months on the road fulfilling a request from his

wife. He believes that he is a good person and will proudly tell anyone who questions that.

Briefly describe an argument against the thesis statement:

They chose the title character to have Asperger Syndrome specifically to show the contrast

between someone who is unable to hide his thoughts, his beliefs, or blend in.

MY NAME IS KHAN—DEREK LOUGH

Summary and Recommendation:

The United States of America, throughout her history, has had a long and contentious

problem with labeling some of her own citizens as others. From the Reconstruction Era to the

Civil Rights movement, African-Americans were considered others by a majority of the

population. Until 1920, women were practically property of their husbands’ without the right to

vote. The mainstream image of the youth movement in the 60s and 70s was one of counter-

culture and anti-war—and were thus considered outsiders as well. In the post-9/11 United States,

Muslims have had this other mantle thrust upon them. Even with our freedom of religion , many

in our citizenry find fear more comforting than tolerance, and those who practice Islam struggle

through violence; made out to be terrorists, all—and eschewed. The feelings that arise from

living in a nation that speaks of acceptance but only expresses Islamaphobia are those which the

Bollywood film “My Name is Khan” manifests and superstar actor Shah Rukh Khan

methodically projects into our living room screens.

Shah Rukh Kahn is certainly one of the most famous men on the planet with over one

billion fans and many more followers (Luce, 2012), but his recent trip to the United States had

nothing to do with any of his seventy films. In April 2012 Yale University presented its

prestigious Chubb Fellow Award to Khan for his leadership in humanitarian activism throughout

India and the world. He has contributed to the fight against AIDS and cancer, lent his name to

government campaigns for immunizing Polio, and built a children’s ward at the Nanavati

hospital in Mumbai (Luce, 2012). As a member of the board of directors for the Make-A-Wish

Foundation in India, the thespian has combined that experience with the wealth her earned from

his craft to adopt 24 villages outside Delhi—providing them with solar-powered electricity. His

generosity extends to his time as well, as seen from his hospital visitations to two Kashmiri

MY NAME IS KHAN—DEREK LOUGH

orphans victimized in a terrorist attack; the “King of Bollywood” took care of their medical bills

on the way out.

Despite one third of the world’s population knowing his face and name, or the fact that

one billion dollars have grossed from a mere eleven of his films—none of that prevented the

authorities at the United States Customs and Boarder Protection (USCBP) from detaining Mr.

Khan after debarking from his private jet. On his way to Yale to receive the Chubb Award, Khan

waited patiently, answering questions about his trip for over two hours before the Indian Foreign

Minister Krishna was able to convince the American authorities than Mr. Khan was not a

terrorist. American news reports and “official apologies” from the State Department contained

vainly concealed contempt and humor about an event which struck Southeast Asia in its heart

(Kumar, 2012). The mere fact that the Indian nation, after deep religious divide resulting in the

Bombay riots and other deaths for decades, can share idolatry over a Muslim actor should be a

lesson for the United States on how the government, and its people, continues to disrespect those

who submit to Islam. Despite this being the second time Mr. Khan had been detained at an

American airport, he met his Yale audience with good humor, telling them “Whenever I begin to

feel arrogant about myself, I take a trip to America!” (Luce, 2012).

Ironically, Khan’s most widely known release “My Name is Khan” opens with the title

character being searched by USCBP at the San Francisco airport because he was praying aloud

in Arabic while waiting to pass through security. This role differed greatly from many of his

previous films due to the breadth of similarities the characters and actor shared. Both grew up in

India during a tumultuous time for devout Muslims. Both fell in love with and married Hindi

women. Both are named Khan and have a tendency of being questioned by security. Unlike the

real Khan, the character Rizvan has a specific reason for being singled out in many various ways

MY NAME IS KHAN—DEREK LOUGH

throughout the movie: he was born with Asperger’s syndrome. Challenged by the inability to lie

or express emotions within the range of “normalcy”, Khan leads the difficult life as a Muslim

man in America who is unable to assimilate or hide his religion (Saltz, 2010). This love story

follows Khan through his marriage to a divorced mother, the teaching of Islam to his new son,

and the events of September 11, 2001. The anti-Islamic tragedies that fall upon Khan’s son

create a divide between his wife Mandira and himself. Pushing the story forward, it finally

explains the quest Khan had undertaken at the beginning—in his single-minded way of taking

things at face-value, Khan took up the challenge Mandira issues to him in a moment of grief: Go

tell the President of the United States your name is Khan and you are not a terrorist.

Both the character Khan and the actor behind him have shared some of the struggles that

Muslims face in the United States. If racial and religious discrimination at the airport were the

worst offenses, there wouldn’t be much to produce a film about. However “My Name is Khan”

gives voice to the unspoken injustices that occur daily in this country. From Mandira’s

employment issues to Osama bin Laden cut-outs being stuffed in a locker, director Karan Johar

takes the viewer on a heroic quest highlighting the best and the worst of post-9/11 humanity. The

title character convinces the audience to set aside the shades of gray created by accumulated

cynicism and the complexities of life in exchange for the emotionally binary view of the devout

Asperger: that there are good and bad people in this world and that good people do good deeds

while the bad commit bad deeds. If only everyone in the United States of America took this view

into consideration when it came to his or her treatment of others…

MY NAME IS KHAN—DEREK LOUGH

References

Bureau, E.T. (April 14, 2012). Shahrukh Khan’s detention: Mistakes can happen if border

officials don’t watch foreign films. Retrieved from

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-04-14/news/31342057_1_mechanical-

apology-detention-border

Jung, N. (April 17, 2012). Just the high and mightier matter. India Today. Retrieved from

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/shah-rukh-detention-case-us-high-and-mighty-

indians/1/184792.html

Johar, H. Y., Khan, G. (Producers) & Johar, K. (Director). (February 11, 2010). My Name is

Khan (Motion Picture). India. Dharma Productions.

Kumar, J. (April 17, 2012). Foreign minister slams US authorities for detaining Shah Rukh Khan

at airport. The Times of India. Retrieved from

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/21012-04-17/edit-page/31350343_1_newark-

airport-foreign-minister-shah-rukh-khan

Luce, J. (April 14, 2012). Yale Honors Incredible Indian Actor-Activist Shah Rukh Khan. The

Huffington Post. Retrieved from www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-luce/yale-honors-

incredible-in_b_1422960.html

Saltz, R. (February 12, 2010). A Hero Begins His Quest, and Then the Trouble Starts. The New

York Times. Retrieved from http://movies.nytimes/2010/02/13/movies/13name.html