ConstructingSouth Asia:A Qualitative Study of Post-Cold War Hollywood

Abstract

The study employs narrative, contextual, and semiotic analysis techniques of qualitative research method to examine the construction of South Asia in Post–Cold War Hollywood cinema. Relying on the theories of Orientalism and media constructionism, the research explores how Hollywood produces and circulates dominant representations of South Asian identities, cultures, and geopolitical realities. Through a purposive non-probability sampling technique, three such films were selected that depict South Asia or South Asian characters as central to the storyline. The findings reveal that South Asia is consistently portrayed through exoticism, political instability, religious extremism, and cultural backwardness. These representations support colonial binaries and legitimize Western ideological and geopolitical control. The study concludes that while present-day cinema embraces greater diversity and outreach than ever, it continues to replicate Orientalist tropes and geopolitical hierarchies.