The document provides a media critique and analysis of the 2010 Bollywood film "My Name is Khan". It discusses the film's portrayal of the struggles of Muslims in post-9/11 America. The film follows an Indian Muslim man with Asperger's Syndrome who embarks on a quest to tell the President "my name is Khan and I am not a terrorist". The author argues the film gives voice to the discrimination and injustice many Muslims face daily in America.

1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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…

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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