Sam Soleta
Blog 6
ASA 02 03
October 25th, 2015
Puar and Rai’s article teaches the reader of the “production of docile patriots” due to the War on Terror and societal discourse. For example, the language utilized by the mainstream media is at the heart of the new ideology surrounding people of South Asian and Middle Eastern heritage in America. Puar and Rai bring up an interesting point because it is completely apparent on networks like Fox News and CNN. Since the beginning of the War on Terror, the language used to describe terrorists such as “monster” and “goon” work to dehumanize the terrorists. To disregard any sort of moral compass, it ensures the public that it’s okay to generalize all similar people as “bad.”
Furthermore, many parts of mainstream media depict these groups in sexually perverse ways. By poking fun at the culture and ideals of such groups, the media promotes a subliminal “heteronormative patriotism” in American culture. It’s an ideological attack on the group as a whole which meanwhile suggests a monstrous connotation with any acts of sexual nature. In Puar and Rai's words, these effects promote "middle-class domesticity, heteronormativity, and the banal pluralism of docile patriotism." Therefore, we must move away from these ideological shifts that put down various communities through the dehumanization of terrorist groups.
Question: Is it necessary to reconfigure our discussion of American enemies to better fit a story, or is it enough to let their actions and crimes speak for themselves?
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