Diversity casting alone cannot fix racist representation while stereotypes persist

Evidence

Inserting a patriotic Arab or Muslim American or fictionalizing Middle Eastern countries are ineffectual devices if Arabs, Muslims, Arab Americans, and Muslim Americans continue to be portrayed through the narrow lens of “good” or “bad” in the fight against terrorism. Casting actors of color to give the impression of a postracial society propagates the comforting notion of an enlightened society that has resolved all its racial problems. The various strategies used in the first decade of the War on Terror are akin to a Band-Aid over a still-festering wound. They give the impression of comfort, perhaps even of cure, but the fundamental problem remains. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 162

Categorization

• SEED: Angle for an essay on how diversity theater and casting-for-postracial-impression functions as a Band-Aid over structural racism — relevant to any corporate diversity initiative.
• XREF: Connects to arguments about performative diversity and postracial ideology (e.g. work on colorblind ideology, and the reader’s interest in representation/media effects).