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Immigration and Diaspora

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Abstract

This chapter looks at films by and about immigrants, members of diasporas, refugees and asylum seekers. The chapter considers whether some representations of diasporas can potentially reinforce negative stereotypes and discusses some films about Afro-Caribbean diasporas in the UK as examples such as Saul Dibb’s 2005 Bullet Boy. As a contrast are representations in the UK of South Asian groups, which have tended to be much more positive and the films included in this section include Gurinder Chada’s 2002 comedy/drama Bend it Like Beckham. The chapter also features films about asylum seekers and refugees, from the quirky and warm-hearted Le Harve (Aki Kaurismäki, 2011) to the much grimmer Welcome (2009) by Philippe Lioret. There is a discussion of the dearth of films that represent Eastern European and Chinese diasporas, and the chapter concludes with an examination of Palestinian film.

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Attfield, S. (2020). Immigration and Diaspora. In: Class on Screen. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45901-7_4

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