The 9/11 attack heavily shaped the way people viewed the Muslim population in the western world. While movies portray instances of discrimination in the US post 9/11, many of them miss out on one crucial stakeholder-the children of the immigrants. My Name is Khan is a Bollywood movie starring Shahrukh Khan (a Muslim from India) and Kajol (an Indian Hindu with US citizenship). The central conflict in the film came after Sam, khan's son, was killed because he was a Muslim. It is about the long journey that khan took to meet the US president and tell him that Muslims are not terrorists and can never be treated as enemies or rivals.
The movie shows how schools became an unsafe space for immigrant children as Sam was kicked to death by his fellow white classmates just for being the child of a Muslim immigrant. The movie shows how the action was delayed, and the legal process was fairly taxing for Kajol. The main idea that this movie excellently puts forward is about the threat children face in school post 9/11 because systemic discrimination against them lets the perpetrators get away with abuse.
There is no doubt that even before 9/11, immigrant children faced discrimination in schools either by their peers or teachers; however, Post 9/11, it's almost like the people in the west got a free pass to discriminate and use 9/11 as an incident to get away with their hate. Shahrukh Khan says one of the most famous dialogues, "My name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist," to seek justice for his son's murder, and it depicts the story of millions of children who face discrimination and abuse daily in western schools just because of their religious and ethnic identity. My Name is Khan is an excellent example of how schools have become unsafe for immigrant children in the post 9/11 era.
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Thank you for this post! I have not seen this film, but after reading your post, my mind instantly went to the lessons we learnt in class with regards to refugee education. In the most fundamental sense, refugees are immigrants. The challenges that Afghan refugees have faced in Pakistan, for instance, are immeasurable. Refugee schools in areas of KPK are poorly equipped for teaching and teacher training is non-existent. This is made worse by the systematic discrimination they face at the hands of locals who have been indoctrinated to believe that Afghans are evil people. It is definitely a sad state of affairs. Here's to hoping for a more just world for immigrant children.
I love this movie, and I can't get the scene of Sam's murder out of my head, ever. I think it's also important to note the role that media plays in minorities and immigrants facing discrimination. Once incidents like this happen, the media is what actually creates certain sentiments and beliefs, often perpetuating them through the usage of various words (where we all knows Muslims are associated with terrorists, whereas a white shooter may just be defined as a disturbed individual first, then a shooter). Post 9/11, it was the media that made sure they had it out for Muslims, and that everyone was on board. And it just sucks that they aren't held responsible. I wonder if media conglomerates…
This movie has always been one of my favourites since it was released despite being so heartbreaking and emotional. I remember watching it as a teenager and not being able to understand the different aspects of conflict covered in the movie but growing up, it somehow became the perfect portrayal of how immigrant students suffer in schools and how sometimes they are bullied to an extent that leads to irreversible loss.