By examining entertainment, journalism, and political communication, Reddi explores how representation influences identity and a sense of belonging.
Growing up in Charlottesville, Virginia, Madhavi Reddi remembers the way Indian Americans were represented in movies and television shows.
Reddi, an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Communication, recalls characters like Apu on the animated sitcom The Simpsons, who represented “first-generation depictions” that often reflected offensive cultural stereotypes. Later, conducting research for her doctoral dissertation at the University of North Carolina, she began examining how that has changed for the next generation of Indian Americans like herself, born or predominantly raised in the United States to parents who immigrated as adults.
“How does the performance of identity shift when articulated through a second-generation lens?” she asked. “Looking at identity being articulated through a second gen lens is unique because second gen South Asian Americans are the ones now telling their stories on screen. Apu was predominantly written by white writers and voiced by a white voice actor.”
Spotlight Recipient
Madhavi Reddi
Assistant professor