Building narratives: the representation of pashtun in the movies The Kite Runner (2007), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and Lone Survivor (2013), and the book, The Pathan (1947), by Khan Abdul Ghani Khan

Abstract

Este estudo procura investigar a representação dos pashtuns em The Pathan, de Khan Abdul Ghani Khan (1947), e em três filmes de Hollywood, The Kite Runner (2007), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) e Lone Survivor (2013). The Pathan, de Khan Abdul Ghani Khan, é um projeto histórico e cultural que apresenta a comunidade pashtun em uma abordagem narrativa. Khan Abdul Ghani Khan tenta trazer o personagem pashtun e seu estilo de vida, apresentando suas próprias histórias e as histórias de outros pashtuns para mostrar uma imagem justa da comunidade pashtun para o mundo. Pashtun é uma das comunidades marginalizadas com base no Afeganistão e em algumas partes do Paquistão, frequentemente deturpada pela mídia. Esta pesquisa busca investigar a representação dos pashtuns nos três filmes de Hollywood selecionados aplicando as teorias sobre representação cultural e estereótipos de Stuart Hall (1997) e Ella Shohat (2014). O objetivo deste estudo é desdobrar a contínua deturpação da comunidade pashtun pelos escritores não nativos e pela mídia ocidental.

Abstract: This study attempts to investigate the representation and misrepresentation of the Pashtun in The Pathan by the Khan Abdul Ghani Khan (1947) and in three Hollywood movies The Kite Runner (2007), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and Lone Survivor (2013). The Pathan by Khan Abdul Ghani Khan is a historical and cultural project, which presents the Pashtun community in a narrative approach. Khan Abdul Ghani Khan tries to bring the Pashtun character and their lifestyle by putting forward his own stories and the stories of other Pashtuns to show a fair image of the Pashtun community to the world. Pashtun is one of the marginalized communities based in Afghanistan and some parts of Pakistan, frequently misrepresented by the media. This research seeks to investigate the depiction of the Pashtun in the three selected Hollywood movies by applying the critical works on cultural representation and stereotyping by Stuart Hall (1997) and Ella Shohat (2014). The objective of this study is to unfold the continuous misrepresentation of the Pashtun community by the non-native writers and Western media.