Psychology Commons^™

Seeking Mirrors: Representation And Identity At Asian Pacific Islander Film Festivals, Yang Jiang

Dissertations

Media representation plays an important role in shaping how we perceive ourselves. For ethnic and racial minorities, studies have confirmed that exposure to stereotypical and negative representations can harm the development of ethnic and racial identity. Currently, however, there is little understanding of how representation can support the development of ethnic and racial identity. Essentially, what might visibility, rather than invisibility, in media representation look like, and what is the relationship between visibility and ethnic and racial identity?

This dissertation sought to address these questions by looking at the experience of Asian Pacific Islander (API) attendees at API film festivals. …