Commodifying the Oriental Other. Liberal American media and reproduction of racism

Abstract

The purpose of this article is the critical analysis of particular elements of the plot of The Good Wife, a legal and political CBS drama, conducted to present the way American media act as the orientalists and create the Orient when constructing the characters in popular TV series. The deconstruction of the threads related to one of supporting characters – Kalinda Sharma – allows to expose ethnic and gender stereotypes of the image of Oriental women, within the trend of postcolonial criticism and Edward Said’s theory. Interestingly, the series was signed by the liberal CBS station which has been trying to sustain the image of racism – free network since 2010 when they were criticized for underrepresentation of ethnic minorities, and promised to correct their policy. Instead, the network’s flagship series seems to have constructed the Oriental Other to fulfil the expectations and needs of the dominant, i.e. white culture.