Rebecca Kumar

“Brown Looks” examines how Brown filmmakers of the past decade have shaped their own representation within American televisual culture. A still emerging racial category, Brown has gained traction in recent years owing to panic over border securitization and anxiety about national identity. Against mainstream media which overrepresents “the browning of America” in contradictory terms – either as a national threat or a sign of multicultural progress – this project studies how Brown independent films, serials, and comedy sketch shows reverse the camera, offering a gaze that deconstructs this neoliberal dualism.