Performing Authenticity: Participatory Representation and Power in Ethnic Themed Musicals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61978/harmonia.v3i1.1043Keywords:
Ethnic Representation, Musical Film, Authenticity, Media Industry, Participatory Inclusion, Boundary Making, Diversity in MediaAbstract
Contemporary musical films are increasingly being used as vehicles for ethnic storytelling. This study investigates how industry practices specifically casting, creative participation, cultural consultation, and marketing strategies shape the authenticity and reception of ethnic representation in four case studies: In the Heights, Coco, Encanto, and West Side Story (2021). Using a comparative content analysis approach informed by boundary making theory and representation studies, the research triangulates production documents, promotional materials, and reception data to examine how participatory inclusion influences narrative integrity.
Methodologically, the study applies a multimodal coding framework to assess how structural dynamics influence storytelling from development through distribution. It incorporates data from creative personnel profiles, marketing discourse, and community feedback, enabling a comprehensive understanding of industry driven representation.
The results reveal that films involving creators and consultants from target communities tend to offer richer, more nuanced portrayals, while those relying on symbolic inclusion or commodified authenticity risk critical backlash and community disengagement. Casting misalignments, marketing inconsistencies, and lack of structural inclusion are identified as recurring challenges.
These findings highlight the need for systemic reform in media production to promote authentic and accountable ethnic storytelling. The study contributes to scholarly debates on cultural representation and offers a replicable model for evaluating equity in media narratives.
References
Antunes, E., & Simões, R. B. (2023). Gender Blindness in Mediascape. Medijske Studije, 14(27), 44–62. https://doi.org/10.20901/ms.14.27.3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20901/ms.14.27.3
Campbell, J. L. (2022). Identifying Digital Rhetoric in the Telemedicine User Interface. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 53(2), 89–105. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816221125184 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00472816221125184
Duche, A. (2023). The Influence of the Native Quota in the Organization of Local and Regional Indigenous Political Movements. Ijah, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.61424/ijah.v1i2.19 DOI: https://doi.org/10.61424/ijah.v1i2.19
Hennekam, S., & Syed, J. (2018). Institutional Racism in the Film Industry: A Multilevel Perspective. Equality Diversity and Inclusion an International Journal, 37(6), 551–565. https://doi.org/10.1108/edi-05-2017-0108 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-05-2017-0108
Holt, K. (2018). Alternative Media and the Notion of Anti-Systemness: Towards an Analytical Framework. Media and Communication, 6(4), 49–57. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v6i4.1467 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v6i4.1467
Ismail, H., Baharun, H., Abdullah, H., & Majid, S. N. A. (2020). Power and Voices of Authority in the Media Narrative of Malaysian Natives: Combining Corpus Linguistics and Discourse Analysis Approaches. 3l the Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 26(2), 50–66. https://doi.org/10.17576/3l-2020-2602-04 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2020-2602-04
Jackson-Brown, C. (2020). Borrowing Brands to Create a Brand: The Commercial Mediation of Paralympic Athletes. Communication & Sport, 8(4–5), 507–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519896542 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479519896542
Kagan, D., Levy, M., Fire, M., & Alpert, G. F. (2022). Ethnic Representation Analysis of Commercial Movie Posters. https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2207.08169
Kox, M., Liempt, I. v., & Smits, A. (2022). Shaping a Climate of Arrival: National and Local Media Representations of Refugees’ Arrival Infrastructures in the Netherlands. Journal of Refugee Studies, 36(1), 46–64. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feac061 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feac061
Leap, B., & Heath, C. (2020). Disconnected, Not Polarized: Four Decades of the Rural-Urban Interface in Mainstream Country Music. Social Currents, 8(2), 107–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496520968205 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496520968205
Malik, S., Chapain, C., & Comunian, R. (2017). Rethinking Cultural Diversity in the UK Film Sector: Practices in Community Filmmaking. Organization, 24(3), 308–329. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508416689094 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508416689094
Manzo, K., Padfield, R., & Varkkey, H. (2019). Envisioning Tropical Environments: Representations of Peatlands in Malaysian Media. Environment and Planning E Nature and Space, 3(3), 857–884. https://doi.org/10.1177/2514848619880895 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2514848619880895
Nwonka, C. J., & Malik, S. (2018). Cultural Discourses and Practices of Institutionalised Diversity in the UK Film Sector: ‘Just Get Something Black Made.’ The Sociological Review, 66(6), 1111–1127. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026118774183 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026118774183
O’Brien, D., Allen, K., Friedman, S., & Saha, A. (2017). Producing and Consuming Inequality: A Cultural Sociology of the Cultural Industries. Cultural Sociology, 11(3), 271–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975517712465 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975517712465
Ouanhlee, T. (2024). The Influence of the Manufacturing Industry Environment, Organizational Structures, and Economic Trends on Employee Responsibilities in the Manufacturing Industry. Technology and Investment, 15(01), 39–76. https://doi.org/10.4236/ti.2024.151004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ti.2024.151004
Quadros, Ms. R. (2023). Promoting Regional Cinema in India to Preserve Cultural Heritage—A Critical Analysis on Language Revitalization Efforts. JRTDD. https://doi.org/10.53555/jrtdd.v6i8s.2844 DOI: https://doi.org/10.53555/jrtdd.v6i8s.2844
Rahim, S. M. A., Mad Khir Johari Abdullah Sani, & Shuhidan, S. M. (2024). A Conceptual Framework for Social Media Engagement in Academic Library to Advocate Participatory Service Towards Dynamic Learning Community. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 9(SI18), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v9isi18.5459 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v9iSI18.5459
Sambaraju, R. (2021). “You Are Irish—And as Irish as Me!”: Antiracism and National Identities in Ireland. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 41(1), 76–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927x211048215 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X211048215
Topaz, C. M., Higdon, J., Epps-Darling, A., Siau, E., Karkhoff, H., Mendiratta, S., & Young, E. R. (2022). Race- And Gender-Based Underrepresentation of Creative Contributors: Art, Fashion, Film, and Music. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/yd2wh DOI: https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/yd2wh
Tsai, J.-Y., Bosse, R., Sridharan, N., & Chadha, M. (2020). Reclaiming the Narratives: Situated Multidimensional Representation of Underserved Indigenous Communities Through Citizen-Driven Reporting. Journalism, 23(10), 2132–2152. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920983261 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920983261
Zibaei, E. (2021). Challenging the Lack of Representation in Mainstream Media Through the Establishment of Inclusive Digital Spaces. https://doi.org/10.32920/ryerson.14645868 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32920/ryerson.14645868.v1
