Quantico: Film Analysis

As members of the audience, we are constantly bombarded by messages from the media. Once we receive these messages, we then interpret the messages and give them meaning. Sociologists refer to this process as the social construction of reality (Croteau, Hoynes, & Milan, 2012, p. 8). The media plays an important role in what messages we receive, and this can alter the meanings we develop in order to construct our reality. One form of media that has a major part in this process are television programs. Television programs relay many messages to the audience, and an important aspect of these messages is how the program portrays race and ethnicity. The depictions of race and ethnicity in television shows has an effect on how we interpret these

Like Grey’s Anatomy, Quantico offers a diverse cast that also includes other underrepresented races such as a Middle Eastern and an Asian Indian character. The show is also the first of its kind, because it is the first American television drama to star an Indian actress as the lead (Bhagwati, 2015). This is an important aspect of the show because, “Asians often are used as "background color"—assigned to such minor roles as waiters, cooks, servants, laundry workers, peasants, or gardeners” (Mok, 1998, p. 186). Quantico, however, has an Asian actress as the lead role, and she is depicted as hardworking, tough, and determined. Additionally, Quantico uses its unique cast to challenge stereotypes regarding race and ethnicity. For example, the show jumps back and forth from the past, during the FBI training, to the present, when the training is complete. During the present, a bomb was set off at Grand Central Station, and the suspect is the lead character Alex Parrish, played by Priyanka Chopra. Although the suspected terrorist is still a foreigner, the show challenges the stereotype of the Middle Eastern or Arab as the terrorist. The show features Middle Eastern twins, Nimah and Raina Amin; however, Quantico does not depict them as terrorist suspects. Gerhauser states, “In the United States, mass media seems to feature Arab-American and Muslims consistently in a negative light. The portrayal of these negative images takes place by constructing an image of Islam in conjunction with terrorism, violence, extremism and hatred toward America” (Gerhauser, 2014, p. 7). Because of the tragedy of 9/11, this stereotype of Middle Easterners being affiliated with terrorism and violence has been spread with the help of mass media. Quantico breaks this notion by casting a Middle Eastern actress and not depicting her as the suspect of a terrorist act. Quantico