British Asian cinema has its roots in the Black politics of the 1960s and '70s when a new wave of politically active filmmakers began to use film to challenge racism and create greater awareness of issues facing their communities, such as poverty and social exclusion. While the term 'British-Asian' does amount to a generalisation since neither do all British-Asian filmmakers make Asian-themed films, nor are all British-Asian filmmakers 'Asian', it is nonetheless possible to identify a notion of British Asian film. Director Gurinder Chadha has noted that attitudes towards these films have changed significantly since the release of her first film, Bhaji on the Beach (1994), and her third, Bend it Like Beckham (2002): "People are much more aware of difference, what was once foreign is now familiar". This course explores British Asian films, focussing on sequence analysis, social contexts and stereotypes.

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This Written English course forms one half of the compulsory module ang311: Integrated Language Skills. The module is assessed via a portfolio and the assessment requirements here are a take-home essay and a 90 minute written language test. The grade will be added to the result from Spoken English. Homework assignments as required by the lecturer will count towards active participation.