My Name Is Khan - Representation of Disability

My Name Is Khan

My Name Is Khan was released in February 2010, and is about a muslim named Rizwan Khan, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome. After the death of his mother he moves from India to San Fransisco to work for his brother. Whilst working, he meets a Hindu woman (Mandira) and her son (Sameer) from a previous marriage, and eventually marries her. However, their perfect life is disturbed by the events of 9/11, and the prejudice against Muslims as a result. As a result, Sameer is the victim of a racially motivated assault, which leads to his death. Mandira blames Rizwan for his death, stating that Sameer only died because of his Muslim second name of Khan. In her grief, she sarcastically tells him to tell the people of America and the President that his name is Khan and he is not a terrorist.

He takes the request seriously, not attempting to contact her until he fulfills his mission. He attempts to meet President Bush, but his shouts of "My name is Khan, and i'm not a terrorist" creates a panic in the crowd and leads to his arrest.

Mandira rediscovers her love for Rizwan, and joins him in Georgia. With Mandira's help and nationwide interest, he meets President-in-elect Barack Obama who tells him: "You are Khan, and you are not a terrorist."

Disability is portrayed throughout the film to help and hinder Rizwan in different scenarios. Because of his disability, he is immune to understanding jokes and sarcasm, and also does not fully understand peopl's emotions. This appears to help at sad points in his life, such as the death of his mother and Sameer. He also learned very quickly as a child to repair things, and is extremely intelligent.

However, his disability can also hinder him. An example of this is at the start of the film, where the viewer doesn't know he is disabled. The viewer sees him staggering through the airport with a large rucksack and talking to himself, and makes assumptions about the character.

His disability can be used by the directors to manipulate the reader, through different techniqes such as sound and camera shots and angles. A primary example of this is sound, when Rizwan sees something he doesn't like due to his disability e.g. the colour yellow, or hears loud noises, the noises and sights are amplified to attempt to convey the feelings that Rizwan is experiencing to the viewer. High angle shots are often used in situations where is a weaker character, such as when being interrogated by the police.