Jonah Weiner
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Wes Anderson has been criticized by journalist Jonah Weiner for unnecessarily shallow portrayals of race. According to Wiener, in his films to date Anderson has adhered to quirky and unique examinations of white, mostly upper-class protagonists and their worlds, a formula with which he has had his greatest successes in conveying human foibles and weaknesses. However, Weiner also notes that the director's fantasias in the world of odd, privileged white characters have come at the perceived expense of depth and realism in his portrayals of the nonwhite characters and cultures that he includes in his films. His short editorial appeared in the online magazine Slate discussing this point during the run-up to Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, a film in which the familiar Andersonian protagonists are surrounded by the director's particular iteration of India and its culture.
Reihan, filling in for Ross Douthat of the Atlantic.com takes a differing view, stating: "As a part-time ethnic militant, let me just say that the anti-Anderson animus is nutso."