Analysing Racial Identity and Discrimination in Akhtar's Disgraced: A Postmodern Study

Abstract

This study examines Disgraced (2012) by Ayad Akhtar with a focus on how racial identities are constructed and give rise to discrimination in postmodern society. The thesis deconstructs these constructed racial identities using the conceptual framework of Baudrillard’s simulacra (1994), and Lyotard’s notion of metanarratives (1979). The researcher examines Disgraced (2012) critique of post-9/11 American society, where boundaries are simultaneously blurred and reinforced by race, culture, and religion. Akhtar delineates the character’s sense of exaggerated individuality to disparage societal stereotypes, portraying them as simulacra representations that embody and exaggerate societal stereotypes. In doing so, he reflects the fragmented and hyperreal nature of modern identity. Akhtar posits that the character’s identities are shaped not by authenticity but by societal expectations, media depictions, and historical narratives. By employing Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra, this analysis explores how Disgraced (2012) exposes the artificiality of racial and cultural categories. The protagonist’s internal conflict with his Muslim heritage and American identity is analyzed as simulacra, a constructed identity that reflects the fragmented and hyperreal nature of modern identity. The play challenges the notion of a fixed, essential self, revealing how these simulated identities sustain discrimination, ultimately fostering alienation and self-loathing. Concurrently, this research employs Lyotard’s metanarrative technique to explore how Disgraced (2012) exposes artificiality of racial and cultural categories. This research argues that Disgraced (2012) not only highlights the postmodern crisis of identity but also critiques the societal mechanisms that construct and deconstruct identity in a hyperreal world. By engaging with Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra and Lyotard's critique of metanarratives, this study augments the discourse on racial dynamics in contemporary American literature, offering insights into the complex processes of identity formation in a globalized, media-driven society.

Keywords: Simulacra, Discrimination, Postmodernism, Cultural Politics, Post-9/11 Literature, Identity Disorder