"In the globalizing world, we are being compelled to confront questions of multiculturalism: What happens when 'other cultures' are encountered in everyday media? How do we teach diversity? Can pedagogies of a globalizing culture be ethical in representing the difference of others? Sanjay Sharma interrogates the hegemony of multiculturalism that too easily celebrates the diversity of 'others', while foreclosing the power of whiteness in shaping everyday life. Through an innovative analysis of popular North American, European and South Asian diasporic cinemas, ranging from The Matrix to Bend it Like Beckham, Multicultural Encounters examines the im/possibility of engaging the 'other' outside of its domination. Informed by contemporary social theory as well as an acute grasp of popular culture, this book aims to offer a radical cultural and media studies practice by weaving together questions of representation, otherness and the ethical."--Jacket.