SOUTH ASIANS ON TELEVESION

I was watching Community today, (great show btw - all of you should go watch it) and viewing Abed made me think about how negatively South Asians are represented in the media. Although Abed is Middle Eastern in the show, it seems as if the Middle Eastern and South Asian community is horribly misrepresented. Here are some of the flaws present in American Television.

 
Name: Apu aka voiced by Hank Azaria
Show: The Simpsons
Character Rant: I have only watched a handful of episodes, but even through those few episodes it is evident that Apu is the worst representation of a South Asian out there. They turned that stereotype dial all the way up when they thought of this character. Not only does he talk with a heavy accent, he works at a convenient store, has like 6 kids, and has made the phrase "thank you come again" hell for South Asians. To top it all off he isn't even voiced by someone who is South Asian. wtf?!


Name: Ravi Ross aka Karan Brar
Show: Jessie
Character Rant: I've watched this show with my younger cousins and was excited that they had a South Asian character on the Disney Channel. Growing up, there was no one who looked like me on TV. However, that enthusiasm went away as soon as I heard him speak. The "typical" South Asian accent was heard loud and clear. I Googled him and learned that he was born and brought up in America. In fact, for his first role a dialect coach was hired to help "perfect" his Indian accent. Again, wtf?! The kid doesn't have an Indian accent because he's American. As much American as all those viewers you are trying to please. Why isn't it enough for it to be written into the script that he's of South Asian decent. Why is the accent needed to prove to the audience that he's Indian. Makes me mad.

Name: Ranjit Singh aka Marshall Manesh
Show: How I Met Your Mother
Character Rant: I'm always confused when he comes on the show because I'm pretty sure he is meant to be South Asian, but is constantly yelling in Farsi. India may have been conquered by the Perisans way back when, but there aren't too many South Asians who speak Farsi nowadays. It's sad that the show thinks this can be passed off as okay because they assume the American audience won't be able to tell the difference. Also, not so surprisingly, the character is a taxi driver on the show. But don't worry the show isn't racist because he moves his way on up to being a limo driver. Ugh, please.

Name: Rajesh Koothrappali aka Kunal Nayyer
Show: The Big Bang Theory
Character Rant: Yes Raj does talk with an accent, but I can't be mad at the show for that because Kunal does actually speak with a slight accent -being that he was raised in India. However, I can blame the show for constantly labeling him as "the foreigner." Everyone in America is a foreigner, that's what makes the country so great. We're meant to be a melting pot, so why does this label never disappear from his character traits? In fact, this character is constantly speaking about how much he hates it back home in India. He has made America his home, so why can't viewers accept him.

Name: Kelly Kapoor aka Mindy Kaling
Show: The Office
Character Rant: I know she has a new show now, the Mindy Project, but I haven't watched it. I only know her from The Office. She is the only South Asian character I applaud in the media. Yes, it is evident that she is Indian, several mentions are made towards her ethnicity in the show and they do it without giving her the typical stereotypes. Yes, she was portrayed as being little bit crazy on the show, but almost everyone on the show had some character flaw. Also, it is worth mentioning that The Mindy Project makes her the first South Asian to be the headliner of her own network television show. So, way to go Mindy Kaling!!

I have nothing against any of these actors, or the roles that they play, they are all tremendously talented I'm just saying that South Asians are not ALL accented taxi drivers or convenient shop owners. It's 2014, if you're going to complain about how South Asians are taking over your
jobs, how about you show some of them portraying those jobs on tv. Yes, our parents may have came here from the Motherland but that was years ago. Their offspring are way passed the assimilation phase. We came, we saw, we conquered! There are plenty of well educated doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers, etc. out in America today. Yet, that side of the South Asian Community is never portrayed by a character on screen.