Culture
Dear Hollywood, We’re Tired Of The Stereotypes
For years, I scoured a multitude of TV shows and movies, searching for a character that represented me, that I could relate with. I found none. It is time for that to change.
Kiara Fernando | August 1, 2021
credit: Vox
Western media, without a doubt, has a massive impact on growing generations as it influences social norms and expectations; however, where does that leave South Asian minorities who have little accurate representation on the big screen? While one can find many stereotypical side characters, there are very few protagonists of South Asian ethnicity. In a world where the youth are majorly shaped by what they see in the media, this is proving to be detrimental.
Major television companies and producers such as Disney have included South Asian characters and roles, however, it has not had the predicted positive impact. Many of the characters played by South Asian actors are side characters, such as Ravi from Jessie or Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb. While their characters are comedic and enjoyable to watch, they follow strict stereotypes: smart, nerdy, unpopular. Almost all “token brown characters” follow these stereotypes on major TV shows and movies. Representation is a wonderful and valuable thing, but this type of representation enforces demeaning stereotypes, inaccurately painting the South Asian community in a faulty light while directly influencing developing youth.
While comedic side characters are needed and add value to a show, comedy should not be at the expense of minorities. It’s not about getting rid of roles such as Ravi and Baljeet, but instead having a variety of roles played by South Asians. Showing the diversity of the South Asian community, diverting from the common stereotype, and portraying them in the media as deep and complex characters is an important change that needs to be made. South Asians are more than just nerdy, smart, and unpopular. We are a whole race of different individuals, and that deserves to be represented accurately in the media.
Recently Netflix released a show called Never Have I Ever, following the protagonist, a South Asian American girl, as she navigated high school. This series beautifully showed many aspects of brown culture as well as normalizes South Asian traditions. It was affirming to see South Asian representation. It is a step in the right direction; however, there are still many steps to go. Devi, the main character on this show, still falls in line with the expected South Asian stereotype. There is nothing wrong with portraying brown characters as smart, nerdy, unpopular, and close to their culture, but there is something extremely wrong when the only characters played by brown actors are smart, nerdy, and unpopular. It is rare to see a side character or main character of South Asian descent break away from these stereotypes. Never Have I Ever portrays Indian culture as well as the experiences of a South Asian American suitably, yet increasing the diversity in the types of roles and characters South Asians play would help the lack of variety in South Asian representation.
Another major fault in western media is the lack of romanticising and glamorizing South Asian culture. Children have grown up watching the gorgeous palaces and landscape of the Middle East in Aladdin, seen traditions and culture of the Pacific Islanders in Moana, and even East Asian norms in Mulan, however we still have yet to see a purely South Asian princess. Little boys and girls of South Asian descent deserve to see themselves portrayed in a beautiful positive light. The lack of South Asian representation in roles such as Disney princesses has a negative impact on South Asian children.
