The Recent Rise Of South Asian Representation In Media

The brown face was always that one dimensional token person of color in a cast full of white faces. South Asian children were never able to be exposed to a South Asian in media that did not fit any already preexisting stereotype. Nor did these characters exist as a character of thought, and emotions, and depth the way the focus is always on white characters. It is also important to recognize that the characters that are playing the stereotypical role are never revisited, we do not know their family’s history in owning that convenience store or the pressure for a South Asian in academics to fully understand why these stereotypes even exist. This is the importance for representation. It was hard to understand a lot of things on television, or relate because it was not the same for any of us. In my own experience, people did not know anything about me, because media did not feed them a taste of my people the way we were fed western culture. However, looking at the current representation happening in media gives hope that the future generations will be socialized with more People of Color in media. The Brown face is so foreign to majority of people, which leads to stereotypes and discrimination, because people just do not know. If Brown Folks are given more complex roles in shows or films to help the audience learn and understand the complexities, and normalities of being South Asian then our kids will not have to fight as hard as us to lift the “Other” feeling we have grown up with. Below is a compilation of the representation of Brown folks in media within the last two decades:

1. Apu from The Simpsons

From a young age, South Asian children would most likely watch The Simpsons behind their parents’ back. However, we were usually confused at scenes of Apu, because they would mimic and stereotype the typical gas station owner notion of Brown Folks. Leaving us to question, what is wrong with that? That was a lot of parents' form of income. That otherness surfaced. This was most likely referenced in school, when someone in class mockingly told us, “Thank you, come again” in our faces.

2. "Culture Shock" episode of The Proud Family

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I remember watching weekly new episode airings of The Proud Family on Disney Channel. Always eagerly because I felt the connection seeing another color almost like mine on television. A character with stricter parents like mine, something more organic than any other series at that age. However this episode was a whirlwind in understanding that I could be able to relate deeply to a character in media, that Disney Channel creators had people like me in thought when creating. In this episode Penny’s school had an assigned program where students go into another family’s home and write about their experiences. Penny meets the Zamin family and I say that the amount of hype and excitement because I was met with characters that looked like myself, my siblings, cousins, parents, and grandparents. Not only that but they were Pakistani-American and Muslim. The episode took place in Ramadan. It could not get any better than that. It also covered Islamophobia when the Zamin’s home was vandalized with spray paint saying “Go back to your country”. My heart stopped, and the otherness in the Brown kid narrative disappeared momentarily.

3. Dr. Sanjay Gupta

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We all would stop what we were doing to watch CNN segments involving Dr. Sanjay Gupta. We probably had no idea what he was saying, but seeing a brown face on television, on a channel that thousands are tuning into to see someone like us existing was mind-blowing.

4. Kevin G from Mean Girls

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We were never used to seeing skin like ours on television, or South Asian accents. If we did, they either played a role in a convenience store, IT, or medicine. Such as nerdy Raj from Big Bang Theory, or Kevin G, mathlete and rap extraordinaire in Mean Girls.

5. Kal Penn in Harold & Kumar

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This was the status quo until we all saw Harold and Kumar. We witnessed a role reverse where the power was in the hand of the characters and the immigrant characters using the stereotypes. Where they are also acknowledging the struggles of both Harold and Kumar faced as two different types of Asian-Americans in a White America. This took humor and translated to the introduction to resilience. Specifically, Kumar reclaiming the identity by having scenes such as him talking to the convenience store owner in hindi, or the stress his father puts on his education. What was even better, was seeing Kal Penn leave acting to work for the Obama Administration years later.

6. Slumdog Millionaire

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In film, Slumdog Millionaire brought light to a lot into India and it’s current state, however it’s important to recognize that it took a British male to bring that light and promoting the White-Savior complex. That film changed a lot for South Asian representation, and was a stepping stone into today’s current state of the topic. At that time, that film meant the world to a Brown kid; the songs, the location, the characters, and references. It goes back to never being able to experience something so intune with myself. Most importantly, Dev Patel was that one family friend we all had a crush on but acted indifferent at family parties.

7. M.I.A.

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The most important moment for a Brown girls who loved hip-hop was watching M.I.A at the 2008 grammys. The image of her on stage with Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, and T.I. during their “Swagga Like Us” performance at the 2008 grammy’s (fun fact she went into labor a little bit after the show). She made her way up in British hip-hop and then into American airwaves, presenting a brown face in hip-hop. Mainly thanks to her single “Paper Planes” and being apart of the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. She spoke about current political issues. When I went to her concert in San Diego in 2014 she opened the show by Skyping Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. However, all good things come to an end. It is important to remember that Hip-Hop is not for the Brown community to truly claim. Hasan Minhaj did an amazing interview months ago on why Brown kids gravitate towards Hip-Hop and how they can properly encompass the art without overstepping boundaries. Such as when M.I.A. believes “all lives matter”, or when Himanshu Suri used the n-word.

8. Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari

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The mother and father of mockumentary comedy.

9. Swet Shop Boys

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Himanshu Suri, also known as “Heems”, and Riz Ahmed. The two make up a group that is thriving in the forefront Swet Shop Boys which involves They played at Coachella this year, a place often home for Cultural Appropriation for South Asian accessories such as the Bindi. This is where the representation matters, in a space that often takes from other communities when it was meant to give and share art, and now it’s far from that. This last year, Riz Ahmed also starred in the new HBO series, The Night Of.

10. Neelam Gill

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When looking at a timeline, lot of representation for the South Asian community in media, especially fashion and television appeared since the last decade mark. Neelam Gill was Burberry’s first Indian model in 2014 while also giving South Asian representation in the Yeezy Season 2 Fashion show. The Life of Diaspora. However there are moments that received heavily racist backlash on twitter the same year that Nina Davuluri won Miss America within the same year and was the first Indian-American to be given the title.

11. Waris Ahluwalia

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Waris Ahluwalia featured in Gap brought the face of the Turban in the “Make Love” campaign to fight bigotry in 2013. However that ad was defaced with graffiti saying “Make Bombs” and “Please stop driving Taxis”. Last year, H&M made headlines by featuring Sikh men on their billboards in NYC. It is important to recognize that in the spectrum of exposure and representation, featuring a Sikh man in a turban is a big step to inclusiveness.

12. Zayn Malik

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Most importantly to discuss because obvious reasons, Zayn Malik came into picture through Britain’s Got Talent creating One Direction. A brown face, and a brown name alongside white faces was a step in the right direction. He faced a lot of discrimination in this time for being Muslim and Pakistani, and was called terrorist and things much similar to the typical post 9/11 targeting. In his first solo album he included a interlude in his native tongue, Urdu. It is so important to stress what an accomplishment that is since Zayn coming from One Direction made his way into mainstream media. The fact that something in the same language that my mother speaks to me in, is being heard by so many people and streamed on so many platforms keeps me in awe. That track was inspired by Qawwali music, and being able to resonate with this track is something I never could do before. It makes me think of long car rides with my father growing up.

13. Hasan Minhaj

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However, there is a lot more to go in representing South Asians the way White Folks are. The current strength in the brown community in Media was always in the comedies and this year the focus takes a political shift. Many are familiar with the Daily Show, with the senior correspondent being Hasan Minhaj. Minhaj made his way from political stand up to now headline the 2017 White House Correspondents Dinner. Possibly one of the most important South Asians in media today to look at. His standup tour film, Homecoming King is a must see on Netflix.

14. JusReign

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Another important aspect to look at is the rising power of the South Asian community in the arts through local come-ups. I remember my brother introducing me to YouTubers such as Jasmeet Singh or Lilli Singh, also known as JusReign or iiSuperwomanii. Both of them now headline events such as vidcon, and have thousands and thousands of followers. They are brought South Asian representation into the YouTube spectrum which was a stepping stone. However, one note to hold to accountability are the two’s use of Brown parent stereotype as a clutch for their success. Honestly speaking, hearing one mock their parents a few years down the line becomes tiresome. Yet these two Canadian pioneers also helped South Asian youth across the world be exposed to a community of rising Punjabi-Canadian artists. These are individuals who bring their culture into the respected media and shine light on things regarding their heritage or the current political climate Punjab. Back in 2010-2013 when these YouTube were rising, they featured their friends who would be rappers, filmmakers, poets, and much more. This opened the door to look into what the Punjabi-Canadian community of Toronto was cooking up, such as Rupi Kaur. Kaur is a poet who devoted energy into her poetry and rose through instagram and is now a best-seller. Although her authenticity and work recently has come into question and discussion, these individuals inspired other Brown kids across the West to take steps into bringing light onto their community.