The streaming successes of “Indian Matchmaking,” “Wedding Season” and “Never Have I Ever” is thrilling. But can we talk about the tropes used to depict Indian American men?
Aug 19, 2022·edited Aug 19, 2022Liked by Vignesh Ramachandran
Interesting POV! I enjoyed reading this article. While well-rounded characters are always the most interesting, stereotypes are fun to play with, no? There is a grain of truth to the mama's boy stereotype in Indian culture because boys have been revered for centuries. Times have changed (thank goodness!) but not so long ago, the birth of a son was a mother's salvation (this is probably still the case in many parts of the world). Des breaking up with Devi served the story. Maybe he didn't have to say that he didn't like her enough to go against his mother (this could've been implied, instead) but given what his mom, Rhyah, is like (controlling, a bit of a snob, holier-than-thou - remember when she says, 'I prefer to exist in the wellness space'?), this did not come as a surprise.
You hit the nail on the head, Vignesh: as more and more works (TV shows, films, books, etc.) hit audiences, there will be opportunities for an explosion of myriad characters. We've come a long way (baby) from the nerdy Mama's boy. Funnily enough, the fact that there are three stereotypes instead of one is actually progress. This'll give way to eight and then 16. (Hey, that's the max number of personality types, as Carl Jung pointed out, much to the dismay of so many of my Angeleno brethren who wanna believe they're unique beings — they aren't.)
The penultimate win will happen when Desi characters are merely people who happen to be Desi.
And the ultimate win will occur when we flip channels past a Desi character, b/c there are so many that we don't feel guilty for not tuning in.
Interesting POV! I enjoyed reading this article. While well-rounded characters are always the most interesting, stereotypes are fun to play with, no? There is a grain of truth to the mama's boy stereotype in Indian culture because boys have been revered for centuries. Times have changed (thank goodness!) but not so long ago, the birth of a son was a mother's salvation (this is probably still the case in many parts of the world). Des breaking up with Devi served the story. Maybe he didn't have to say that he didn't like her enough to go against his mother (this could've been implied, instead) but given what his mom, Rhyah, is like (controlling, a bit of a snob, holier-than-thou - remember when she says, 'I prefer to exist in the wellness space'?), this did not come as a surprise.
Really good piece.
You hit the nail on the head, Vignesh: as more and more works (TV shows, films, books, etc.) hit audiences, there will be opportunities for an explosion of myriad characters. We've come a long way (baby) from the nerdy Mama's boy. Funnily enough, the fact that there are three stereotypes instead of one is actually progress. This'll give way to eight and then 16. (Hey, that's the max number of personality types, as Carl Jung pointed out, much to the dismay of so many of my Angeleno brethren who wanna believe they're unique beings — they aren't.)
The penultimate win will happen when Desi characters are merely people who happen to be Desi.
And the ultimate win will occur when we flip channels past a Desi character, b/c there are so many that we don't feel guilty for not tuning in.
Keep the thoughtful articles coming!