A blog by Rutgers University senior Rashmee Kumar for the Daily Targum takes a critical look at what the TV show The Mindy Project is saying about South Asian Americans in a multi-cultural society.
While applauding Kaling for bringing visibility to South Asian Americans, she finds “pretty problematic” the show’s commentary on sexual and race relations.
A recent blog in Al Jazeera talked about Dr. Mindy Lahiri’s preference for dating white men on the show.
Kumar takes it one step further, not only analyzing Lahiri’s dating preferences, but her social circles both inside and outside of work.
“Mindy is a doctor who works for a white practice, and all of her friends are white. The character does not present any identifiable racial or cultural markers other than her skin color. In fact, there are many instances where she blatantly distances herself from any conception of “Indianness.” This reflects the assimilationist rhetoric that South Asian American communities are steeped in — that in order to “fit in” and “become successful,” one must abandon their cultural roots and blend into whiteness, ” Kumar writes.
She also lays out the stereotype of South Asian American men which is quite similar to the image of East Asian American men–one that is “nerdy, asexual and generally undesirable.”
Read Kumar’s blog in the Daily Targum and let us know what you think.
