Brown Representation on Television: The Characters You Know vs The Characters You Should Know
Representation on screens is so important for the youth of our culture. It truly influences how people see themselves from a young age. In America, representation has improved bounds and leaps in some ways, while in others, have taken several steps back.
Please note: Brown to us encompasses the South Asian and Middle Eastern diaspora.
CHARACTERS YOU KNOW
Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project (Hulu)
Mindy Kaling is a gem amongst millennials. From her first breakout role as Kelly Kapoor in The Office to producing Never Have I Ever, she has given us a ton of much needed representation. However, the qualms that some people have with her should be recognized as they are fairly valid: her stories and narratives are always quite white-centric. Her character of Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project goes through dating quite a few generic white men in New York City, which happens to be one of the most diverse cities in the world. Dating preferences aside, there’s even a lack of diversity in the workplace, with Shauna being the only other employee of color. Once again, it’s hard to believe that a medical practice of any kind would be white-dominated in New York City. Mindy is also painted to be selfish, ditzy and boy crazy even though she is an accomplished OBGYN. Of course, characters who are meant to portray real people should have flaws, but sometimes her “quirky” flaws just make me eye-roll one too many times.
Devi from Never Have I Ever (Netlfix)
Devi seemed to be someone most of us were excited for and don’t get me wrong, I still am! But the issues I had with Mindy Lahiri are similar to the ones I have with Devi, which makes sense as Mindy Kaling is the executive producer of the show. Devi comes across as quite selfish and boy crazy, even for someone her age. This is exemplified by her poor choices that hurt her friends, who are not afraid to stand up to Devi and let her know they do not condone her actions. Devi definitely has trauma from losing her father but between not listening to her therapist, pushing her mother’s boundaries and basically pulling all of her friends into her schemes all the time, it is hard to give her the benefit of the doubt - especially when she has very little regard for others. However, she is a breath of fresh air amongst the saturated white-centric teen dramas and it is finally nice to see on tv, the universal problems that most young South Asian girls face.
Dev from Masters of None (Netflix)
The issue I have with Dev is that he is supposed to be written as a hero, but has the exact same flaws as most South Asian guys in real life do. The biggest flaw being a lack of self-awareness. When we are introduced to Dev, he automatically paints himself as a victim, unlucky in love in the big, bad city of New York. However, we quickly see his true character throughout the seasons, as he sleeps with a married woman, breaks up with a woman because he gets bored and then sleeps with another taken woman, engaged this time. After these experiences, it leaves us feeling Dev has not learned much from them. He continues to pursue dating, looking for a “deep connection” but never really putting in the effort to get to know the women - but always making sure to hook up with them. The redeeming qualities of Dev and this show are his parents - the next best thing to seeing yourself on TV is seeing your parents.
Cece Parekh from New Girl (Netflix)
Cece Parekh’s character brought some of the best storylines of the struggle of an interracial relationship on TV in a comedic but very, very real way. Her relationship with Schmidt reflect parts of my own personal relationship with my boyfriend and so I definitely have a soft spot for her. Cece is an ideal but almost unrealistic type of representation? She is the bona fide hot friend, validated one step further by being a professional model and that is as rare a trope for any kind of brown girl to get. She definitely was a bad friend at times, but it was awesome to see her sexcapades with a conventionally attractive white guy, having an upper hand over that said guy and also navigating interracial love with him. The Schmidt and Nick Bollywood dance for Cece’s mother before the wedding is something that made my heart so full for many days. Even made my boyfriend watch that scene to drop a very strong hint.
Raj from Big Bang Theory (Hulu)
Raj from Big Bang Theory is stereotyping Indians at its finest. One of the worst traits he was given is his inability to speak to women when sober. First of all, yikes. Second of all, the notion that an extremely smart Indian man can’t be attractive or desirable is extremely offensive. The fact that this is how a room full of writers in Hollywood thought a typical Indian man should be portrayed this way is a real letdown. I would be surprised to hear if anyone first saw the character on TV and thought he was great for representation. Raj is a perfect example of all representation is not necessarily good representation.
CHARACTERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Ramy from Ramy (Hulu)
Ramy is a deeply-flawed Muslim guy from New Jersey. However, because of those very flaws, he is a very real and authentic representation of how in our journey to find religion or culture, we can stray from the very morals and beliefs we are aiming to have. Ramy is portrayed as being the favorite over his sister , aimless but still self-righteous and unaware of the severity of his mistakes - so perfectly accurate. Ramy is constantly struggling but you also don’t feel bad for him too much because he’s also constantly indulging. I think Ramy is great representation because he’s almost an example of what not do to when trying to find yourself.
Bela from Sex Lives of College Girls (HBO)
Mindy Kaling finally hit the mark for me with Bela from Sex Lives of College Girls! Unapologetically herself by pursing comedy, absurdly sex positive but still also adorable and geeky… Bela is almost the perfect example of realistic representation. I love that she is super vocal about sex but still naive and hesitant. She is pursuing a very uncommon path for South Asian children and is a trailblazer within that path as well, by standing up to a very coveted but misogynistic school comedy group. She is also a very very loyal friend (to a fault, annoying but a real solid friend) and just overall a great representation of a funny and smart college girl, not just a South Asian one.
Kim from Special (Netflix)
A plus-sized brown girl who is confident professionally and sexually? More please! Kim is a joy to watch on screen because she is an it-girl in the surface level world of LA, which is a rare sight to see. She owns absolutely everything about herself, personally and professionally, which is what makes her so great - her confidence is real. She definitely has flaws and a vulnerable side, but seeing a bigger brown woman genuinely love herself is incredible.
Penny from the Magicians (Netflix)
Rarely are leading men in Hollywood or mainstream American TV brown. If you’re an Indian guy, you’re a nerd. If you’re a Middle Eastern guy, you’re a terrorist. Penny breaks through the mold and plays a very sexy, bad boy in a fantasy show. He is even, dare I say, a slight antagonist to the main protagonist of the show - never a true villain but a bully that holds the upper hand. Cool but hotheaded, Penny gets a very steamy edit. It is very refreshing to see on a screen that so rarely puts South Asian men as a sex symbol or love interest.
Sid from How I Met Your Father (Hulu)
Sid dropped out of med school to pursue owning his own bar in New York City! And no, it did not go smoothly like you would expect a brown son’s venture to go. You see him struggling and navigating a long distance engagement with a fiance who works as a surgeon in Los Angeles. Their relationship is endearing but realistic and Sid is portrayed as a normal, attractive, unconventionally successful Indian guy in New York City. His career path, relationship and problems are all modern and he is written quite well for a character on a rom-com network television show.
Hala from the movie, Hala
Hala is a Muslim girl who likes to skateboard. I already think any girl who skateboards is badass, so to see a high school girl from a traditional Muslim family shred on a board on screen, I had to include her even though Hala is a film. Hala is a smart, good daughter but still rebellious in an understated way. She is trying to balance going after what makes her happy vs keeping her parents happy because she loves them, which is something most of us go through our adolescent and even adult lives. She is thoughtful about all her choices and very self-aware, which makes her even more enthralling. Most high school coming of age stories can be quite surface level, but the character of Hala herself has depth that deepens a storyline that could have fallen flat.
To write your own editorial piece for our blog email us your original piece. It can be about anything! If we love it, we’ll run it.