tv & film
tv & film
How to Be Indian (Lessons Learned from the Screen)
Stereotypes, side characters, comic relief. When I was younger, these were the things that Brown people were reduced to in Western television. In short, people who looked like me were rarely at the forefront of popular culture. Imagine my excitement, then, when there were such people on the screen.
Pen15 and the Eternal Feeling of Adolescence
This piece may contain spoilers for the second season of Pen15.
To quickly recap for those who haven’t seen the show: Pen15 centers around Maya Ishii-Peters (Maya Erskine) and Anna Kone (Anna Knonkle), two outcast 7th-graders in the year 2000. Described as “middle school as it really happened,” the show follows Maya and Anna as they navigate the perils of puberty, boys, AOL Instant Messenger, annoying parents, and the delicate social pyramid of middle school in the year 2000.
Indian Representation in Western Media
The portrayal of Indians in Western media is an emblem of misrepresentation, generalisations and stereotyping. Many people still think of Indians as nerdy, curry-loving, convenience-store owning people, whose only main purpose in Western Media is to provide a diverse facade.
The Bold Type
When I first saw an ad for the TV show The Bold Type, my immediate reaction was just, “no.” The trailer screams about the emergence of a queer Muslim woman artist that the magazine “Scarlet” is hoping to feature. More like dying to show off, it seemed.
I Can be Me, So Can You
“Yan can cook, so can you!” This phrase is something I succinctly remember as a kid in the 1990s, watching Chef Martin Yan quip around as he showed how to neatly fold pork dumplings and roast the crunchiest crispy ducks.
Never Have I Ever Seen Myself on TV
Like most people, I’ve never seen myself on the big screen before. Not only because of the fact that I’m not famous, but also because until recently, American television has shied away from featuring nonwhite characters. As an Indian-American teenager, I've long awaited the moment when a character like me, with a family like mine, would get a chance in the spotlight.