Why Representation Matters
Sometimes it’s important to stray away from the same theme and move towards a more diverse portrayal of roles in the media.
I grew up living a dual life; at school, I spoke English and learned about the laws of thermodynamics but at home, I spoke Hindi and learned about my Indian roots. My home life was pretty different compared to “normal” households. When I go home, the second I walk through the door I get hit with the pleasant scent of incense. As I walk further toward the kitchen, I am overwhelmed with the scent of various masalas and a pot of freshly made chai. On some mornings I hear Bollywood songs blasting on the speaker.
The list doesn’t stop there. Sam’s Club and Costco are the holy grail of shopping because everything can be bought in bulk. Your house is a constant hub of activity, booming with random phone calls and surprise visits from relatives and family friends you have never heard of. And of course, getting anything below an A will turn the house upside down and basically create a really awkward environment.
Now I know all of these seem like stereotypes, but they’re not. Almost every minority kid can attest to at least one of these. But these are all general assumptions as well; there is so much more going on that meets the eye. I spoke Hindi at home because my parents wanted my sister and me to be more in tune with our culture and heritage. And I’m happy we do because I feel at home in India when we go visit family, and I always have a fun fact ready for awkward icebreakers. I love incense because they make everything smell like home and happiness. And I crave Indian food and chai almost every second of every day I’m away from home.
Bollywood is a quintessential part of being South Asian. There is no reason not to blast Bollywood songs from the speakers all the time. Sam’s Club and Costco are the holy lands because you can get almost everything there for good prices; who doesn’t want to save money? I, like most other people, do not like waking up and hearing strange voices coming from my living room. But hey, there’s never a dull moment when there’s company around. My parents, or Asian parents, in particular, are so particular about grades and school because they want us to be successful and to be able to accomplish our dreams. They’re just being parents; you can’t be mad at that.
These instances and examples are just the tip of the iceberg on what a minority household is. Every minority group is different, and every house is different. And this may not just be minority households. Some non-minority households also mirror these instances. But no one can deny that growing up in a minority household is very different compared to what people think. Minorities also tend to have different lifestyles and different experiences than people who are not minorities.
However, minorities are starting to become more prominent in America because more and more people are immigrating to the states and bringing their ideologies with them. This is fantastic because this means there are more and more people bringing different perspectives and new conversations to the table, allowing the American mixed salad to continue growing. However, with America being such a multicultural country, why is it that our media doesn’t accurately represent the lives of a majority of Americans?
When immigrant households do get their rare chance to be on television, they tend to be a one-dimensional stereotype of the cultural group themselves — usually used as a comedic trope to add color around the white leads. This nonchalant use of “diversity” needs to stop. Immigrants and minorities are a large part of what America is and our stories also deserve to be told.
As a little girl, the only people I saw on television were beautiful, white, blonde, thin women who ended up falling in love with the handsome, white, blonde, buff man. You know what, there is nothing wrong with this, it’s just a story. But when I was younger, it got to the point where these were the only images being seen on television, where these were the only people being glorified.
As a brown-haired, chubby, young Indian girl who wore glasses and had a face riddled with pimples, characters like me were pretty much not at all seen as the heroine, nor were they seen as anything more than a comedic device. When I grew up, I realized that the media isn’t great at showing what real people are like, and I didn’t realize how much things needed to change until minority and immigrant-centered stories started being told.
People like Aziz Ansari, Hasan Minhaj, and Mindy Kaling showed the world that Indians aren’t just the nerdy sidekicks, but that we are a culturally rich people who have our own passions, our own stories; not all Indians speak with that terrible accent. Diego Luna choosing to keep his accent in Star Wars: Rogue One showed us that minorities can be heroes and save the galaxy. Television Shows like Black-ish, Master of None, and Fresh off the Boat give audiences an insight into the lives of minorities and how we go about our daily lives. Ashley Grahm, a plus-size model known for celebrating her curves, is now one of the most sought-after models in the industry.
All in all, without realizing it, these people have become trailblazers, breaking barriers and allowing more and more people to come through. Although there has been a lot of progress on the representation front, there is still a long way to go. Along with minorities and immigrants, there are still a lot of LGBTQ+ characters and actors whose stories are waiting to be told.
I’m not saying give the roles to minorities, women, or LGBTQ actors because the role needs diversity; using these people as a means to an end is even worse than not using them at all. Give the roles to actors who deserve them. If a black actor is the best choice for the role and the specific character is not part of a particular ethnic group or demographic, then, by all means, give the role to that actor. Not because he or she is black, but because he or she is the best choice for the role solely on acting capabilities.
Minorities should not be used as tools to add color to the story or as comedic tropes that use their accents or upbringing as punchlines. We are three-dimensional characters with stories just as important as everyone else. It’s about time the media realizes what they’ve been missing out on, and it’s about time that brown-haired, chubby, acne-riddled, four-eyed, little Indian girl saw someone who looks like her go from being the sidekick to the main character.
This article was originally published on The Odyssey.com on December 13, 2017.
