For people who don’t have the opportunity to travel internationally as frequently or meet people from different nations, movies and TV shows are often the only sizeable factor that influences their idea of other cultures. And when those different cultures aren’t represented correctly, it facilitates the escalation of stereotypes.
With Indians, the problem is massive because, we’re too out there to be ignored and yet, remain unknown. Several times has western cinema and TV featured shadows of Indian heritage through an Indian setting, characters or simply in mention. While the rest of the world seems to laud such representation of diversity, as Indians, we have a decent understanding of what’s okay and what looks like a bigoted, stereotypical version of us. While everyone else is totally in love with The Big Bang Theory‘s spoiled Rajesh Koothrapali or Sense8‘s flustered Kala Dandekar, we know what’s exactly wrong with them.
- Everyone doesn’t speak like The Simpson’s Apu. AKA – the Western world’s idea of an ‘Indian accent’.
2. It’s okay if some of us aren’t fluent in English. It isn’t our first language. It’s yours. Do you by any chance know Tamil, Malayalam, Oriya, Marathi et al? No. And we do not expect you to either.
3. No, we’re not BFFs with animals. All of India doesn’t live in a jungle.
4. Not every Indian male is incapable of coherent thought process in the presence of a woman.
5. Not every Indian is a Hindu, nor does every Indian have a surname that’s a tongue twister unlike what your shows like to portray.
6. Not all Asians look the same. Please, can you not?
7. The workforce in India isn’t divided into call centres and IT firms.
8. All Indians aren’t necessarily dependent on their parents.
9. India’s not ALWAYS hot. It’s a tropical country, what did you expect?
10. Our food is spicier than yours but we’re not exactly swimming in hot curry like y’all seem to think.
11. We don’t randomly break out into dance. Our lives aren’t freaking musicals.
Please. Just stop portraying us like a bunch of weirdos.
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