“Suckah emcee's ain't got nothin' on me! On my grades, on my lines. You can't touch Kevin G! I'm a Mathlete, so nerd is inferred. But forget what you heard, I'm like James Bond the Third,” rapped Kevin G. in the iconic 2004 movie, "Mean Girls." I remember watching the movie at a sleepover party in 7th grade and my friends and I could not stop hysterically laughing at him. A couple of days later, I began thinking about all of the other ways Indians are portrayed in media. Baljeet from "Phineas and Ferb."Chirag from the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series. Raj from "The Big Bang Theory."It became clear to me that the media just made people like me into stereotype-ridden jokes. I couldn’t help but feel furious inside. I always felt like I had to put in effort to prove to my peers that I was not like the weird Indian kid from the cartoon that they watched. This media made me want to never wear traditional Indian clothing, correct my parents’ accents, and be somebody I was not.
As an Indian kid, my family and I attended a lot of Indian parties for traditional Indian festivals, special poojas and temple events. It is respectful to wear traditional clothing to these get-togethers. However, I would always think of some excuse or throw some tantrum to get out of wearing Indian clothes. My Indian peers did the same; soon enough, that became the norm. We all just wanted to seem a little more white and a little less Indian because of the image we had of people like us. Similarly, Indian kids often act dumber or act like they don’t care about school to feel like they are not like the stereotypical Indian kid portrayed in the media.
Another thing I did, and embarrassingly still do, is correct my parents’ accents. It seemed like every time we are at a drive-thru, restaurant or checking-out at a store, my parents were making a joke out of themselves and, by association, me by speaking that way. It was almost like I saw Kevin G, Baljeet, or Chirag and everyone was supposed to be laughing at them. I really hate that I find this embarrassing, as accents are uncontrollable. Babies begin to pick up phonemes, any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another, before they even turn a year old. Once one turns 5 years old, it is nearly impossible to change their accent. My parents grew up in India and only moved here in their early 20s, so how could I possibly expect them to change their accents?
Just looking back at all of this infuriates me; why did I have to care so much? Why did I try to be somebody I wasn’t? I know now that almost all Indians in America are nothing like those portrayed in the media. I know now that Indians in the real world are leaders, CEOs, and visionaries. Indian Americans are the richest minority in America. Satya Nadella, an Indian American, is the CEO of Microsoft. Salman “Sal” Khan is the founder of Khan Academy, now used in almost every school across the country. I feel that I should be proud to be an Indian American, not embarrassed. But still, why does the media have to make Indian Americans into laughable and gauche characters?
Personally, I am proud of the efforts I have made to embrace my culture. I do a classical Indian dance called Kathak, speak to my Indian friends and family in an Indian language when I can, show my friends Bollywood movies and dress up in traditional Indian clothing whenever I get the opportunity to do so. Now, if you are also an Indian American, I encourage you to try embracing our culture this week. If you are not an Indian American, make a new Indian American friend as soon as possible--we are actually pretty cool people and nothing like what you have been seeing on the media for your whole life. I feel like it is finally time that the media realizes who us Indian Americans really are and begin to portray us that way so that the next generation of Indian Americans can be comfortable and confident with their own identity.
