“Sports may be difficult for me, but I excel at math! Yes, I will complete your homework, but only if you persuade your friends to stop shoving me inside my locker.” 

As I sat in front of the T.V., eagerly watching a popular Disney Channel show, those were the first lines I heard. I remember feeling incredulous, as the show portrayed a South Asian character in the same stereotypical way as other platforms. I had never watched much T.V., so I found it unusual that most characters I viewed that looked like me never acted like the real people whom I lived and dealt with daily.

The problem of stereotyping is exacerbated by the fact that there aren’t a lot of roles created for South Asians in Hollywood, and so they are forced to take the only roles available – those that reinforce these stereotypes. As an aspiring actress, my agent sends me any role that may fit my description. I have played characters of Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Greek, and even Native American descent. I am often told I do not have the right “look” during casting calls, even if the roles feature a South Asian girl. To them, I do not fit the traditional image of a geeky, darker-skinned, short girl with thick glasses and an even thicker accent. With so few opportunities as well as available role models, Hollywood presents a caricature of South Asian characters, causing the viewers to believe that the onscreen portrayal is an accurate representation of our whole population. 

For other groups of people, the situation is improving. Ethnicities that have previously faced the same challenges as South Asians have been gaining more support and awareness. For example, Crazy Rich Asians is a movie with an entirely East Asian cast and was a box office smash. Crazy Rich Asians doesn’t contain stereotypical Asian characters; they make an effort to build characterization and create unique and specific personalities. This allows viewers to relate to these characters while simultaneously learning more about their culture.

South Asians, unfortunately, are not there yet in terms of cultural acceptance onscreen. When such characters are shown onscreen, portrayals of are stereotypical at best and demeaning at worst. Many diverse groups of people are fighting to make a change, but it is unrealistic to expect the bias in the entertainment industry to disappear overnight. 

The best way to address this problem is to target the source: if we change the opinions of kids at a young age, they will become more accepting of diverse roles onscreen and demand a more accurate representation of ethnic – especially South Asian – characters. Networks like Disney should also take more responsibility for authentic depictions.

To project more accurate images, these networks should hire actors and executives of the same race as the characters they are hoping to create. Less than 10% of writers for Nickelodeon are South Asian, with most shows featuring at least one South Asian character. Writers should make a more serious effort to stray from characters such as Ravi in Jessie and Baljeet in Phineas and Ferb, instead including more engaging, dynamic, and realistic characters.

Stereotypes shouldn’t generalize a whole population. Each person is special, and acts differently in various situations. America is a wonderfully diverse country, and we should illustrate it on T.V. – a platform that everyone enjoys.

written by Kashvi Ramani

edited by Keerthi Selvam and Saanvi Gutta

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