Mindy Kaling is not my representation.
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- čas přidán 20. 06. 2024
- In this video I discuss Mindy Kaling's problematic representation of South Asians/brown women throughout the body of her work.
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:33 Mindy's background
03:19 The Office
05:21 The Mindy Project
07:19 The s*x lives of college girls/Velma
11:07 A counter-example: Bridgerton
14:02 Colorism and internalized experiences
16:42 One narrow perspective
20:11 The burden of representation - Zábava
"When you're given the opportunity to be the one whose voice is heard, it is important that you say the right thing." I definitely needed to hear this.
"The burden of representation shouldn't be on one persons shoulders but when you know you have a platform, you have to be responsible with it." THIS!!!
Thank you so much for all your reflections in this video and for breaking things down with such detail.
This was important for me to hear.
Thanks so much for watching till the end! :)
Imagine how us black ppl feel ?
We’ve been going through the same shameful experience with out ppl -
Hollywood allows one of us in
That one gets whitewashed & marketed as the new representation of our ppl !!!
Play the game or risk getting blackballed from the industry!
She's just an celebrity, y'all.
Mindy isn’t the problem. The problem is that she’s the ONLY one who’s a writer/producer in Hollywood. All she can share is her experience, she shouldn’t be responsible for carrying the weight of the entire SA community. If there were multiple SA women in her position, her voice would just be one among many. The SA experience in the US is multidimensional. We need to direct our anger at Hollywood/casting & colorism.
This!!
What about Priyanka Choppra (Sorry if I spelt her name wrong)
Yes exactly!!
@@MsElizaRae with her white husband?
@@Ehhhaway Does that make her anyless than who she is and where she is from. Representation is representation until there are more that just a handful in hollywood.
I can't help feeling a bit bad for Kaling. She never claimed to be the mascot of all brown women everywhere. She just wanted to write dumb comedies starring messy characters. A White woman (or a man of any color) would have no issues doing this even if their work was repetitive and lame. But, because Kaling is a brown woman, she's treated like a traitor to her community even though she's just writing her own lived experience and what she thinks is funny.
I think it sucks that critics have chosen to focus their anger at Kaling (and expecting her to be some ambassador of positive Indian culture) instead of focusing it on the industry that refuses to uplift more Indian/POC female creators. Kaling's problematic characters wouldn't be a problem if she didn't shoulder the burden of being the ONLY mainstream successful Indian-American actress/writer
If we do not like Mindy Kaling as a writer, then we really should not put any pressure on her to represent her race, in the same way we should not put any pressure on Brie Larson to represent her gender in Captain Marvel! Brie already said that she does not feel any pressure to represent her gender in that film despite all of the anti-feminist backlash towards it, so we should not make it any harder for her and not troll her based on her taking one bad movie role we dislike to watch.
Yes agree she really is depicting what alot young people are dealing with growing up being attracted to the opposite ethnic group. It's complicated and I'm glad I've never had to feel that hurt.
@@adamkalb1 difference is that not every character brie larson writes is written badly and that captain marvel was a generally fun film unlike Velma
yeah i get your point but when all your work is centred around being not only Indian but weak and in search of validation from a white male you cant help but hate especially when the trope is in every project she has taken and done it seems to put a target on her communities back
@@tejashdasgupta1840 the only bad one is Velma, the others were great
I want to see brown girls who are not just nerdy white men simps. I also wanna see brown girl and brown guy couples
For some reason it’s always always a poc x white person. Rare to see other forms of diversity in couples like that’s the immed go to… for couples in media. (I know it’s intentional by Hollywood to. Catering to specific audience esp when they always have white someone for those audiences to relate.. white dad or mom, white bf or gf)
Indian men are simps for fair skinned women and are not critised for it. So why should women be?
I’m sorry but I get so sick of this forcing of relationships between woc and men of their own race. As black girl, dark skinned with a white boyfriend no I don’t want to see any more couples on screen of black and brown men with black and brown women. Because it doesn’t reflect reality for the most part. We all know black & brown men are usually very colorist and worship lighter skinned women, so why can’t we date outside our race? Why should woc especially us dark skinned girls wait around to be treated like a human being that deserves to be loved by the men of our race?
Majority of Indians date and marry other Indians and I find it sad that American media doesn’t want to show that
@@princesschanel469 but not all brown (indian) men are like that. Can't generalize the entire group when there's a half of billion of them. Also, most brown people are with brown people. Why can't media reflect that
She definitely internalized a lot due to the environment she grew up in. It's not an excuse but there is definitely some unconscious things she should address. I know I had many growing up around white people and I addressed them in therapy.
Yes, exactly this!
Mindy Kaling grew up on American rom coms and she said they shaped who she is as a person. If you see American rom coms from 1930s-early 2000s, the vast majority are white centric. The characters were almost all White except quirky side characters. She absorbed that and think likes that. Also if all the romantic leads she adored were from those rom coms then Mindy’s perspective would be very white focused.
Unpopular opinion I disagree with that. It’s not an excuse. I think we as marginalized communities need to have more empathy for people experiencing sulfate. As we all do we all internalized racism. We all have parents who internalizing taught us things that were problematic. We literally grew up in a society that says everything about us is wrong, and deserves nothing because of our lack of whiteness … we should be heartbroken for the suffering and the impact it has on us, not judging each other for being impacted I find that to be the biggest inhibitor to healing when you attack people for their internalizing!!!
@@babyyodachelsea7034 I agree with you! The attacking and shaming isn’t bringing anyone healing
@@abandonedfragmentofhope5415 0
I’m not mad at Mindy. It’s not her responsibility to be the voice of all brown women. So many artist pull from personal experience and she pulls from her own perspective. The problem is there is not enough brown women whose voices are being heard in the industry. So we’re lumping all expectations on Mindy because she has a platform.
yup yup!
There's so many issues with Mindy especially when it comes to her desperation of white men validation. It's one thing to like white men but the obsession is something else. Plus who tf gets " tired" of indian culture representation being shown on social platform? I'm Haitian american and I rarely see people on my TV screen being represented. It's one thing to not be seen as a stereotypical indian person but since when does being a rebellious obnoxious bad attitude character is considered a personality trait?
Yes! I too was excited for the Mindy Project. I’m Black and it so bothered me that ALL her love interests were white. There are so many South Asian men actors who could have welcomed the opportunity to get some screen time. And it just felt like internalized racism.
@@tabkaliO does it also bother you that all the love interests in South Asian films are white or light skin? There are so many dark skin South Asian actresses (like Mindy) who could have welcomed the opportunity for screen time. A South Asian man would NEVER cast someone that looks like Mindy in his film.
@@raisaa1537 It does. It’s disturbing to see how colorism manifest in different countries. I went to Nepal in the early 1990s. The India Times was the best place to read international news. The reporting was great but then there were the personal/marriage ads. Almost all we’re seeking light skinned partners. Being a brown skinned Black woman, I have dealt with colorism but it was a different experience seeing in print. There were so many conversations in the Latinx community about how the new Black Panther centered brown skinned, Indigenous looking folks especially since most TV in Mexico does not. It would be different if Kaling showcased a diverse dating pool but she didn’t. And the one episode with the Indian-American dude who was hella fine by the way spoke volumes about her self view. That is when I stopped watching.
You dont know Mindy's style of writing. She has said that she loves writing characters with bad attitudes. Which is why the episodes that she has written for the office often portrays Michael, the boss, to be especially childish and obnoxious. And those episodes are the most popular ones too. She isnt writing a documentary but a tv show to entertain people.
@@craz4jaymz Micheal wasn't unlikeable though. He was just annoying but was charismatic. Compare to Velma who has a shitty attitude.
I’m glad you mentioned colorism during this discussion. I think mindy kaling is entitled to create work based on her life experiences and perspective. I don’t think she should have to carry the burden of representing every facet of south Asian women
So.. she should write the same character all the time?
@@BeautifulEarthJa if she wants? People write what they know. That is one of the top rules of writing!
@@masunrise7471 I agree. Its upto South Asian Men to represent themselves. Not anybody else's job. South Asians parents will want their kids to be nerds and then blame Mindy for not representing hot South Asian men.
The issue with Mindy’s work is the self loathing. I’m not even SA, (just a small percentage in my ancestry) and her shows are too much for me. The horrible way she talks about her heritage isn’t funny or self deprecating in the “right” way. It more than cringe, it’s disturbing.
@@mewtubeofficialso much for being a community lol
we need more south Asian leads in western films that have strong and smart personalities
Absolutely!
Priyanka
@@tzunano in which films did she have a lead role?
@@SRR-rh7id Quantico, Love Again, Citadel
then make them
i don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion but i don’t see a problem with mindy not casting south east asian men as her love interests. asian media is known to only cast light skinned women and they don’t give af how darker skinned women feel about it. they don’t care about her representation so why should she have to care about their representation in her own work?🤷🏿♀️
This is how I feel abt black female writers and what we should do. It’s always mixed girls/light skinned girls representing us and no one cares if we don’t get screen time so why should we care abt representing them
My thoughts exactly.
I agree
Exactly. Female south Asians are always expected to “represent” everybody and everything but no one puts this responsibility on men. Like hello? What about Aziz ansari’s master of none? All his partners were white toooo
You have a good point
I'm pretty close to Mindy in age, and I think the whole "white praise" thing was very prevalent in the 80s and 90s, that the beauty standard was blond white girls and just generally white guys. (and before anyone comes for me, yes, there were a spattering of "token POC models" during this time, but the white models were certainly front and center.) And, as a POC, you definitely got the subliminal message that that was the "standard", even though no one ever dared say "white is the epitome of beauty", because it was EVERYWHERE in the US, most remarkably in advertising and magazines. I think Mindy depicts that story line bc that's what she knows. If you haven't been able to "outgrow" that old mindset, it's pretty easy to just carry it with you. I want to say only since like early 2000s was there like a slow acceptance towards diversity, and by then we were already in our 20s and fully indoctrinated. I don't want to make excuses for her, but i do think there's a timing element to her work not aging very well, and a generational thing that she carries with her into her future projects. Hopefully she can change it up going forward.
this. idk why its so hard to see from other people's perspective. Not everybody was blessed with the ability to reject the white beauty standards growing up. People still don't. Mindy might also lack the ability to see that her mindset is toxic.
You’re in a white majority nation, of course the standard of beauty here represents European features (and there’s nothing wrong with that). I’m sure in majority brown and black nations that white people face the same problems here. It’s all just a matter of perspective.
The US was 84% white in 1990, 14% black, and 2% other races (rough estimates). Demographics have changed and that is a factor for people wanting more representation.
@@themanofshadows nope, those countries hold white features as the standard of beauty. Thanks colonialism
@@meaganwelch8222 Absolutely, but looking at percentages, not that dramatic of a change in demographics. As of 2020, white alone went down to 75%, but that's still >>super majority.
Perhaps acceptance of diversity is more so tied to economics, and the desire to appeal to/tap into potential consumers that went unseen in the past.
I’m not Indian but I am a POC. I relate to the whole growing up awkward, anxious, nobody finding me attractive but it’s the self deprecating stuff she promotes I absolutely despise.
Definitely hear to learn more about this topic. As a black woman…I’ve raised my eyebrows quite a few times with her characters.
There's a good video on Mindy and Kenya Barris
@@BeautifulEarthJa I need to check that out! I find these deep dives quite interesting!
that oscar moment made me SOOO mad, crazy how blatant it is especially so publicly. whoever was responsible for that should be ashamed of themselves🤮 also i would love a video about ur experience living in Pakistan! such a beautiful country.
As a fellow woc, I understand the people who say that we shouldn't expect one creator to properly represent an entire community. Several creators of colour should be given equal opportunity to work in the industry at the same time, so we don't have to rely on only just one to create characters that we can relate to. Unfortunately, that's not our reality yet. So those who already have the power to change how the world perceives poc based on ignorant stereotypes, should use it responsibly. At this point, it seems like people aren't even asking Mindy to represent all Indian women. They're asking her to challenge herself in writing outside of her comfort zone. Not all of her female characters need to be based on her own personal experiences. She should take inspiration from her mother, aunts, perhaps friends and even other Indian creators/artists working in the industry. Not for the sake of others, but to grow and improve as a writer.
Exactly this. 100% agree with everything you've stated!
Again it is a process of blaming the minorities themselves. Instead of charging companies, the government for a greater expansion of resources for the arts, this type of criticism goes to the artist who is one of the people with less power in the production line of media products. Instead of supporting independent creators, other ways of pursuing art energy is focused on criticizing a single person, I find that kind of criticism very out of place.
or they could do it themselves, na im not putting all of that on one person, y'all are over projecting, its getting to the point you guys are sounding lazy, it aint cute
@@levadamusicAt the end of the day, Mindy is a creator and as such, her work is up for criticism just like any other piece of media out there. She's free to continue writing her characters in whatever way she wants, but people will also keep expressing their opinions on it (which they are entitled to). She's not unique. Every public figure, every content creator faces the same. If she can't handle it, idk what to tell you.
@@kmt8825 no one is putting "all of that" on her. There's ton of other poc artists doing amazing work and being recognized for it. Mindy is simply more well-known and with the power to reach a wider audience. So yeah, perhaps some people expected more from her. But, she can do whatever the fuck she wants. However, just like with any creator, once the work is out, it's up for debate and criticism. You have an opinion, I have mine and other have theirs. No need to call people names bc of it.
Mindy makes up a lot of her own parts. She's a great writer and comedian actress. Her humor is supposed to be dark and relatable to the unrelatable woman. The reason why her characters are all similar it's because it's her personal humor and experiences. Most comedian actors do this.
Yup, Adam Sandler for the most part in his early career played the same character. Seth Rogan plays the same character and many other actors and comedians play the same character. But because Mindy is a brown woman she can't do this and through no fault of her own is supposed to be the representation of all SA woman?
Thank you!!! 👏👏👏
@@RoxieRHeartum jewish people have roasted both sandler and rogen for doing what mindy is....
Yeah and it gets annoying. Why are we watching the same character basically in different movies with different names.
What i love about Shonda Rhimes is that she portrays minority women as beautiful, strong, intelligent, and independent. But also soft, loving, and vulnerable. She creates well-rounded, complex characters, and Mindy should take some notes lol
Shonda has been accused of being colorist in her work also. And criticized for a lack of black relationships (both characters being black) for her main characters.
@@janniegurl05 oh yeah shonda is a great character writer but def needs to step it up with her representation
@@alyssapinon9670 i know why she does...she was the only black kid in 80s white middle class suburbia....i had white surburban friends i hung out with....thou i dont watch her shows i can see why she writes white characters the way she does
but mindys a comedian, her characters have to be a bit weird/crazy/selfish to be funny dont they?
@jacintanandi7854 yeah but she's been making the same self depreciating jokes for years. Where's the growth and self-discovery jokes or just new material period lol
I’ll always side-eye Mindy for making the character of Devi on Never Have I Ever jump through hoops to impress her white love interest who was always a jerk to her.
Isn't every teenage girl comedy about putting up with jerks?
@@ankisriram4613 She still went back to a nerdy white boy who was her enemy. So none of that matters.
It could've been such a cool wholesome show like unfabulous. But she made Devi to be a thirsty, desperate younger version of herself and that is so disappointing. It was also so unnecessarily sexual. It's fine to reference sex. But to make it the entire thing is odd as hell.
Why is it on her to represent the whole South Asian community? She writes from her experience as a brown woman growing up surrounded by white people in a terrible time. It's easy to feel ashamed because you want to fit in so badly. What we need is more South Asian writers, directors, and actors that can represent the diversity of our experiences.
Her experience is incredibly limited I wonder why they keep greenlighting here
Whats funny is that Shonda did more for brown girls than she has done for black girls on Bridgerton but yeah I loved Kate and Edwina's story
Tbh Kate is dark skinned brown woman and it felt so nice! First season wasn’t for black girls tbh, second season finally in media they showcased dark skin woman being loved and getting the flowers she deserves, and for black girls in any show - it seems mainly they go for certain looking type always for their black girl representation in the past 2 decades (where it feels like colorism and texturism or proximity to whiteness elements to it)
Yeah it’s really weird. These black writers are doing everything they literally can to make ppl forget dark skinned BLACK women exist. Yet we’re always an extra or side character in her shows? So weird omg
@@Hersheychocolate12 And why aren’t dark skinned black girls getting that rep either though from a literal black writer herself who knows we don’t get any love? Notice how the black girls in bridgerton are all half white/light skinned. And the dark girls are not black at all which is ironic
Shonda has done a lot to portray American women of African descent in a positive light. Examples: Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, etc...
@@IAMABUNDANT888 I was talking about Bridgerton specifically soo...yeah
Mindy is a symptom, not the problem.
Exactly!
I’m a Black woman and I love this channel.
No need to announce your race,
@@purplelove3666Maybe there is no "need" to announce race, but it does let the content creator (and viewers) know that she has a diverse group of supporters and interest.
I’m a white woman and it’s interesting to hear this perspective. I’ve adored Mindy since The Office and I truly hope she starts changing this. The clip from The Oscars was heartbreaking!
I recently found your channel and love the videos! Have you ever watched The Punisher? There’s a character on there played by Amber Rose Revah and I think you look so much like her! So beautiful!
Kelly + Ryan = classic anxious/avoidant relationship case study 😂
I don’t like the use of the word “weak” to represent the characters Mindy portrays. If someone is self-hating, insecure, and seeking validation, it usually means they were not given secure love and attachment as a child. So they grow up trying to find that love and security which they should have had from the beginning. Part of Mindy’s trauma may come from her mostly-white schools, but who knows, maybe her own parents were abusive too. You have to be incredibly strong to go through life thinking everyone hates you, constantly trying to prove you deserve to be at the table, and trying to just fit it and belong. I do think Mindy needs reflection and therapy but your continuous use of the word “weak” To describe her and her characters felt distasteful to me. In the Mindy project, yes, her character has flaws, but she is also a confident and competent doctor and that is always shown too. Hating yourself every day but going out into the world despite that is exhausting and takes courage and perseverance. It’s not weak.
Agree with you💯..also I feel people are being harsh on Mindy..no one's perfect
It is weak. You are just explaining why.
She grew up on American rom-coms and they were 100% White until very recently.
@@zolaeight7574 “hating yourself everyday but going out into the world despite that takes courage”
@@moongoddesssweety those who see weakness in others are really just seeing the weakness within themselves
It’s amazing how she turned
scooby doo- a show in which the characters seem like they genuinely cared about everyone regardless of class, gender, and race (they frequently visited other cultures in the shows), into a show about being bullies. Was she upset that there wasn’t a Indian-hating white man in the show, so she had to take a wholesome character and turn him into that? It’s one thing for Mindy to have issues with brown men not liking her, but why do the white men have to hate the character before liking her?
Fred was being bullied by his father in the show. He didn’t dislike her for being i
Indian. He disliked her b/c she was “not attractive.” His primary rejection of her had to do with his concern about getting his father‘s approval.
Her race wasn’t the issue. There’s a dark skinned black and an ambiguously Asian (I don’t think they ever share her heritage since she was adopted) “hot/cool girl characters.” So I don’t think she was trying to state that women of color are unattractive in that show.
@@janniegurl05I would agree if there wasn't so many shots of him being racist to Velma like saying "or how that one's people say" or smth.
@@RainyStast yes he thought she was of Mexican or latin descent if i recall. Not saying he didn’t show signs of racism. But his overall issue with her was that she was uncool/not traditionally attractive but her uncoolness/unattractiveness wasn’t about her race. As there were popular girls of color that he would have likely dated without issue. If i recall he was dating Daphne who is Asian in the show.
@@janniegurl05 Dating a girl who is Asian doesn't excuse being racist to Desi people. Fred was racist to Velma in the show, indirectly or not.
@@RainyStast I never said he isn’t racist. The point of that scene where he confuses her for being Mexican is to show that he’s racist. That was the joke, they were making fun of him for being racist. I am saying that he did not think she was unattractive because she was Asian.
Tbh I don’t hold Mindy accountable for terrible representation. As someone who is from the same Indian state as Mindy and has grown up very similarly to her (almost all-white town), I can confidently say I can’t relate to any of her representation except for the scene in Never Have I Ever where her mom forced her to take sweets when she visits someone’s house.
I agree with criticizing Mindy as a writer (don’t agree or care for any of the decisions her characters make or their internalized racism/misogyny), but not as a “woman of colour” writer. I understand what we would all like to see our brand of representation on the screen that doesn’t glorify white men, but who gives her the platform? I think we also need to consider what the industry allows to be represented. As a Muslim, I’ve only seen shows like Rami where Muslim youth feel oppressed by their culture and religion and all they want to do is party, date, and be viewed as hot. Again, not an issue since that is reality for some, but I have never seen a show where Muslim kids are happy and confident in their religion despite being surrounded by people like that. Not to mention that traditional South Asian families often discourage kids from writing and entertainment and have them focus on STEM- so we are less likely to see the kind of representation we relate to. And it goes against the mainstream media narrative. And I don’t even want to get into how WOC are typically only “mainstream” if they embrace hypersexuality and white worship, which is Mindy’s brand.
Tbh I don’t like Mindy as a content creator but I don’t hold her accountable for terrible representation- that’s her story. It’s the system. I’ve seen so many lovely South Asian writers that craft compelling, relatable narratives… but somehow it’s the wattpad softcore porn stories that are immediately contacted for movie deals since those appeal more 🤷🏽♀️
Yes, it’s the system! Great articulation!
Interesting! I'm from the same Indian state as Mindy too (TN) and I felt represented for the first time ever in Never have I ever because I rarely, if ever, see Hindu representation. And when I do, I see it as an Indian Hindu girl needs to escape her oppression/strict parents/arranged marriage *rolls eyes*.
I totally agree with you though - the industry barely allows representation as is, so I just imagine Mindy is creating a hole for the rest of us to travel through - each person can make that hole larger and larger. The point is to represent people without tokenizing them or filling a diversity quota. And what's sad is that she is one person, and a very successful one at that, so she is expected to 'represent us'. I hope that she will create a space where more of us can enter.
And lmao so true - our parents are so anti-art :'D
The crazy thing is I’m a straight guy and the one Indian man that she decided to date in the mindy project-was far more better looking than any of her white male love interest in the show yet her standards seem to tank when it comes to them.
He was gorgeous…her romantic choices were so disappointing…
I am from Morocco and I find odd too the depiction of nerds as loosers... On the contrary we are celebrated here
I just recently discovered your content and I love what you’re doing. I haven’t heard the perspective of a South Asian woman specifically about Mindy so I’m ready to tap in. Keep the videos coming!
Me too!!!
Hey it was really interesting to watch, especially as a white person - there is so much I don't know yet about other cultures! Please continue doing what you do :)
Thanks so much! :)
This is why I like Abbott Elementary 📺 I hope Quinta keeps it up, and doesn’t allow ABC to fudge it up
Great video, I see a lot of discussion on this topic and I really enjoyed hearing your take. Look forward to the next ❤
As a fellow brown woman, it is so nice to find your channel. And I related so much to what you shared. I also spent my teens in South Asia and often discuss with my brown friends who grew up in US- how much growing around people who look like me helped in my positive self image and esteem. And my friends are now finding people who look like them and are finally learning to embrace their culture and their beautiful brown skin.
There is privilege in growing up around people who look like you. So I definitely feel for Mindy. And hope that she hears the criticism and works on creating more diverse woc characters. Great video ❤
- Never Have I Ever. I grew up ABCD in CA 15 yrs before Mindy, and I would say NHIE is the closest to my personal lived experience in HS despite my experience being decades earlier - attention from hot Asian guys and ambitious white guys and the occasional brown guy, and gfs of multiple races.
By contrast, I have never identified with Kelly Kapoor or any other Mindy Kaling character.
- Bridgerton doesn't give enough SA representation IMO, it seemed odd because the sisters are visiting from India, i.e. not local British Asians. But it was great to see brown faces as the lead characters esp as romantic interests and, as you said, the season's diamond, in one of Netflix highest rated shows globally.
I need to get on Bridgerton. As a Mexican woman, I never watch shows of that nature because they never had representation for anyone that even remotely looked like me. This is so awesome.
Genuine question: Do also avoid watching novelas? Personally, I grew up watching them but it always made me uncomfy how Mex media always cast straight up Euro (Angelique, Boyer, Irina Baeva) as main characters and the maids were 9/10 Native American from pueblos or dark Hispanics with indigenous features, so that’s why I could never fully get into the novelas😅. Thankfully this is slowly starting to change with new actors like Techoch Huerta (dark Hispanic) and Yalitza (indigenous)
Here's an idea!Write to Shalonda .
Don’t watch it, it’s unfortunately not good. Unless you’re just watching for representation, in which case have fun!
@@eliciaellis7428 who is Shalonda? Do you mean Shonda Rhimes?
@@eliciaellis7428 Dear Shonda: feature more Latinos on Bridgerton. All types of Latinos. Indigenous, white, black, Asian passing Latinos.
Sincerely,
A Lasian fan.
PS can we have more interracial relationships that aren’t white and poc relationships?
That acceptance speech part made me cry fr
This is a fascinating topic, I've been thinking about her portrayals for a while. Thanks for the video!
Such an amazing video. Well said and well researched. Waiting for more insightful videos like this.
Yes I waiting for this video ! I just woke up can’t wait to watch it
Yay thanks so much! :)
The best representation of SA was that I have seen was the Sharma sisters on Bridgerton. I learned about the tradition Haldi for Brides of Indian decent from Bridgerton. I loved how Kate didn't follow alot of the rules of "proper" London Society. Through Kate Anthony overcame some of his toxic ways.
Thanks so much for this video! I know the issues around Mindy's writing has been getting a lot of discourse recently but I always was a little weary knowing there is a lot of intersectional nuisance that might be hard to fully grasp. So its particularly refreshing to see this conversation being led from a brown woman's perspective! Hopefully your voice and more people with lived experiences are highlighted more on this topic and amazing video as always.
Thanks so much! :)
Fantastic, fantastic video. Thank you ❤
Additionally, I think it's an interesting point to look over just how extensive Mindy's plastic surgery has been over her career. It's absolutely shocking how much work she has had done to change herself.
I made a comment earlier but I also want to comment on the Devi Character on Never have I ever. Yes I agree she was another annoying hard to watch character. But the love interests are not just another white boy. She originally liked the Asian hot got(and the hot guy had his own empowerment with his culture). And the Jewish white boy who was portrayed as being an uncool nerd. It was a enemies to lovers trope for them. Plus the show had other South Asian characters who had beautiful/wonderful and strong personalities. I just feel like there are some positives within all these negative points. I just like to play devil's advocate 😁
Slowly claps* As a black female, I approve this video. White media can be very harsh towards colored people.. in terms of representation
I absolutely loved this commentary! Just subscribed. 😊
As a black woman who grew up in predominantly white areas I definitely understand that Mindy Kaling in her shows is really trying to take revenge on her past as she was a person who wasn’t the standard of beauty and who was affected by that.
And I realized of my own experience that the only way to heal from this trauma which causes her obsession over white men validation is to get out of white areas and to accept that you have to reconcile with yourself and your culture/your community. She clearly didn’t as she is one of the most prolific creator/producers of Hollywood, which is I think the reason why she always portray Indian girls always running after white boys
Speaking from a black person from the "hood" i honestly I'm lucky i grew up among my own people. Also i seen first hand what black people are capable of in the "hood". I watched us create a genre call hip hop that made millionaires and billionaires. I thought if i had to grow up like you i would have way more psychological issues.
It’s possible she was more impacted by the colorism of the Indian community. I grew up near her and it is an area with a lot of Indian people and a strong, rich cultural community
I'm back, well-thought, thought provoking, well written.
I really relate to you, I grew up my formative years in Indonesia, and so by the time I entered back into an all White (Dutch) environment I didn’t really have hang ups about my colored identity. But I do see in my environment that the WOC around me who didn’t have that sometimes have more inhibitions and internalized patterns, and I can’t blame them for it knowing what I know about all white environments. Can’t imagine rawdogging that during your most insecure puberty years.
I'm obsessed with your channel 💓
Black girl here supporting the channel. Darker skinned SA girls deserve a little better than what Mindy is offering
Recently discovered your content and am loving it. Please keep making videos ❤
I think Mindy is an absolutely stunning person. Her skin tone is glorious and she glows. It’s really unfortunate that her writing for darker skinned brown women is so insecurity oriented. Sometimes when creatives keeps driving home the same message throughout their career it feels like they refuse to accept that we’re not entertained or otherwise buying their brand of art or jokes etc. Kenya Barris is a huge perpetrator of this as will in my opinion. Like at this point go to therapy so you can write something new, cause this ain’t it lol.
As a brown girl myself, when I was young, I grew up hating my culture and not wanting to be part of it and fit into the western society that I was raised in. Now all grown and seeing what's being made by her, it's sad to see because not all of us are weak or a nerd or only like people of a certain race. I wish she broadened out to show brown girls are powerful and can do anything. I wish I had that kind of role model growing up.
Love your commentary. I’d like to state that Shonda has a problem with casting minorities with white people and only white people as well. She also loves to cast biracials as the beauty standard of black women
In scandal and how to get away murder she casted black women not biracial woman, so I disagree to an extent. I even applaud her for scandal for putting Kerry Washington as the main woman.
Why is a successful minority or minority celeb, suddenly the representative for their whole group? 🤨 I think most don’t sign up for that responsibility.
I don’t agree with Mindy, but I love “Never Have I Ever” and she does have talent and works hard or at least is doing something right, getting her shows out there.
Let women and poc do their thing, stop criticizing each other, too many people already do that!!
There is absolutely NO QUESTION that Mindy would *_gladly_* give up her arm and leg in exchange for a magic genie to transform her into a thin, blond haired, blue-eyed white American Cali woman named Brynn Smith(or something). If you disagree you are delusional. The chick dreams and fantasizes of being white day and night.
I honestly feel bad for her. She certainly grew up surrounded by people who downgraded her looks and color. We know how colorism works and damages the minds of people.
That clip from the Oscars makes me so furious, thank you for including it because why was that allowed to happen?
As someone who grew up in a white wealthy area with visible indigenous heritage- when literally all but three girls in my class had blonde hair-I was different. Honestly, it was more than looks too. I was “weird” (although I now relish I being different from those peers). A lot of times, boys made fun of me or were just mean. In high school (switched to public school, but it was predominantly wealthy and Caucasian) white guys didn’t like it. I was aware of this fact. It was frustrating and painful. But then I discovered that Black guys were less likely to treat me like an outcast. I found love.
All this to say, I maybe understand a bit. I agree that it’s not to trauma dump on literally every experience one has, but maybe that’s something of an art in itself. Whenever she feels ready to tell a different story, we’ll be here for it. But honestly, this woman has been through enough. If she wasn’t able to tell a different story, while I recognize the pain and frustration that this has caused many of her viewers, I hope we can find it in ourselves to hold the system to a higher expectation (of employing more South Asian writers directors and actors) rather than continually criticizing mindy (not knocking the purpose of the video, I get it, just my two cents
I really enjoyed this video andcame to watch bc it was mentioned in another thread. I wouldn't dispute any of the points made, at ALL, and i really like hearing your opinions! So,t hank you! One thing that I think about is whether Mindy has the obligation to write characters as role models, because it seems like that's what people want from her. But she is writing to what she thinks is funny, and actually a lot of her hard jokes are very well set up and those jokes depend on her characters being AWFUL people at times. Like "mindy" was supposed to be actually a really awful person in a lot of ways. i think to Kaling, if she wrote a really admirable woman and cast her as SE Asian, it just wouldn't be funny, so she wants her characters to be flawed. Like, REALLY wants them to be flawed. That's her whole thing! Kind of like Lena Dunham...but it seems to really get under people's skin when a woman writes women charcters who aren't great people. Also, I feel like people criticize Never Have I Ever without watching all the seasons. Why is Anissa never mentioned? Anissa also dates a white guy, but she is "cool" and doesn't have any nerd hang ups. Many of the main cast are SE Asian women on that show (mom, grandma, cousin), not just Devi. Also, the main love interest is NOT white, he is Biracial- Japanese and white. Coming from a multi racial family, that just really bothers me when people want to white wash someone because they are mixed. The other love interest, Ben, is white but he is also Jewish, and how many male Jewish love interests do we typically see? So, there's some representation there, too..... And in season 3 (i think) Devi does have a Indian love interest, who is very handsome and cool. Despite all that, i do think Mindy K sticks with the SAME formula again adn again, but obviously, that's what she thinks "works" in comedy. (and i guess it does, because networks keep giving her deals....) She's all about a push-pull, will they, won't they, romance. One more thing, I find Bella's character on SLOCG tiresome, but I get the impression she is supposed to be sex-positive, and showing that that South Asian women can be sexy, funny, and smart all at once, which i guess is supposed to break a stereotype...But it is interesting she never pairs the SE Asian women leads with a black guy or Latino guy....Just white or Asian. Clearly, SLOCG is purpposely trying to do some interracial romance, but it's white/black or indian/white or white/asian (Leighton and her gf). But I'm thinking they'[ll mix it up more as they go on, because MK KNOWS she gets heat for not having SE Asian love interests.
As an indian girl growing up in india we feel proud of being nerd. But I agree about the case of validation part.
Same here....
As an Indian brown girl, getting validation to feel confident is so true.
Just stumbled across your videos. Very interesting! And you are absolutely stunning!!
This discussion is so good and I’m glad people are questioning Mindy Kaling’s content and asking that she do more with her opportunity.
One thing that I want to point out (and this is probably mentioned in earlier comments) but growing up brown in the 90’s in the greater Boston area was a really tough experience. Being anything other than white really wasn’t acceptable by your peers, your teachers, etc. You really never knew when you’d be stabbed in the back or in the face. There was a certain bullying that was simply insidious. If Kaling’s experience was anything like mine, it’s no wonder that she’s internalized it - and a part of me applauds her for building her career out of that ugliness. But agreed that she can stretch herself and do more with her platform.
And if anyone had a better experience growing up brown in Boston in the 90’s, I’d love to hear about it! ❤
Mindy still just wants to be accepted and embraced by the white masses portrays brown girls in the way she was treated in her life and shonda does so in the way she thinks/fantasizes they (as well as black women) should be treated. Totally agree that it’s wild that mindy only has white love interests. I think her character in The Office shouldn’t even be a comparison, though, however. It would be really interesting to see an interview w Mindy where the criticisms of her are addressed. You def sound like you have a good idea about what may be fueling Mindy’s choices. However, when ppl have these types of insecurities it can take years of counseling to overcome such things.
I love Mindy! Yes, her writing is predictable and her love interests are white males but I don’t find her female leads to be weak. I think they are witty, relatable, and entertaining. Hollywood is not where I get my representation of people of color, I get it from real life interactions and experiences. I know what I’m getting when I watch her shows and if I’m not in the mood for it, I just simply change the channel.
This was a very good and insightful watch, thank you.
Thank you for this well done video. ♥️
I'm sorry but Mindy Kaling doesn't have the looks of Simone Ashley or Charithra Chandran. I may be dragged for saying this but those two women are exceptionally beautiful and that's why they were picked to be love interest in a series like Bridgerton. Yes, beyond their well written parts the audience understands why these two women stand out amongst the shows front runners and why they easily became competition and were envied amongst the court of women. Simone, especially is everything Mindy isn't in the realm of physicality being a 5ft10in actress. I know it sounds very harsh but pretty privilege is real and it's something Mindy understands very well. Yes I believe whiteness is something Mindy wants to be but I also think she wants to be pretty in general
My point exactly 💯
Yah that makes sense. Mindy tends to to make her characters look below average and act insecure which is how she might have felt growing up. I feel like the problem is that this skews Indian American representation to one side since there’s not much else. Simone and charithra are very beautiful but there’s plenty of others who are just as much, just not represented enough.
I don't like Shonda Rhimes' work (just personal preference: I think her writing is weak and formulaic) but she did a really great thing with diverse representation in Bridgerton! However, Kate's strong character and the inspiration for the two main romances was Pride & Prejudice. Pretty effortless to model. Elizabeth is set to be a spinster, doesn't really give AF about it, strong-ass woman, and falls for a man she initially has tension with. A tale as old as the Victorian era. Really sad about Mindy. I think she's got some self-disdain that could be worked on :( I hope she finds happiness.
Lets not forget that the relatives, family friends also played a role as she is a dark girl. Indians are very racist toward their own dark skinned people. I experienced a similar thing with relatives and family friends growing up even though im not indian. Their comments stay with me and made me an insecure girl. Alot of cultures have racist attitude toward dark color
Very good video, thanks! ❤
personally, i didnt like bridgerton. i feel like there were so many atrocities that the british did to india during the era that Bridgerton takes place in (Victorian Era), that when I watched it, to me it felt really disrespectful. I don't like how they can just casually gloss over such a horrific period in time for indian people. Also, if you really watch the show, it is clear to see that they did not really do their research on indian culture either...For example, they call their father "appa" which means father in tamil, but then Kate calls Edwina "bon", which is a term for little sister in Bengali, and Edwina calls Kate "Didi" which means older sister in hindi??? to me, i think it is yet again, another disappointment in indian representation.
sorry for this being so long, but i feel like another problem with representation in general is that usually characters either hate their culture or their entire identity revolves around their culture. But I have never seen a show where they portray people of color normally, where the person just happens to be South Asian, East Asian, Black etc. i feel like that is a huge problem when it comes to representation.
Oh my gosh you just said what I think all the time. It's whitewashing the crimes what Britishers did. Like at that time Britishers did not marry or loved indian women they raped,killed , forcefully changed religion but definitely didn't respect or love. Before the 2nd part of bridgerton I didn't even know that show existed. Season gave them a lot of views too.
I think you have to remember that bridgerton is set in a alternative reality. Slavery wasn't abolished in British colonies until 1833 and bridgerton is set in 1813. In their world because the king married a black woman, blacks and whites were seen as equal ( which is just ridiculous, they should have just had a world that those things didn't even exist for it to work). So even having black people in the aristocracy wouldn't make sense if this were based on the reality of our world.
It's fictional, not to viewed as 100% factual.
@@80sgirlwhamduran i get what you are saying by it is fictional, but it feels like they are belittling the amount of pain and suffering that was actually going on in this period of time, and it also does not help that britain to this day does not acknowledge its horrible colonial past, and views it as the "golden era". also, indian people, indian women especially were brutally tortured and r*ped by british men during this period it feels like the show is belittling that suffering by giving us a love story...its also weird in the first season how they belittle the horrors african slaves had to face during that period of time too and again, just compensate it with a love story
Ok, thought it was just me. I am super intrigued by any on screen representation of black and brown women. Regardless of where we're from in the world, brown women seem to share similar experiences, especially when it comes to work and dating. I have attempted to watch Mindy Kaling subject matter for many years, and while I do know that she is funny and a talented writer, I have never felt any connection to her characters. It's kind of sad, but I'm hoping for better.
as a brown girl i totally get what you’re saying but when i try to put myself in mindy’s shoes i think, just cause she’s brown everything she does is now gonna be politicized. we don’t do this with white women. she should be able to do whatever she wants creatively without pressure or expectation or responsibility. that’s how i personally feel about it. and also, why should she need to include brown men representation ? especially since we don’t know if she has had negative experiences with them which is the case for a lot of us brown girls.
You are acting as though other brown girl communities (Black, Latin American, Native, etc) don’t deal with the same issues. Yes, it’s extremely difficult to bear the weight of being the only one in the room. Shonda Rhimes dealt and still deals with similar criticisms as Mindy Kaling. The fact that they have their hang ups isn’t the problem. The problem is that because they are or were the firsts, their personal hang ups become the expected norm for those who follow. Newer creators who don’t want to perpetuate stereotypes/who want to make something new and different get passed over in favor of established creators whose work has serious issues. It’s not about putting yourself in Mindy Kaling’s shoes. It’s about why hers are the only ones you CAN step into at present.
@@Lahiwe this!!! The unfortunate reality is that when you’re the first you become the blueprint that others coming behind you have to consider whether it aligns with them or not. The precedent that Mindy is setting for South Asian women in the entertainment industry is troubling.
@@Lahiwe How am I acting as though other communities don’t deal with the same issues? i am latina myself. and i know our communities have many similarities. i totally see your point about newer artists getting passed over and that’s not good.
would it be nice if mindy did other roles? sure. but it’s not her responsibility even if she is the “first”. why can’t woc just exist without this pressure and create whatever they want? she is being authentic to who SHE is. but my comment wasn’t to discredit these criticisms (which for the most part are valid) but more so just to offer a different perspective. my whole thing is, we don’t critique white women this way. why do brown girls in the media have to hold all this pressure and responsibility? i get we have stereotypes and a bunch of other things against us but we should also be able to create what we want and what is authentic to us.
Why would women of colour care/discuss how white women are represented in the media? They can do that themselves. And white people never struggled with representation tho. They've always had it. If they don't like one creator's characterization, they can just look elsewhere and it won't be difficult to find it. Unfortunately, that's not the experience of most poc. I agree that it's unfair to expect Mindy to represent a whole (diverse) community and do it right. But that's not really what's being asked of her anymore. She writes all her indian female characters as a self-insert and that's always redundant. She has an India mother, aunts, probably cousins, etc. Why not take inspiration from them to diversy her work? Change helps growth. Also no one is asking her to represent brown men in her work. There's other races and ethnicities in the world. And even if she sticks to white men, why do they always have to be jerks or borderline abusive? Why can't they just fall for the nerdy, insecure Indian girl from the get go?
@@carriesnaps3508 i think you missed my point. i don’t expect woc to discuss white women and i’m not negating white women never struggled with representation, i know they haven’t. but i’m just saying, why critique a brown girl for her creative choices … why can’t brown women simply exist and create without their work being politicized? i’m all for critiquing and i do think it’s necessary but i also don’t think Mindy has done anything inherently wrong here. but of course that’s just my opinion and as i stated before i do think the criticism is valid, but i just wanted to offer another perspective as well.
I like how you brought up the success of Bridgerton. I despise race-swapping in remakes and the amount of remakes being pumped out is becoming exhausting in general. Give us new stories. Bridgerton was delightful. It’s insulting to just change the race of characters and expect to get the “diversity views.” Plot, good storytelling, and character development still matters. I hope Velma’s flop and Bridgerton’s success starts bringing that shift…
It’s nice to hear a conversation about psych units that aren’t all negative. I see so many that essentially discourage people from admitting to their therapists if they’re having ideations. I was in a bad place once and was teetering on the edge of needing a stay in the psych unit. I’m glad my therapists had Frank conversations about potentially committing me or helping me understand how to commit myself. There were times where I wasn’t really safe to be with myself. I needed help and seeing post after post bashing psych units/involuntary commitment was really hard to see when I desperately needed help and safeguards against myself.
Were you ever admitted? Because a lot of US states have involuntary commitment programs.
So being locked anywhere against your will for 72 hours with forced medication and no opt out program will definitely make you feel negatively towards it.
I personally was put on a medication for a schizophrenic and it was a strong sedative.
There was various women half conscious and drooling. Due to it's strong nature. One of the counselors was a ex-pastor and could hardly contain his desire to preach.
Good for you for not being kidnapped, but I'll never refer to it as something that will be better for anyone experiencing mental illness.
A makeshift rehab? Maybe
A refugee for women in abusive relationships? Sure, I saw it happen
A resting place for someone experiencing homelessness? Yep, caught that experience happening there as well.
It shouldn't be treated lightly or like something anyone should or can do.
They sent me off with a regular prescription for that heavy sedative with instructions to continue taking them.
Had I been more naive, I would be brain dead and crazier than when I started.
Frankly need more opportunities or resources to heal from the state sanctioned trauma that occurred.
Don't even understand why I was on schizophrenic medication.
I was told I had a bipolar diagnosis and had to ask multiple times what the diagnosis was, and was denied a female doctor when requested.
Also had a shortage of scrubs at my facility so I wore the same clothes for all required 72 hrs plus an extra 16 they kept me for "just in case."
Not to disagree with your point but Mindy's character is actually a boss, a glam diva, a villain at times, she tries to change. It's a chaotic character.
Ty for what you said about original Scooby-Doo I have so many memories watching the series in the 80s with scrappy doo :)
I just wanna say how I love that you try to humanize her instead of just straight-up degrade her
Thank you for this vid. The genres that Mindy usually partakes in aren't my cuppa tea but I felt bad cos I thought I should be supporting my kind of demographic in Hollywood. This vid clarifies why I could never engage in her shows. I will, however still look for better representation thanks to your helpful insights.
Thank you, wonderfully clear headed.
This was a good video. I think that Mindy has done the best she could with her career given the choices she was presented. I wish she represented me better but I mean the Bollywood setting & dance in the marvel’s Eternals was also cringey.
We are just starting to see more awareness in Hollywood and generally in people after RRR.
Ooooh. I can't wait to watch this
Now do the obsession that Asian women have with white men. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’s author is an excellent example.
Man, it's everywhere. As a bw, I had no idea liking and loving myself and people like me, as well as others, was such a rarity.
Mindy is a actress, writer and producer and business woman. She is not a representative, figure head or spokesperson for Indians. She is not responsible for the entire Indian nation.
👏👏👏
Interesting. When something positive comes out of her she gets all the credit in the world for being a great representation for Indians but when something negative comes out of her, she no longer is responsible?
@@brownmamba6538 How do I like your comment 100 times? 👏
@@Apalion41 appreciate it 😊
Both strong and “weak” POC characters can exist but Mindy needs to realize that as a well known brown woman, she has a responsibility to portray more than she keeps portraying.
It really isn’t her responsibility. She writes what she knows she can’t be held accountable for every brown girl’s experience. No one criticises Jack Black for playing the same kind of character, because he doesn’t represent all white men. I do think that Mindy’s writing of SA women are a little misogynistic and involve a bit of internalised racism but honestly this is more of a problem of we need more SA writers in general, one lady shouldn’t be expected to write for the whole community
@@phantomkowai6621 Jack black plays the same character because there are a million other white dudes. How many brown women are famous in Hollywood? Also if she can’t write other characters, doesn’t that mean she is not very creative and imaginative to create other stories?
I just subscribed to your channel and I'm am so happy to see more and more ppl call out the hypocrisy of Mindy Khaling and all of this wokeness ish . Ty🙏🏿
I love your content
Hi! Amazing video! I have one small suggestion- the script font is difficult to read, maybe you could use a sans serif font so it would be better to read especially for auditory challenged
Yess. More video essays by a brown girl. please
Ms.marvel is an amazing Pakistani American representation… would love your opinion
This is on my list of future videos :)
She's not "representing," she's going for laughs & uses what she knows as a part of that. Lucielle Ball did it. Moms Mabley did it. Christella Alonso did it. Molly Shannon did it. It's pretty standard for comedy, especially these days.
Great vid! This provided much to think about. That said where did you get your olive green sweatshirt. It's so nice
Omg i was just writing the script for a Mindy Kaling video too..
Btw loved your video ♥️👏🏻
I'm late but I'm tapped in 😅
new subscriber here! i love your content and what you're doing, and i hope to see more in the future! ♡♡
I am south Asian, some of the stupidest people ever, I was a child and they were constantly reminding me not to be in sun too much, tearing my confidence down. And you’re right brown guys don’t pursue brown girls. They have all sort of options ( both of my brothers are dating white women) And me now happily married to my white prince who pursued, wooed me and married me and he finds me rediculously pretty ( he’s obsessed) and has never made any comments about my skin besides ‘ baby you’re glowing’ and his side of the family is so non toxic and I love it. so you do you, find your confidence, find your love and live your life. Btw we both enjoy aspects of my cultures that we love but hate to admit it but I don’t like a lot my side of the family ( cultural toxic, personality toxic) and we do stay away from it lol.
"Brown guys don't pursue brown girls." That's anecdotal and isn't at all backed by any statistic since the data shows that most Indian men date and marry within their own race. It's as asinine as saying, " Indian girls prefer white guys because some Indian girls I tried to pursue chose white men instead."
Thats great for you. But the fact that your brothers specifically seek out white women is more the evidence that South Asians are stuck in a state of white worship. The only time we ever date out is for white people. Its not at all unheard of for people to mock Indian women now as well for chasing after white men. Meanwhile we avoid our own kind based on stereotypes perpetuated by white people. "I dont like Indian girls/boys because they'll pull me into traditional expectations." It's the most pathetic gender war ever because ultimately it benefits mediocre whites. Whites are the reason even YOU can't see your own men as individuals just as they probably cant see you past a monolith. You really think there aren't brown men who'd respect you? Meanwhile, we'll treat our God whites as special snowflakes who should never be seen as anything but individuals.
South Asians are a defeated race. You are defeated people with bottled up inferior complexity. This is the crux!
Frank, from the heart discussions like this are very much needed.
this was a great video,
I feel more like “HELLLOOOO! THAT’S WHAT US BLACK WOMEN, BEEN TRYING TO TELL ALL OF YOU!” The entire video, and analysis of the representation as us BW, but BLACK MEN TOO.. Hollywood and these elites ain’t sht! But yes, Mindy does need to show more positivity about her heritage, standards, and culture.. because it is very dangerous and misleading.. And that’s all of us, speaking from being Black in America’s history!