Proposal Title
Indian Americans on TV: Mindy Kaling, Never Have I Ever and Emergent Discourses of ‘Diversity’ in US Media
Submission Type
Individual Paper (Virtual)
Start Date
June 2022
End Date
June 2022
Abstract
In this paper, I consider the representational “success” of Mindy Kaling’s Netflix show Never Have I Ever (2020-) against the backdrop of contemporary industry narratives of inclusivity and diversity in US media. The show’s portrayal of an Indian American family and an Indian American teenage girl have been in the news for being ground-breaking and disruptive of long-standing American/Western stereotypes about Indian immigrants and Indian American girlhood (the show’s representation of caste and religion in particular have been called out by critics, for reinforcing hegemonic Indian American norms). In this paper, I draw on popular and trade accounts of Kaling’s celebrity status as the leading Indian American showrunner and writer, reviews and critical takes on what the show means for Indian/South Asian American, brown and immigrant representations on US television and Kaling’s evolving arguments on “diversity,” including her mixed feelings about being the “diversity hire” for The Office. The paper discusses the representational work of the show in terms of shifting the conversation about Indian Americans on television while also noting that framing the show’s relevance within the industry-generated narratives of “diversity” is limiting and problematic.
Indian Americans on TV: Mindy Kaling, Never Have I Ever and Emergent Discourses of ‘Diversity’ in US Media
In this paper, I consider the representational “success” of Mindy Kaling’s Netflix show Never Have I Ever (2020-) against the backdrop of contemporary industry narratives of inclusivity and diversity in US media. The show’s portrayal of an Indian American family and an Indian American teenage girl have been in the news for being ground-breaking and disruptive of long-standing American/Western stereotypes about Indian immigrants and Indian American girlhood (the show’s representation of caste and religion in particular have been called out by critics, for reinforcing hegemonic Indian American norms). In this paper, I draw on popular and trade accounts of Kaling’s celebrity status as the leading Indian American showrunner and writer, reviews and critical takes on what the show means for Indian/South Asian American, brown and immigrant representations on US television and Kaling’s evolving arguments on “diversity,” including her mixed feelings about being the “diversity hire” for The Office. The paper discusses the representational work of the show in terms of shifting the conversation about Indian Americans on television while also noting that framing the show’s relevance within the industry-generated narratives of “diversity” is limiting and problematic.
Bio
Madhavi Mallapragada is associate professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of Virtual Homelands: Indian Immigrants and Online Cultures in the United States. (2014) and is currently working on a book manuscript that explores the politics of race and ethnicity in US media industries. https://rtf.utexas.edu/faculty/madhavi-mallapragada