We Wanted Chikezie the Immigrant

Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times argues that Americans might not have dinged Idol's one remaining black male singer if he'd shown off his Nigerian roots. Mourning the loss of the rich R&B and soul contributions of African-American male singers, Ms. Powers is troubled by "white America's seeming reluctance to universally embrace a strong black male voice, unless it belongs to a rapper selling blaxploitation fantasies to teens." We're okay with African-American male singers, she says, but only if they're relatively fresh off the boat:

(Chikezie) should have taken a cue from the black male singer to find the greatest recent success -- Akon, who almost beat Daughtry for last year's top spot. Like Chikezie, Akon has African roots, and he's used his immigrant voice to shake up preconceived notions of what a soul singer should sound like. Chikezie kept talking about "Nigerian cultural music" during his interviews; he should have incorporated some into this performances.

I'll admit the temptation to babble my way through airport security, wielding my "American" accent to escape random spot checks. But as I read Powers' article, I realized sadly that there's one demographic in our society who might actually benefit by faking a foreign accent -- young black men.

The Thighs of a Sherpa: SuperBowl Ads

Although I prefer last year's ad, Carlos Mencia and his gang of endearing immigrant geeks managed to pull off another one that comes near to but not quite crosses the line:

Meanwhile, another racist ad angered Asians everywhere. Check out the combo of Chinese accented English, anthropomorphized immigrants eating bamboo, and psychic savior with the "American" voice:

The crazy news is that the ads were designed to be racist. They were conceptualized and written by Vin Gupta, the founder and chairman of the company, in an effort to create the worst ads of the year and gain the company some name recognition. Gupta, born and educated in India before settling in the USA, once served as the ambassador to Fiji.

Since most viewers didn't know that the ads were purposely bad, how did they react to it? Some might not have even noticed the racism while others immediately and publicly berated it, thus fulfilling the company's hopes of spreading their brand. And then there's the group I'm concerned about -- first gen kids who winced at the thought of their classmates, most of whom aren't savvy enough to recognize a marketing ploy, watching it. 

Next year, if the company wants to pull this stunt again, why not add an honest last frame pointing viewers to a url like votefortheworstad.com? Wouldn't that be slightly more ... should we say diplomatic, Mr. Gupta?

MTV Arabia: Oxymoron?

I'm all for crossing cultural boundaries, but I'm feeling a bit of virtual jet lag after hearing that MTV is launching in the Arab world. I've also been trying to make sense of tips on how a girl can glam up a winter hajib (i.e., top it off with a stylish beret) published in the latest issue of Muslim Girl magazine, which makes for a fascinating read.

Sanjaya on SNL: The New Hotness of Brown

For all of my angst over Sanjaya Malakar's continued progress in American Idol, I do have to admit that it's lovely seeing tween girls across America going nuts over a brown boy. Especially when things like this are happening on our planet (Source: Sepia Mutiny). After you get depressed over that fiasco down under, see if you can find a clip of Saturday Night Live's recent parody of Sanjaya and his weeping fan base -- marking the first time, I think, that a South Asian American has ever attained that honored place in pop culture. (I had embedded the clip here from YouTube, but it seems to have disappeared from that site.)

Please Don't Vote For Sanjaya

I can't stand to see him suffer, and the potential for future pain seems great. Let him return home to safety. Are folks text-messaging from India? If so, stop immediately. Also, have you noticed how many biracial people were featured in this season's American Idol -- Sanjaya, Jordin, Jarret, Sabrina. Have I missed anybody? I don't know about you, but I enjoyed seeing so many black/brown/white combos of parents beaming proudly. I know that many minority groups, though, see the mixed-up files of the new America as a quiet genocide. BTW, why has Sanjaya's brown Baba disappeared?

Super Bowl Ad: Americanization Class

My favorite ad during the Super Bowl was a good-natured spoof on classes for new immigrants. There was the Eastern European guy attempting a New York accent. The Indian guy trying to sound East L.A. with an overdone South Asian head waggle. The Burmese or Cambodian dude trying to pronounce "Bood Light."

It was touch and go for a while as I watched with my between-cultures radar tuned to high alert. But then the commercial won me over, as all of these guys rehearsed a unanimous "Don' speak English" to use when asked about the location of their beer.



Why did this ad work? At the end of the day, it makes fun of those people who think new Americans are stupid for not speaking English well. They're the ones who'll get duped in the long run -- not the immigrants striving hard to master the language.

A South Asian Cab Driver? Surprise, Surprise!

Will someone puh-leeze write a South Asian part for the small-screen that doesn't involve wielding a gun or driving a cab? I already griped about this in my post about Heroes, but obviously the terrorist-or-taxi motif isn't irritating anybody else but me, as it's happening again tonight in a new show called The Knights of Prosperity:

Back home in India, Gourishankar "Gary" Subramaniam (Maz Jobrani) was a superstar lawyer, but here in New York City he drives a cab to make ends meet. Reluctant to join the group at first, Gary has a change in heart when Eugene reminds him that, although he was a winner at home, here he chauffeurs old ladies to Broadway matinees. (Source: SAJA)

Jobrani's not even Indian to begin with, so now we have an Iranian-American actor forced to fake a generic Indian accent. Yippee. Meanwhile, my son's just used part of his iTunes gift card to download The Office's Diwali episode. I'm hoping that watching with him might help me lighten up and ignore the omnipresent life-in-the-margins commentary that goes on in my head. That inner voice reminds me of a certain type of tweedy guy you date only once -- they're both politically aware but relentlessly mirthless.

Hooked on Heroes

It's no wonder teens like mine are devouring NBC's hit show. I'm addicted, too, despite my low tolerance for violence on the screen. I watch because (a) well, it's good entertainment, and (b) Heroes highlights so much of what I celebrate about teenagers:

This generation's relaxed take on interracial relationships. There's the lovable Japanese guy and sweet Southern redhead, the Italian-American hospice nurse and his elegant biracial-ish lady, and the violent, gorgeous blonde mother, her African-American husband, and their mixed-race child. Best of all, you don't even notice the different hues of skin as you watch these characters struggle through their relationships.

This generation's realistic grasp of human nature. As noted by Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe, this cast of imperfect heroes have weaknesses that are the shadow side of their strengths:

One of the brilliant strokes in creator Tim Kring's "Heroes" concept is that some of the superpowers are extensions of character. Nathan Petrelli is a dodgy person, and so he can literally fly out of bad situations. Niki Sanders is at war with herself, and when she looks in the mirror she actually sees a demon glaring back. Claire is the dearest of them all, though, as an intrepid teenager who adapts and recovers despite the psychological and physical blows the world throws at her...

And in keeping with this power-made-perfect-in-weakness motif, the most recent episode revealed that the cop with the power to read minds has, of all things, dyslexia.

The passion of teens to be part of a grand, noble mission. These characters must unite to "save the cheerleader," but even more important, they are called to use their gifts to "save the world."

An understanding of the deep bonds formed through adoption. Clare's father will apparently do anything to protect his non-biological and extremely beloved daughter.

Despite everything that's happened during the lifetime, their persistent openness to foreigners. A gorgeous, intelligent Indian guy (finally, a South Asian hero for my brown boys) attempts to bring these heroes together and make peace with his dead father and sister (named "Shanti," or peace).

Consider tuning into this show, perusing the graphic novels, or catching the episodes you've missed on-line, especially if you're called to the grand mission of serving and loving teenagers.

A Heroic Indian Accent?

During author visits to middle schools, I share how movies and television influenced the shame I used to feel over my parents' accents. For example, in Disney films where South Asian or Middle Eastern characters are heroes (i.e., Jungle Book, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Aladdin), the good guys have "American" accents. Meanwhile people who sound like my parents are either fodder for jokes (i.e., Apu in the Simpsons and his filthy mini-mart, taxi drivers in countless movies, etc.) or bad guys (i.e., Kal Penn in this season's 24 will make an appearance as ... surprise ... a terrorist).

Now that I'm a parent of Indian boys myself, I worry about the kinds of messages they're receiving from pop culture about their ethnicity. I blogged recently about the disconcerting presence of South Asians in movies based on of two my favorite children's books: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (creepy oompah-loompah) and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (evil dwarf). That's why, after I learned from Sepia Mutiny blogger Taz that a young hunk named Sendhil Ramamurthy (see photo above) was starring in the hit show, we taped NBC's new Sci-Fi drama Heroes.

I endured (and fast-forwarded through) scenes of gore, mutilation, and the sexual exploitation of a young mother so that the boys could see a handsome South Asian hero light up the screen. Ramamurthy's accent sounded hideously fake to my ears, and to my amazement I discovered that the actor was born in Illinois. I found myself wondering why they didn't write his character as an Indian-American sans accent OR hire an actor from India for the role. Did they go after an actor with American head and hand movements and other western non-verbals so that viewers would find him more heroic? The show's writers also gave his character two vocations that are both stereotypically Indian: the smart, mystical college professor and of course, the inevitable taxi cab driver. But now I'm being nitpicky. Lighten up, Mitali, I tell myself. At least he's not a scary sidekick. Beggars can't be choosers, especially when it comes to a mother's post-9/11 hunt for pop culture heroes who look like her sons.