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[LionPride]

Dev dates several black women and Indian women in Master of None.

Like, the sample size is so small for leading Indian men in Hollywood that this article feels about 25 years too soon. Especially since the two examples in question (as well as the movie Lion) are based on either true stories or closely based on the lead actor's real dating life.

It does have some basis in reality as well. Stats show that >40% of native-born Asian men (and >50% of women) in America enter interracial marriages, with >70% of those being to white spouses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter...u.E2.80.99s_2008_American_Community_Survey.29

As an aside, Slumdog Millionaire had a brown-brown romance and as far as I know it's the highest grossing Hollywood film with an Indian lead actor: $377 million.

MoN is interesting, his main love interests have been a white woman and an Italian woman

 

[Dongs Macabre]

That's another thing, can you really call this a trend?

Back in high school, our school made us watch this Canadian movie for some reason or other, and basically it was about a Sikh dude who played hockey and met Drake in a cameo. The love interest was white, of course. Looking it up online, it seems that the lead actor has made at least one other movie where the love interest is a white woman.

There's definitely more examples outside of these two shitty Canadian movies and the examples given in the article.

 

[victreeb3l]

I'm happy to see brown dudes on TV in any capacity but I kinda see this articles point.

 

[lightskintwin]

Because it sold well in smaller markets and they feel bolder to release wide because of its success and buzz. This is how these things work. Not because this is a "safe" interracial relationship.

I'm not going to speculate why this film got made, but I could understand how somebody could see it like that. I mean it was an independent film produced by Judd Apatow with every intent to go the way it has, as long as it reviewed well, got picked up by a distributor, and there was an audience for it obviously.

 

[karasu]

Most of Will Smith's pairings have been with Black women, same with Denzel.

This was back when he made that one where he was paired with Eva Mendes I think.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

As a side note a large issue I have with this trend in movies is that the minority never actually comes in contact with people of their owm race whom are clearly westernized. Like one criticism of Master of None gets that I disagree with is that even though Dev has white love interests as mains in the story he dates other races. And they are not all portrayed as a joke.

 

[Dongs Macabre]

"A South Asian man rejecting a South Asian woman because of her culture is a more radical statement than if it were the other way around. In The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling’s onscreen relationships with white guys take on a different context, because South Asia is a patriarchy—a colorist patriarchy."

So Mindy Kaling dating only white dudes is ok, because the "South Asian patriarchy"? What in the what? The mental gymnastics astound me. Is there no such thing as the white male patriarchy in America anymore?

There was another article someone posted on AsianGAF that was more elegantly worded, IMO.

Here:

https://qz.com/1016554/aziz-ansari-...tors-have-reduced-brown-women-to-a-punchline/

 

[Twig and Berries]

So isn't the issue that they're not seen as two individual people in a relationship and not that they are a South Asian couple?

It's an issue of stereotyping.

the author is literally south asian.

And? I listed a few different issues when it comes to representation in couples, not all of which are encapsulated in this article.

 

[grandwizard]

Really disagree with the article, Asian men (both south and east Asian) have been neglected as romantic interests in TV/Movies for literally decades now. Always the side character or nerd stereotype. There is a reason why Glenn and Maggie on The Walking Dead was big news; it was an unusual sight for majority white TV audiences.

Minority females on the other hand have been in TV/Movies as the 'prize' romantic interest for many White leads, which has it's own problems with gender politics and fetishization. IRL it leads to even the nerdiest White dude thinking he has a shot with the hottest brown girl.

These new shows like Master of None are correcting something that's been off balance for years, and we finally see some Asian dude 'getting the girl' on the big screen and now there's complaints about it from people that should be for more representation. It's ridiculous.

 

[MugiwaraCole]

The complaint is valid. The example isn't.

That's fine.

I was especially interested in using MoN as an example because I was very annoyed that he never saw the black woman from England again after they'd hit it off.

 

[hawk2025]

The complaint is valid. The example isn't.

That's fine.

Exactly.

 

[Deepwater]

It's an issue of stereotyping.



And? I listed a few different issues when it comes to representation in couples, not all of which are encapsulated in this article.

your premise is faulty of accusing someone to "decide what is and isn't a problem" when all he's doing is reiterating what's been said by people in the in-group.

 

[lightskintwin]

This was back when he made that one where he was paired with Eva Mendes I think.

Even then most of his pairing have been with Black women. Also being paired with a Latina is seen as better than being paired with a White woman. Eva Mendes paired with Mike Epps in it's All About the Benjamins and Denzel in Training Day. Back then it was more of an issue, than it is now.

Nobody cares if Will Smith is on screen with a White woman.

 

[HisImperialMajesty]

If you followed these sort of think pieces, then you would know that Mindy is also very much getting dragged for only dating White men on her show too.

Oh I know. My point is the way the author of this particular thinkpiece justifies Mindy Kaling only dating white men on her show, but denigrates South Asian men dating white women, because there is a "colorist South Asian patriarchy". Perhaps you can explain it better to me, but how does the existence of a "South Asian patriarchy" justify Mindy dating only white men on her show, in a white male dominated American society?

 

[Trojita]

Because it sold well in smaller markets and they feel bolder to release wide because of its success and buzz. This is how these things work. Not because this is a "safe" interracial relationship.

Next you are going to have to explain how Hollywood loves money even more than being racist. It's almost like Indian Americans only account for less than 1% of the population.

 

[Deepwater]

Even then most of his pairing have been with Black women. Also being paired with a Latina is seen as better than being paired with a White woman. Eva Mendes paired with Mike Epps in it's All About the Benjamins and Denzel in Training Day. Back then it was more of an issue, than it is now.

Nobody cares if Will Smith is on screen with a White woman.

can we take it a step further and talk about which kinds of "latin" women get paired off in these films?

We can do the same for black women too

 

[lightskintwin]

It's an issue of stereotyping.

So let me get this straight, you're saying it's a stereotype for the same racial/ethnic group to be in a relationship with the same racial/ethnic group?

 

[UnemployedVillain]

"A South Asian man rejecting a South Asian woman because of her culture is a more radical statement than if it were the other way around. In The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling's onscreen relationships with white guys take on a different context, because South Asia is a patriarchy—a colorist patriarchy."

So Mindy Kaling dating only white dudes is ok, because the "South Asian patriarchy"? What in the what? The mental gymnastics astound me. Is there no such thing as the white male patriarchy in America anymore?

It's ok when South Asian women do it, but not when men do it lol. I found that hilarious. What predominantly white culture isn't also a patriarchy? What culture anywhere isn't patriarchal?! Dev at least shows interest in women of color and is shown going on dates with them. Mindy has pretty much exclusively only even had white males as potential love interests, let alone ones she's dated in the show

 

[Poor GRIMES]

Oh I know. My point is the way the author of this particular thinkpiece justifies Mindy Kaling only dating white men on her show, but denigrates South Asian men dating white women, because there is a "colorist South Asian patriarchy". Perhaps you can explain it better to me, but how does the existence of a "South Asian patriarchy" justify Mindy dating only white men on her show, in a white male dominated American society?

It's not a justification. I read it as her interpreting that South Asian women and South Asian men have different reasons for dating outside of their race in the real world. Women date outside of their race because they fear that staying inside will entrap them in patriarchal beliefs of what womanhood is. Men, on the other end, date outside of their race to be more accepted into the diaspora and to forego the expectations that their parents have for them to date within their race.

 

[wandering]

It's an issue of stereotyping.



And? I listed a few different issues when it comes to representation in couples, not all of which are encapsulated in this article.

You might want to know that Fresh Off the Boat was positively received by the Asian American community in part specifically because it portrayed an Asian American man and woman in a relationship.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

can we take it a step further and talk about which kinds of "latin" women get paired off in these films?

We can do the same for black women too

With Will Smith the reality is he starred in so much black focused stuff it's hard to apply the pedestalling white women criticism to him. Like for example 6 seasons of Fresh Prince where he hits on like 90% black women.

 

[lightskintwin]

can we take it a step further and talk about which kinds of "latin" women get paired off in these films?

We can do the same for black women too

You can go even further and see which type of women always represent Latinas in Hollywood. It's as if Afro Latinas don't even exist.

 

[Twig and Berries]

your premise is faulty of accusing someone to "decide what is and isn't a problem" when all he's doing is reiterating what's been said by people in the in-group.

What if I told you one article isn't indicative if how everyone in a community feels about representation. He's not referencing the article at all anyway, just what he and only he qualifies as an issue

 

[Jest Chillin]

Really disagree with the article, Asian men (both south and east Asian) have been neglected as romantic interests in TV/Movies for literally decades now. Always the side character or nerd stereotype. There is a reason why Glenn and Maggie on The Walking Dead was big news; it was an unusual sight for majority white TV audiences.

Minority females on the other hand have been in TV/Movies as the 'prize' romantic interest for many White leads, which has it's own problems with gender politics and fetishization. IRL it leads to even the nerdiest White dude thinking he has a shot with the hottest brown girl.

These new shows like Master of None are correcting something that's been off balance for years, and we finally see some Asian dude 'getting the girl' on the big screen and now there's complaints about it from people that should be for more representation. It's ridiculous.

So you believe that the proper course correction for Minority Women, actually let's say what it actually is, Asian Women being fetishized in Hollywood films is that Minority Men should be shown pursuing White Women?

That's the inference that you've made.

I mean, I think the spirit of what you're saying might be "Baby steps are better than no steps" but I don't understand why society should settle for baby steps.

 

[HisImperialMajesty]

Yeah IIRC he dates a few women of color here and there but they spend much more time / he seems to put much more effort into courting some white chicks.

Reducing them just to race is.. meh, though. Benefit of the doubt-- he found them more interesting. Even if the author has a point, ATM I honestly have a hard time wanting to really push the issue because Asians are underrepresented enough as it is, especially Asian men with female love interests.


Sure, there are Asian men out there that treat / look at getting a white woman as the "ultimate" prize-- like, "oh I've made it." They are free to feel that way, and I am free to point out that they have very problematic views on women as well as some apparent self-hate issues.

I think there is a problem with both Asian men and Asian women, or really immigrant communities as a whole, putting a white romantic partner on a pedestal, very much in the way you characterized it, "oh I've made it" in America. The media only reinforces it by only depicting Asian men and women with white partners, or - in the case of East Asians, East Asian women with white men and East Asian men completely asexualized. We need more representation of Asian men dating Asian women on screen, versus the overrepresentation of Asians exclusively in interracial relationships.

 

[Twig and Berries]

So let me get this straight, you're saying it's a stereotype for the same racial/ethnic group to be in a relationship with the same racial/ethnic group?

It's stereotyping when the only two people of the same race are paired from the beginning for no other reason that they're the same race. This tendency isn't limited to Asian couples

 

[Deepwater]

With Will Smith the reality is he starred in so much black focused stuff it's hard to apply the pedestalling white women criticism to him. Like for example 6 seasons of Fresh Prince where he hits on like 90% black women.

it's a black sitcom, and I was speaking more in general rather than will smith.

but, if you really want to, I would count up Will Smith's non biographical films (cause he's done a lot) and see if there is parity. Not saying he's exclusively paired with white women but he's paired up with light skinned hispanic and black women when it's not.

It's an issue that encompasses many different kinds of biases.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

it's a black sitcom, and I was speaking more in general rather than will smith.

but, if you really want to, I would count up Will Smith's non biographical films (cause he's done a lot) and see if there is parity. Not saying he's exclusively paired with white women but he's paired up with light skinned hispanic and black women when it's not.

It's an issue that encompasses many different kinds of biases.

I agree with you. I was just saying Will Smith doesn't get that type casting nearly as much. Wasn't arguing against your point.

Anyway as I was saying, my main issue with the way interracial relationships are shown is that it doesn't characterize minority supporting cast as regular people. Like why is the brown dude only meeting fresh off the boat brown women? Why is he only ever interested in the stereotypical good looming "normal" white girl? I find this is wear my eyes roll.

 

[Poor GRIMES]

It's stereotyping when the only two people of the same race are paired from the beginning for no other reason that they're the same race. This tendency isn't limited to Asian couples

Is this stereotyping?

 

[sleepykyo]

An Asian guy got married? Nice.

From her perspective it is pretty tired, but Asian males might as well be eunuchs in Hollywood.

 

[Jest Chillin]

Even then most of his pairing have been with Black women. Also being paired with a Latina is seen as better than being paired with a White woman. Eva Mendes paired with Mike Epps in it's All About the Benjamins and Denzel in Training Day. Back then it was more of an issue, than it is now.

Nobody cares if Will Smith is on screen with a White woman.

Co-leading with a white woman is a bit different than having a white romantic interest. The latter is still largely viewed as box office limiting by Studio Execs. Which is why Will was opposite Eva Mendes in Hitch as opposed to Cameron Diaz. Even the perception of a Black Man with a White Woman was considered too risky for the Studio.

Most films where you see that specific pairing happen tend to be Black Films that tend to approach the topic through the lens of the Black Community.

 

[lightskintwin]

It's stereotyping when the only two people of the same race are paired from the beginning for no other reason that they're the same race. This tendency isn't limited to Asian couples

Didn't I address this here:

So isn't the issue that they're not seen as two individual people in a relationship and not that they are a South Asian couple?

 

[Cagey]

A fantastically accurate title change.

 

[Twig and Berries]

You might want to know that Fresh Off the Boat was positively received by the Asian American community in part specifically because it portrayed an Asian American man and woman in a relationship.

And that's great! I didn't say every instance was problematic, I even went so far as saying individual examples frequently are difficult to criticize. I was merely pointing out a general trend and how it has its own issues divorced from what's being addressed in the article.

I only continued talking about it because I was accused of "making up" the problem in a really condescending and tactless way. I've made my point though so I'll stop.

 

[Tinfoilhatsron]

Accurate title change.

 

[Tylercrat]

Some dark skin dudes are very attracted to light skin girls. Some light skin dudes are very attracted to dark skin girls. So what? I'm just happy they are starting to make shows and movies more diverse. Could they have more dark skin girls as the love interest- of course they could. And they should.

But first of all, I am happy Aziz Ansari and others are starting to get recognition for their creative talents. I am sure at some point more South Asian, East Asian, East African, etc women will get their own shows/movies to tell their own story. We need more diversity in Hollywood in general. I understand what the writer is saying about feeling like a caricature in this new Apatow movie. In time, things will change I believe.

 

[DarkConfidant]

So....they don't like progress in one form because it's not also progress in another form?

Even though Asians are never main characters, and this is a great thing?!

I need a drink.

 

[diablos991]

Now that's a title change I can get behind.

 

[lightskintwin]

And that's great! I didn't say ever instance was problematic, I even went so far as saying individual examples frequently are difficult to criticize. I was merely pointing out a general trend and how it has its own issues divorced from what's being addressed in the article.

I only continued talking about it because I was accused of "making up" the problem in a really condescending and tactless way. I've made my point though so I'll stop.

You still haven't made your point though. LOL

 

[cromofo]

Props for the title change. Call it like it is.

 

[weepingangelz]

She tired after seeing what 3 or 4 tv shows and a handful of movies? South Asian people are finally getting a little representation in media and this is what she focuses on. Jezebel trash.

She's saying that it's good, but it's still not good enough and that we shouldn't settle for less in terms of representation.

 

[SixMachine]

Tbh I don't see many Hollywood movies that have an asian lead pursuing an asian love interest, and different dynamics occur when pursuing a different race because a lot of times there's different background and cultural understandings between the parties involved. So making a white woman "the prize" so to speak, everytime does cut out a lot of possibilities and dynamics to explore. Though using The Big Sick is a horrible example since it is a biopic and is fine the way it is.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

That title change is bullshit. It was clickbaity before and should have been changed but this new one is bad. Come the fuck on.

 

[Twig and Berries]

You still haven't made your point though. LOL

You're not a very pleasant person.

 

[family_guy]

I can see their point in that it might portray the idea that women of color are not valued. Personally as a black man, I have dated more white women than black women, and have gotten called out for it, but I don't consciously choose women based on their skin color. It's not important to me. Funny thing is I've even been turned down by women in my race because I'm not "black" enough. Oh well.

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

I agree with those who say there's a valid point to be made here but she picked an iffy example from the jump.

 

[Poor GRIMES]

That title change is bullshit. It was clickbaity before and should have been changed but this new one is bad. Come the fuck on.

.

 

[lightskintwin]

You're not a very pleasant person.

Why do you feel the need to frame an attack on somebody's character simply because they question a point you're trying to make and poke holes in the logic.

I have no idea who you are, nor how you are as a person, hence me being unable to make a statement about you on here.

 

[Infinite]

Wow. this thread title change is so wack

 

[Dongs Macabre]

The old title was perhaps clickbaity if you didn't already know the context, but this new one is just inaccurate, since nowhere does she say that she is against mixed couples.