The "Mindy Kaling Problem"
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- Опубліковано 13 чер 2024
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Edited by: Johnny Calderon ytimnothere@gmail.com
0:00 Prelude
1:10 Intro
4:16 You're Welcome Mom
7:40 The Good, The Bad, and The Mindy
10:30 VELMA HAS GONE WOKE
15:19 You're Not Looking Hard Enough - Комедії
As an indian woman myself, I also have an issue with how Mindy is one of those people who use identity politics as a means to deflect any criticism. Whenever she's being called out for being racist or a terf or a sexual harrasser, she just latches on how she's oppressed too cause she's a brown woman. Mindy, you can be oppressed while simultaniously oppressing others, especially since you're a rich and powerful individual. So how about you try to become a better person if you demand others treat you better?
she’s a terf??? nahhhhh 💀
@@wooogie672 I googled "Mindy Kaling is she a terf?" and I'm not sure if she is or not.
It appears people think she is a TERF due to liking some bad J.K. Rowling Tweet and something in a book she wrote but there doesn't seem to be anything definitive out there about her being a TERF like there is with others like J.K Rowling and Graham Linehan.
Yess! Lilly Singh does this too
.
I feel like this is a big part of my overall issue with terfs, they think they can’t be hurting/oppressing trans people because they’re women
as a guy with a stammer myself, it gives me a lot of confidence seeing how fluent and professional your videos are, ive been told time and time again i can never make it in media because of my voice. keep doing you man.
Thank you, don’t let anyone tell you what you can or can’t do. Pursue what u want!
@@SajiSharma
:))) same! It makes me feel safe hearing someone who stutters the way that I do sometimes. I get really insecure about it. And then I see a cool person being cool who ALSO has a stutter and it feels really good
oh same, it means so much seeing someone else out there with a stutter who’s making such great content and is a really neat person, it’s really heartwarming !!
I didn't even notice lol
Mindy Kaling when she realizes that internalized racism is still racism 🤯
I agree!
My mom worked with Kaling’s mom for years. said she was a wonderful woman who wore a full sari to work everyday (at a hospital). she was a world-renowned doctor. Her brother should've gotten into any school based on nepotism alone
if that's true then im sure her kids were probably bullied for the way their mom looked (happened to me as well whenever my mom would pick me up from school in traditional garb). the hope would be that they'd grow out of that phase as most brown kids do, but it seems like both haven't gotten over their internalized racism at all
Why would that be sad? Not their culture.
@@seapeajones yes it is what
Only a complete imbeciles and morons are proud of culture in which they were born/raised by a complete accident/chance, because it was not even in the slightest degree dependent on them....
@@lenjoyer what’s sad?
I didn’t think Saji would be the one to voice my frustrations about brown girl representation but here we are and I’m so happy to see it
What frustrations exactly? She's a brown woman who's played great and interesting characters..
@@jhothikaur5626did you watch the video?
@@alex7543 no i was too busy making my roti round.
@@jhothikaur5626 Never thought I'd see someone say Mindy's Velma to be "great and interesting"
@@hellothere69. I didn't.
one of the weird things about this show are the stereotypes that dont even exist. They will sometimes call out stereotypes that i have never heard of before. Like the beanie stereotype
Homebrew stereotypes
Yet totally ignore ones that definitely do exist and if anything even further play into those stereotypes lol
and when they do this it usually feels more offensive to the group its calling out this nonexistent stereotype for. the one i thought was weird was when velma says "i thought lesbians were supposed to be good detectives, its like the only good stereotype about you guys"
@@potatolettuce3416 how does that even make sense😭
@@potatolettuce3416 .....what? How are lesbians good detectives? They could have made like a home improvement or being handy joke, but detective?
not only did her brother pretend to be a black person to get into medical school but he had the unmitigated gall to write a flipping book about it. I thought he got exposed or something, but I never would've guessed that he was the writer behind the exposé.
That man has no sense of shame and as a Black woman I want to punch him for being so flippant about the harm he's just perpetuating in academia and as a non white person. Also given who his mother is (a pretty successful doctor in her own right), there was basically no reason why he had to do it unless he knew his grades/application was shit and he knew being black was is in. What an asshole
only in america can you write a book about doing something immoral/illegal and getting away with it
By the time I had finished reading your comment, I was not surprised to learn that he "exposed" his own shit. Sounds like a textbook narcissist who needed his next big fix, so wrote about himself.
Him going “I had no idea how much anti-black racism I would experience AND perpetuate during these times” with no awareness is just bonkers
@@Lucifersfursonatypical non black, one black people realise we have allies, we will be fine.
hearing you talk about your internalized racism during high school and trying so hard to be white literally has me screaming I was literally so ashamed that I was half Egyptian and it wasn't until like this year that I was finally able to like that part of me
You're Egyptian? That's so cool! I live in Australia and for most of my life I've only ever been exposed to white Australians or the few Aboriginal people from the local mobs. Australia unfortunately does have a lot of racism. Such a shame because it's awesome to meet people of different cultures and learn
I’m sorry you felt like that at one point because nobody should..
Egypt is an incredible place with such a rich amazing history and culture, I hope nowadays you’re proud that you have that history within you 💜
SAMEEE i was especially insecure abt my maldivian accent
I've read some anecdotes that suggested that many Middle Eastern and Latino people see themselves as "white" in their native countries, but when they come to America they suddenly become "brown." Is that true?
@@SeasideDetective2 Because they're light skinned. I'm Latina.
In “Velma” Shaggy is mixed, his dad is white and his mother is black, and his characterization is based on a lot of negative stereotypes about mixed race men, like the stuff about him being weaker, more submissive/simp like, cowardly, “less attractive” (to Velma/Mindy specifically), and less traditionally masculine, real eugenics type shit.
A lot of the “jokes” Velma makes at his expense are about him being weak and pathetic and his dad is constantly being made fun of for being a school guidance counselor (a job the writer view as “unmanly”) and appearance/personality. It’s awful and not funny.
But they somehow managed to avoid any drug based stereotypes by making him mention how much he hates drugs occasionally as a “joke” 🙃
Tell me the writer is a straight white male without telling me it's a straight white male
Mixed race men being viewed as “unattractive” isn’t a stereotype. Both mixed race women and men are viewed as more attractive, studies show.
@@lilyrose5410 No it’s still a stereotype. It’s just a stereotype that’s used for both men and women. There is not a thing wrong with being biracial.
@@lilyrose5410 You do know how stereotypes work, right?
Oh that's.......
Her entire story arc in the Mindy project was offensive toward women, too. Fell into every stereotype she could (because yes, there already are plenty of well respected female doctors especially in the obgyn field, that wasn't something she created and thr show DID give two of the three male doctors more credit than her many times. And the white centric focus of her ideals and preferences was irritating. And I'm a white female doctor. Lol
This and the show apparently rejected a pitch about an episode that would tackle abortion cause Mindy is allegedly pro life. So I guess she has respect for female doctors in the obgyn field as long as they don't perform abortions...
I sometimes wonder if misogyny is actually more overt (rather than covert) in the entertainment industry and in creative pursuits. There’s basically an abundance of women going into the humanities and who are talented and capable of being directors, etc and yet men are drastically hired over women (with the people in charge in Hollywood blatantly saying “hiring a woman is a risk because we usually don’t do it, and so we go out of our way to avoid hiring a woman and often don’t even look at female applicants.” Like people have been that blatant. I recommend watching the film “This Changes Everything” as it really dives into that problem.) There are studies that have shown if you submit the exact same poem to be published with a male name instead of a female name you are significantly more likely to be published and get better responses. There is an abundance of women going into the humanities who are exceptional at their skills but it keeps getting related to childcare (I have literally heard over and over again “women have a predisposition towards language and human related endeavors because they evolved to raise children” and when I was the top of my English class a male teacher told me “you’ll make a great mom.”) As more women go into the humanities, the humanities related pursuits lose respect and are talked down on more and more. My mother became a computer engineer and definitely faced sexism in her field, 100%, and we should talk about it, but even she has talked about how before pursuing that route when she was an English major there was extremely blatant and in your face sexism that was quite regular and I think it’s worth talking about.
Basically I’m wondering if these experiences have potentially affected how Mindy perceives sexism + racism, and writes characters. My guess is her industry might actually be worse than a lot of other environments.
i like your comment but your lack of closing parentheses fills me with anxiety
and the fatphobia!
Honestly, anyone who insults Indian food is just making a fool of themselves. Indians basically invented spices and if you don't like meat Indians have amazing variety of vegetarian options.
@@ebuslamentee5963 but you don't need to insult it '-:
Invent ?
Completely unrelated, but…
After being raised in a white catholic home, I got diagnosed with Celiac at 15.
South Asian food has actually been a godsend. No matter where I go in the world, I know if there’s an African or South Asian restaurant, I’ll be able to eat. And it’s a million times better than the crap I grew up eating.
@@ticiale20 Nah, there’s no reason not to like Indian food. There’s so many options that there’s LITERALLY no reason someone can’t find something. One of the most diverse cuisines in the world
@@an_earth_angel I'm sure, Brazil is also very diverse and I absolutely CANNOT accept any bad comment about any of our food °^°
but seriously, I would love to taste indian food some day :3
I am white, Croatian, and I remember watching movie Late Night in 2019 and thinking 'wow, this was obviously written by some white person trying to make commentary on racism and absolutely failing and this is so horribly mean spirited and this person never wrote comedy in her life' and then I realised that a south Asian woman wrote it and was stunlocked.
I really hate the "All white people are stupid/clueless" bullshit.
@@PlannedObsolescence not what i said. but quite a few people in hollywood who are trying to be hip and woke and down with the kids are white and dumb, and this felt like one of such cases. like someone who isn't poc trying to relate to poc people. it felt that far removed.
like when hollywood has slavic characters and they're all harmful and xenophobic stereotypes but nobody is noticing that
Yeah, I agree, that movie was horrendous. Apparently it's based on Mindy's own experiences which somehow makes it even more hollow.
@@shistillbored No, the film Late Night (2019) was directed by Nisha Ganatra, and the screenplay was written by Mindy Kaling.
That sounds to me a lot like white internalized racism if you automatically think it's negative because you thought they were white.
Sad people online who are often the loudest critics blame Velma being bad on the race swapping and Mindy being a woman and Indian. Like the show would be bad if you removed all those factors
Right? Like the unfunny jokes would still be unfunny if Velma wasn’t race swapped. And I say that as someone who dislikes race swapping of cartoons lol. I genuinely think the world would be better off if we just stopped making fucking scooby-doo spin-offs. It’s annoying.
Yeah the show is. Actual ass. She is NOT giving.
I hate her specifically for that, because I KNOW she and the press have been using that to retaliate against ALL of the backlash.
Still unfunny. This version of velma is just awful because she is written as an awful person.
@@sierralovat5498 like honestly why take such a lovely character and turn her into....THAT?! The love a tion movies made them have flaws and issues, but it didn't make them not their characters. They were the adult versions of the same people from the cartoon, not new people who just share a name.
I see people complaining about the race swapping, but no one is complaining about a woman writing it inherently. Everyone is very vocal about the racism, sexism etc. that reek from the show BECAUSE the writer is a brown woman who obviously hates white men. I think you’ve completely missed people’s points on purpose to try and point out sexism that doesn’t exist.
Let's take a moment to appreciate Saji's work rate 😮💨 quality AND quantity
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the Foreign Man’s output ❤ quality AND comedy
@@remyboyzz399 Let's take a moment to appreciate Remy Boyzz's output poop and pee
So cool to see you here 🤩
thank you for the proof read my man
ILY
Her “South Asian = undesirable” is present in every property she’s involved in. She equates her childhood trauma of not being considered attractive by European beauty standards as not being attractive because she is not European. And it’s really bad for representation. Do I think a degree of self deprecating humor got her in the door of the white boys comedy club at the expense of her culture? Yes. But she’s privileged now financially. Her responsibility is to represent her culture well. She not only relies on negative stereotypes, she goes the extra mile to associate any South Asian attributes as negative, particularly the physical ones. The “hot,” “cool,” or “desirable” South Asian is the exception in her work. And often is also some failure of the culture. In “Never Have I Ever,” Anessa is beautiful, cool, and funny…but she has an eating disorder, is romantically flippant, and is thought of as being more surface level and less complex. Nirdesh is ashamed of Devi and who is really to blame? Traditional Indian culture. It’s not subversive, it’s not exploring problematic aspects of beauty or traditional gender norms, it’s just internalized self hate played as a joke. And it’s just exhausting.
Its her own people that make her feel undesirable. Have you seen the colorism in asia?
@@searching8848 as a black Asian or Afro Asian I’m aware of colorism. But colorism exist from colonialism, specifically the occupying of India by Britain, contributes to the existence of colorism in South Asia. Mindy Kaling should challenge these things not reinforcement…there’s no excuse for it.
So basically people think because mindy looks a particular way- she should act a particular way. How dare she is not how she "should" be according to SA people based on how she looks. You guys have no problem with lighter SA people erasing culture and you dont feel embarrassed when they do not speak the language in movies. You so not embarrassed they do not know the traditions and practices but because they're lighter- its ok! One of the most disloyal groups of men on the planet have no right to dictate to Mindy Kaling who she should show when they are not loyal themselves.
@@searching8848it's not just her own and you know it.
@@AnABSOLUTEBarbarianas an Indian (one living in India, without any background or family or prospects outside India) I gotta say, chalking it up only to colonialism feels a bit... reductive. It's absolutely not a wrong thing to say, a large majority of the euro-centric standards (in beauty and otherwise) are a result of India dealing with the trauma of white colonization, but colorism, much like something like Islamophobia, has a history that goes way deeper than the 90 years of the British raj.
The whites didn't ignite the flames of intra-Indian hatred, but they did fuel the fires to warm their own homes.
That being said, the onus is absolutely on Mindy to challenge and contribute to change surrounding these things, especially at her highly privileged position in th nae global entertainment industry.
My Indian identity is something I struggle with a lot. I grew up in a fairly indian neighborhood until I moved to ohio (🤮) where mostly everyone was white. So trying to acustom myself to a new culture was weird because I was getting used to people making jokes about indian stereotypes. But during that time it also became harder and harder for me to relate to other south asians, because I barely knew any. I definitely started getting the thoughts that my Indian culture was somewhat bad, and I started adding fuel to the fire. Like, "Oh don't visit India, it smells like poop" type jokes. Over time I got older and I stared finding more south asian UA-camrs I could relate to, and I stared realizing that what I was doing wasn't helping anyone. I stared recognizing the bad behavior that I had essentially encouraged to my friends. Every time I visited India, I acted like a poophead and that I was better than everyone there. It became hard, because the more I learned, the less I wanted to be with these people.
I really wanna take the time to learn more about the culture and where I came from, so that I can be proud of who I am again.
Moral of the story: Don't move to Ohio
thank you so much for sharing this, I completely understand how you feel. trying to learn more about a culture you internalized hatred towards for so long can be really difficult. I'm very much experiencing that now. Try reaching out to family, have them help you learn more about your history and culture as it has very much eased the process for me.
As someone whose parents grew up in Ohio, they came to *exactly* the same conclusion as you: do not live in Ohio. Ohio will steal that which you prize above all else, that which you hold dear. It's just not worth it!
Can't even have a peaceful day in OHIO 💀💀 (as a brown person 😩)
Ohio seems like a not fun place to live at.
I wouldn't wish Ohio on my worst enemy... truly horrific that you had/have to live there.
Seriously, though, good job! Recognizing that you're participating in harmful behavior (especially if it's harmful towards yourself) can be hard, and I applaud you for being able to do that.
The biggest problem I have with Mindy is she was literally born rich but wants to pretend otherwise so she can shit on people
This lady grew up with more privilege than my white ass ever did.
These shows and portrayals do have an impact in the real world. I have an Indian friend who derives her personality from Mindy Kaling characters and literally calls herself Kelly from The Office. She only dates white men and constantly says white men are the most attractive. She has even said that Brown men aren’t attractive to her. She acknowledges this is messed up but plays it off as “quirky.” As a non white or brown person, it’s really uncomfortable to hear.
Seems like your friend doesn't have a mind of her own. It's like if I as a white woman only wore uggs and drank pumpkin spice. Playing into stereotypes is wack I agree.
Oof I hope she gets better...
Did she really get this idea from Mindy, or is she just using Mindy as an excuse to verbalize what she already believed but was embarrassed to admit?
The human equivalent to an infected splinter. Best of luck to you.
This is an extreme for sure, but let’s be honest when it comes masculinity and looks, Indian men have a long way to go due to their culture
On the note of being hired for only your race or gender, ive had this exact experience but told to my face unexpectedly. I thought me showing up to this new company's first hiring day dressed appropriately, with an amazing resume in hand, is what got me the job. The interview went so well and I was ticking off all the right boxes. I felt so proud of myself, especially since it was at a car wash, which is mainly male dominated. A couple months later, the gm and the staff were all talking over our radios about the hiring day and the gm stated that the girls were only hired to help make sales because people are less likely to tell us no when pitching the memberships. The guys, however, had to go through multiple interviews to evaluate their strengths and work ethics. This really made me feel useless. This whole time I thought I was hired for my abilities, responsibilities, and work ethics, but that was far from the truth. I still work the job today because it actually pays me well and helps me get by, but it is a bit soul crushing knowing the only reason I was hired was due to my gender.
Damn. Same thing happened to me when I applied to work at a cafe. I applied to the two kitchen openings, since I really enjoy cooking, I have the experience, and I don’t like having to perform happiness for customers. Unfortunately, when I got to the interview, he told me he was only hiring for front counter/cashier positions. I found out later that was a lie, since he hired two older women to work in the kitchen and a younger guy as a dishwasher, but because I’m a younger person and a woman, I got stuck with the lower-paying and more draining job.
***Okay, I'm editing this since some people are having a hard time understanding why this is a problem, and why this problem doesn't invalidate other gender-based struggles in the workplace.
I am not good at talking to people. I am good at cranking out orders and keeping an organized station. I applied for a job where I knew my skills would be put to use, and based on how the last year has gone, they just wanted my gender and my face instead. I am autistic. It is genuinely more difficult for me to interact with people and handle complaints/unwelcome flirtation/attempts at small talk. I have had to work on those skills, but it is more physically exhausting for me at the end of the day to work FOH than to spend that time in a kitchen, or doing BOH prep. I've done all three, and while someone else might have a different experience, FOH is the worst for me. I work at a restaurant where all FOH and kitchen staff are in the tip pool based on hours worked. Their base pay rate is $2.5 higher than mine, and they get scheduled in full 8 hour shifts instead of weird 5 hour segments like I do. It takes me five days to work the same hours they can in three days, unless I work a double-shift.
Yes, I've tried to find a better job. Yes, I have begged management to cross-train me in the kitchen. Yes, I have tried to watch what the cooks do to pick up the recipes and work flow. But I work at the busiest station, and I don't have the free time or brain capacity to do four things at once. I take longer than every other FOH employee to clean up at the end of the night because I am constantly interrupted by customers and routines are what make my brain function. I clean everything more thoroughly and I take the time to restock everything for morning crew, which apparently no one told me for 8 months was "recommended, but not required".
I'm grateful I have a job, but this isn't a job where I can flourish or do well. It is a job that I'm barely scraping by at mentally and physically, when it would take three shifts to train me on kitchen. But they keep hiring young (mostly female) and unreliable high schoolers/college students for FOH, and I show up on time and I've been there for a year. And if I want a 50 cent raise, I need to organize a meeting with the GM who hasn't worked an shift with me in 7 months. Who doesn't like how I "don't smile, and how I talk too quickly/aggressively with our elderly customers".
@@lindenshepherd6085 damn, im sorry to hear that. It sucks because they will not say it's because of your age or gender as to not get into illegal business, they will just say you weren't qualified and move you along. Don't worry though, you'll find yourself in a better place, and when you are given that opportunity you can finally throw up a finger to them xD they have lost out on the opportunity of having you as a good employee. I really hope you are able to get such better opportunities, im rooting for you! :D don't let them dim your light!
@@ChibiChuri I appreciate your positivity! :)
So were just glossing over the fact that guys were being affected negatively by this and women are beimg benefitted, but because if your personal discontent about your own worth in that situation, you make it a problem. Does it matter your worth if you have the job. Does it matter what your worth is or was in the past, or how you can shape your worth. What you can make in the future, and what you can use the oppurtunities to do. You have the power to make yourself worthit.
@@ebuslamentee5963 What matters to me is that I am struggling to make rent while a 17-year old kid can get a job paying 15/hour and decide to leave after two months because he got the money for the VR headset he wanted. My "personal discomfort" isn't about my worth: it's a matter of being homeless or taking on extra shifts just to make ends meet when I'm already stretched thin. Management have also hired three other (young) guys in the kitchen since I started and pushed one of the older women into the back doing prep work out of sight.
I did not want to work up front. For that matter, most of the girls at the counter did not want to. They applied as preppers, dishwashers, and kitchen staff and were funneled into a lower-paying positions where some of these (16 and 17!) girls are exposed to workplace sexual harassment for the first time without help from management. How is that benefitting women?
I'm sure there are men who would rather work up front. Fine by me. I'd rather be paid more to not be harassed by people who think they can needle me for free food, or for my number, or verbally berate me for explaining the latest inflation hike. I've watched people, often older people but especially older men, completely change their attitude when I don't respond to their prodding or flirting. I don't think many men would be equipped to deal with that or enjoy it, especially younger and insecure guys who don't necessarily know that they can say no in cases of sexual harassment.
I know I'm worth far more than the nonsense people put me through because they make ridiculous assumptions about my character. I'm not "making it a problem". Another person's sexism and ageism pushed a variety of problems onto me and young girls. It sounds like you glossed over what my comment was about.
its not even scooby doo anymore, its scooby don't
It's basically what if Big Mouth and Mindy Kailing's internalized racism(and racism she has for other people as well) had a baby.
NO BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT.
I'm multi-racial, being Native American and white, but people in elementary school always assumed I was Mexican because I moved to a small town from New Mexico- so I would get called a Mexican and told to "go back to Mexico" which was... an experience for sure. So hearing characters in Velma always assume she's from some other sort of ethnic background isn't funny at all- but to me it just reminds me of all the turds from school who did the same thing to me for a good chunk of my childhood.
This is the odd inverse of your story, but people would make weird Native American ‘jokes’ around me (like the offensive and stereotypical crap that people think is ‘quirky’ and ‘not a big deal’ but they’re being ignorant a-holes). I’m Mexican-American tho lmao. It’s odd, but I see so many people confuse Native Americans with Mexicans and viceversa. Although I guess it’s because most Mexicans are kinda mixed between Aztec/Mayan/and Spanish. Still hella awkward every time it happens
Must’ve been so tempting every time to say “I’m Native American; go back to Europe, dipshit.”
Late but same here but.. people assumed I was Indian bc of a birth mark on my head💀
I’m about as generic white person as you get so I am grateful that there are people of colour and people in general explaining these kinds of issues in pop culture and society in general. I probably never would have known about a lot of these issues if I hadn’t stumbled upon this video
This is a very fair critique. The You’re Welcome Mom section was educational for me lol I didn’t know some of those details about Mindy Kaling’s career. I watched some of The Mindy Project in college, the first season of Never Have I Ever, and I love The Sex Lives of College Girls, and it’s tiresome and harmful seeing the same self-loathing written into all of her Indian girl characters. Like, not even one brown girl can think she’s cool and appreciate her own culture?? Bela from SLOCG is such a unique character, but one of her very first lines is about how she used to be an “Indian loser” with glasses and cystic acne. Why is internalized white supremacy the price we have to pay for any brown girl representation?
Also, I kinda fw the Shaggy redesign, but thank you for taking a second to stand up for Jamaicans 😌🇯🇲
Of course, my mom is jamaican indian so i’m obligated
this is so true like why couldn’t she just be a loser, why did it have to be emphasised that she was an INDIAN loser?
O?! Ku
as a white girl i agree 10000000000% abt indian sweets, i grew up in a daycare my mom worked at which was run by amazing Indian and Lebanese woman so ive had an ample supply of samples to try and oh. my. god. that shit is so fucking good i ate it like it was air as a kid my fav was the orange swirly one, jalebi? i think??? either way indian snacks 4ever!!!!!! theyre so good!!!!!!!!!!
Hell yeah! I frickin love learning about (and trying, if I get the chance!) all the cool desserts from other places. My cooking+baking has gotten significantly better from it too; there are so many cool new ingredients and techniques that I never would have heard of if I only looked at western treats.
Are jalebi the little spirally bois? If so, I like those a lot too :)
W opinion!!!!! also that is jalebi and its so !!!!!!good!!!!!! i also love mysore pak its like a little bar of sweet goodness
Jalebi is goated fr
As an indian, my fav sweet is kaju katli 😍
@@idontwantahandlethough i love the spirally bois too! :>
I’m having such a good time reading this comment section. This video really opened up a safe space in which people of color, especially women of color, are comfortable sharing their struggles with something that often gets dismissed: wanting or feeling the need to assimilate to white culture and standards. Of course, it’s very disheartening to recognize just how many people share this same feeling and experience, but I do believe this space will help us realize that we are beautiful because of the beautiful cultures we were raised in!
and we can all unite, regardless of our sex, gender and ethnicities, to all agree that this show is absolute dogwater and mindy kaling is a horrid hag.
Shoehorning POC into places they weren’t originally is not representative, it’s gross. It’s like seeing our skin as a full character and moving forward. Going, “welp that’s taken care of”.
Make original stories with good writing and consult other people of that culture or experience so you can have well rounded writing. I didn’t grow up wishing Shaggy was black. I loved him for him.
I grew up wishing I saw more of me, in an original way. I didn’t want to see sassy black characters. I just wanted to see fully formed main characters in their own stories, dilemmas, love dramas, sci-fi adventures who also happened to be black. I wanted to see people, not caricatures or walking stereotypes.
Idk I agree with this mostly, but seeing the Velaryons in House of the Dragon as POC when they were not in the books hasn’t really been a problem for anybody, in fact the fan response to Corlys was so good that he’s getting a spin-off series of his own. If the character is well written, I don’t see any issue with making a formerly white character a POC
I think both are important, shows that typically aren’t historical in nature or race specific should be able to have different groups of people without being called “woke” or trying to prove a point , and be main characters as well. Though i do agree the remakes get tiring sometimes. Being white is not the default.
@@susannahgenevieve1287 I think that's an example where race-swapping actually worked on multiple levels. Making house Velaryon black helps visually differentiate them from the other house with white wigs for the audience's sake, while making sense in-universe for reinforcing the fact that *_everyone in Westeros_* knew Rhaenyra's sons were illegitimate.
@@smithmarina970 yeah, like adding new characters or casting them as a different race simply because they fit the character well- idk of any examples off the top of my head but ik they exist lol
I think it depends on the context of the characters. Shaggy and Velma’s story has nothing to do with their race, and changing said race changes nothing in their characters or story. Or well it’s shouldn’t but mindy kaling and the writers suck at it.
But say the Punisher gets changed to a black man. Then you add a whole other context and layer to the story, because a white guy going around vigilante killing cops is inherently taken differently than a black guy in America going around killing cops. Even if that wasn’t your intent when doing so, the nature and relation of cops (especially corrupt ones) and the black community is something the readers (especially if they’re American/Canadian or are aware of americas *past*) can’t ignore. It adds unwanted layers and would require changing inherit parts of the character and story. Not that you couldn’t write a good black punisher, but doing so requires very good writing skills and handling of the topic.
It's so sad Saji was bullied into thinking he had to emulate whiteness when he was younger. I know my opinion doesn't matter but I find Saji very attractive the way he is. I myself am Mexican but on the darker side, especially in the summer. And I think us people with tan skin look very pretty. We don't have to fall into the standard that only pale skin is pretty. That small noses are pretty. That hairlessness is pretty. I cannot tell you the amount of times as a kid that other kids looked at me weird because of my hairy arms. I still refuse to shave my arms. I'm not gonna conform to those ideals. I hope one day we all have the strength to accept ourselves as we are.
Hairy brown skin gang!! Used to be so obsessed with being hairless and looking back, in a weird way I think it made me feel closer to whiteness. I am not elaborating LMAO
YES!!!
I got a nice bridge on my nose, like, the reaaal big + defined type associated with a lot of Latin-American culture (tho I know it’s not really exclusive to it but y’know, people still like to hound on it). I had to get nose surgery to fix a deviated septum, and it was so annoying that all the doctors assumed I hated my bridge and wanted it ‘fixed’ as well. I won’t ‘fix’ my nose, because it’s not broken. I won’t shave my hairy arms, because that’s where hair grows. Thank you for saying this.
@@ohdang1083 I 100% support you! I had insecurities about my nose as well for a while. It's not the typically desired small nose and it's kind of upturned. But I had to remind myself that if my nose looks like that it's because that's the way MY nose should be. The nose meant for my face. And tbh, I'm glad I was able to get over it. We do not need to fit conventional beauty standards to be worthy. I'm glad you didn't cave in to the bugging of the doctors trying to get you to "fix" your nose. And it's nice to meet others in the hairy arm club.
brown skin is beautiful !
I relate to the hairy part 😭 some Asian kid would call me King Kong. I started shaving in 2nd grade ! And that’s legit so f’d up.
Mindy's brother claims she was supportive of his "race-switching" and agreed with his opinions on affirmative action until he started to get public backlash. Thats when she denounced his actions.
I’ve been saying the exact same thing about Mindy Kaling for YEARS! I’m not even Indian or South Asian, but I am a black woman who grew up in a predominantly white area who was made to feel insecure about my race and culture. So watching her content would make me feel second-hand embarrassment, pity, or just flat out disappointment. I want so much more for black and brown women than for us to constantly be told that we’re valid when white men look at us or when we shed our culture and identities to fit in with white society.
I love your commentary on this. It doesn't blindly hate Mindy, but takes into account the circumstances that lead her to think the way she does. I also really appreciated your dissection of racism & misogyny on a corporate level. Thank you for such a balanced view and your content ❤️
it’s crazy because this isn’t just an american thing. even in the country i live in, i was always ashamed of indian culture and tried really hard to fit in just because i was fed so many stereotypes by media and the people around me. it really didn’t help that i passed as white, or just racially confusing, because it made me feel even worse somehow. only now am i able to really understand what makes our culture unique and honestly i wish i accepted this years ago lmao
@@dragondeeznutts Not all Indians have dark skin. Some Indians do look white.
@lee Is it really so crazy? It's an issue that all people from a different culture or background have when the majority culture is different. Americans frame everything around "whiteness" because they are ignorant about the world and want to think that white people created these issues, but these problems still exist without white people. Asians in black communities, for example, don't "fit in". Black children in China don't "fit in", etc. Even when everyone is white, if someone is from another culture, it still happens. A Welsh girl in a very white part of the US also doesn't "fit in". Even a Southern girl in a northern town doesn't "fit in" even though they're both white AND American. It's about the culture rather than race, but since cultures are associated with PLACES, there are obvious links between races and cultures.
@@dragondeeznutts I think beauty exists in all skin tones, but I know Indians who are white-skinned (or "ugly", as you suggest).
@@dragondeeznutts I’m Indian and I look White. Nikki Haley is Indian. She looks White. Look up Rohit Bal and Anupam Kher. They are both fully Indian and they look White. Look up Raj Kapoor. He’s Indian and looks White.
This makes me think of a Nigerian guy I was friends with in college. He used to say that he would date a white girl that was a 4 but if he was going to date a black girl she better be a 10. He always used the "preference" argument.
smh i avoid guys like that. preferences are fine but then they end up pitting one race of women against another
Those are always the type to throw a tantrum when a black women is dating a non-black dude…
Boys like these end up being terrible partners to their "preferences" they are never respected or accepted the way they think they'll be. He's a clown.
Okay in addition, the Mindy Project had so much internalized misogyny and fatphobia. I think it could’ve been a great show if there were fewer sexist narratives and “oh I’m fat so I’m obsessed with eating,” and of course all of the stuff Saji talked about.
The fat jokes in Velma were one of the things that felt most weird/out of place to me. And not just cuz it was an odd mix with the show's corporate woke plotlines and whatnot
Let's not forget the body-shaming, fat phobia, and the blatant lack of diversity in her writing
Yeah she acts like Velma (whom I hate in this version for different reasons) herself is fat and ugly, no she’s not…
I wish south Asian creators can create a show like fresh off the boat . I found that show more relatable than never have I ever
these things are complicated because I'm a "banana" and I was glad that the entertainment industry was open enough to let FOB exist, but also sad that it just pushed the tiger mom, ideal minority myth... upper middle class... super pale skin idea... it was funny and sweet and cute... but still low key made chinese immigrants appear to be super people... and I'm still waiting to see chinese people be allowed to be people. the stereotypes are so prevalent that when I tell people that my parents aren't like that they either don't believe me or tell me that that's rare. And no it isn't, Chinese people are as diverse as other people... and some parents don't have the time, money, or inclination to push their kids into tutoring and bend their souls to raise doctors. not all asian parents think their children should be violin playing math geniuses, who become doctors... like humans of other ethnicity some chinese parents don't push their children at all. Eddie Huang went to law school and Hudson Yang (the actor who plays eddie) is at Harvard - but they lead very privileged and supported lives. This very specific academically inclined possibility of asians are very well seen and overshadow the majority of just average people. I'm waiting for the everybody else... not all moms are tigers show... not all asians are academically inclined... not all asians are obsessed with professional success... not all asians are fixated on making their parents proud... some of them are just people trying to make life work despite a lack of structure, intention, or support. I had more in common with the neighbor with the single mom.... or the red head... or the black kid... even though they were trying to present a world where that's "other people". They did show people who were not naturally good at school and had to deal with instability, it just would have been nice if those people could have also been chinese sometimes... like in real life. Even when they show chinese characters who are "lazy" or walk away from university they make it a point to give them tiger parents and stress that they either did or are getting really good grades - they just happen to have other personality quirks. It was nice at first to see a chinese family on TV. And then it was disappointing. But, Eddie Huang did walk away because he wanted the show to be more realistic and his actual experience was harsher than depicted... I love the dad character.... but he was written to play to the actor's strengths and the real life Mr. Huang wasn't as sweet and loveable.
Sajis room looks so cool, I can’t even focus on him 😂
REAL IM ALWAYS STARING AT HIS POSTERS
Frrr
@@heartsforbrenda SAME THAT ONE STEVE LACY ONE
@@Helenurrrr real
Saji's room just looks so aesthetically pleasing. I love your style
As an Indian woman idk if I'll ever be able to truly love being from my culture. All throughout my childhood, despite even growing up around a ton of Indian people, our race was just universally agreed to be the subject of mockery. And Indian representation was just characters whose only personality traits were being Indian. And Indian queer representation, nearly impossible to find until the past year or so. I just want good representatiion
I'm so sorry because India is one of the largest and most diverse countries in the world, filled with beautiful people, culture, animals, plants, and plenty of innovations. people joke about fake tech support being from india, but do we uplift all the actual engineers, doctors, scientists etc. from india? I wish there were more focus on that. or hell, just regular fucking people.
not to mention there's so much misogyny and colorism in desi culture as well. so internally, you gotta deal with that while externally you gotta deal with your culture being seen as a laughing stock. what personally helped me embrace more of my culture was focussing only on the positive aspects of it, like how our cultural clothing is absolutely gorgeous, how hospitable and kind our people are to guests, how food is the universal love language. all the fond memories i have dancing at weddings. those are the experiences i choose to aid in defining my culture. i am at the age where i can reject the things i dont like. for instance, i hated the insistence that i /have to get married and have kids and be a 'good' daughter-in-law and live with in-laws. i hated not being allowed to party late while my brother could. i hated how i was expected to dress a certain way. i absolutely abhor the eve teasing/rape culture/victim blaming towards women and the fact that it's expected that they should just 'keep quiet' for the sake of image. and as a fellow queer, i hate how homophobic our culture is. however, i choose to simply reject those aspects. as someone who grew up outside the brown community, i have the privilege to pick and choose which aspects of my culture i would like to celebrate and maintain. is it perfect? no. do i still struggle with internalized racism? yes. but i'm still miles beyond the seething self-hatred i used to feel in high school and early college. best of luck to you and i hope you can find yourself loving your culture a little more bc it will help you love yourself a little more too
@@nightingale4786 rape, colorism,victim blaming, shutting women voice homophobia is not exclusive to india it seen every country and culture. India is not as homophobic as west there is no convention center for lgbtq community like that in west queer community gets less attack compared to usa
@@aiswaryabersan7983 exactly, people need to come to terms with the fact that these behaviors have been present everywhere since the beginning of time. Homosexuality has also been looked down upon, women’s liberation has always been looked down upon. It’s so funny bc you’ll never see Europeans talk down or generalize their own people for old ideas that every peace of land has had. You never see these poc hold the same stigma towards European cultures
Same, while I grew up as an nri i still lived around Indians my parents wanted to distance from India because they didn't want to go back to a country where the thought their kids won't have a good future. And i moved to Turkey a year back and being around more Arabs and turks here has further distanced me ykwim? It's like I'm emulating the opinion all these kids have abt my ppl while I do argue with thme iv3 stopped it all. Now I hav to keep a straight face some Arab kid casually calls me a curry muncher asks me if ppl shit on the streets. Its just getting really hard with all the internalised racism just growing and coming yo the surface
I watched The Mindy Project and it was VERY problematic. I quickly moved on after an episode where her character forced herself on a man who didn’t want to sleep with her. It was supposed to be “haha funny” I guess because gender swap, but it’s literal rape.
Hi can we also mention the episode in the mindy project where the spent the entire time crapping on midwifery? Which is a profession predominantly made up of women, and as practice serves birthing parents MUCH better than obgyns. Like there’s a reason our maternal mortality rates are so so high and part of it is bc every other developed country uses midwives but the medical institution so misogynistic that they refuse to acknowledge that we might be doing it wrong 😑
YES and the midwives were white men in the script???? I have never heard of a man being a midwife…
"Go align your chakras" is by far my new favorite line that lives rent free in my head.
That line made me laugh. I love it. 🤣
Im not even Indian, but even I know there is a lot to love India.
The culture, the people, the landmarks, the hospitality, AND the food.
Its kinda sad that people like Mindy have a lot of self hatred for their own kind.
yeah exactly, one thing i’ll say is a lot of people who aren’t indian that use terms like namaste or practice yoga don’t appreciate or try to respect the culture but i know many who truly try to understand and respect the culture because it truly is so so beautiful and has branches in many other cultures
10 minutes in Across the Spiderverse showed more love for India than all of Mindi’s projects combined… and two white dudes wrote it.
i've never had indian sweets (i'd love to try some tho!) but when she said that they weren't good even *I* was shocked, like it just seems like an illogical conclusion to come to
Who in the world is gonna go "omg I hate dessert that's so relatable"? Anyway, please get some Indian dessert sometime I have NEVER had anything that wasn't delicious 😋
My neighbor made some for me as a gift and they were genuinely some of the tastiest things I had ever eaten, and my greatest regret in life will be not knowing their names.
I will say it that was the one line that did get a chuckle out of me, just because south asian sweets are like incredibly sweet. Some of the desserts, I joke, have the flavor of just sugar. Still love them though.
As an Indian in India, watching the Non Residential indians or mixed indians suffer for being related to this country is heartbreaking.
Many of my relatives are NRIs and talk about how as adults when they moved to a western country for a better life, they had to kind of restrict their culture to their personal space only or give it up completely and act kind of more white in order to be accepted first, and then after years of living in that country, they could finally "be" their culture as middle aged adults (because of the sudden love of west for yoga and indian spiritual practices which we as indians back home, dont even do that much because our lives have been so westernized. neither I nor people around me know yoga a lot and i feel kind of ashamed of that since i always wanted to learn it but never had anyone to teach me. I know so many people as a human and only one indian in my circle is a yoga intstructor which is my grandmas sister :) in america :)
Their kids still have to go through this arc today ,as teens and young adults, and they have ended up disliking a lot of the indian in them. Of course that is not true for everyone, some of my cousins are dying to come here and to embrace their roots, but most like being indian whites, cuz they get to be kind of supremacy back in india and get to fit in as majority in their home countries. We as citizens also have subtle internalised inferiority complex when compared to western culture due to how our culture is percieved and even bent and shown to the world to think of us as some spiritual-yoga-curry-mixed savages.
And oh the damn stereotypes surrounding our parents! Like i know south asian countries are very academically oriented and honestly it is a debate or another day , but the way our parents are shown as heartless and controling and culture freaks with a hint of crazyness is really very bad. My parents are like the opposite, so are most parents i know AND I DONT LIVE IN A BIG CITY. They have never forced me to be something they think of, they never made me feel small, they tell me they love me all the time, they let me grow as any person i wanted to be a good one, with a kind heart. I know things arent same everywhere and that is why its bad cuz freaky indian parents ARE A MINORITY, not most of them are how media potrays them.
All this is so sad, I hope this changes soon.
PS Saji , eating that sweet was really so smooth, it really made our little indian hearts flutter 😂. I think that was Son Papadi ( i personally hate it as it is like the most ciculated sweet during festivals and we kind of have to have it with every meal during festive season as it stocks up in our homes, but thats my preference, not because its bad , but because we have SO MUCH of it during few days of the year.)
And yeah for the video too, back here, we thank you and hope you guys thrive out there!
(sorry for this long rant)
I really like the background you gave for your topics, discussing complex issues at surface level is often what youtubers do for the sake of brevity. Finding causes and history, introducing the pattern of characters, you ease the audience into the same conclusions you've made in a very effective way! :)
I'm from Pakistan and I agree with everything you said. And I also was asked why I didn't have that "red door thing" in the middle of my forehead when mistaken for being Indian 🤣🤣🤣
Bhai, why everything?
You are Pakistani, aren't you?
You do know Saji promotes some bad stuff which Pakistanis know are bad, right?
One of my biggest issues with Velma is the constant borderline pedophilia, i.e the jokes about Fred’s d-size despite him being a HIGH SCHOOLER (in other words a CHILD) and showing teenage girls nude in the showers in the first episode. It’s so gross that the sexualization of teenagers is so normalized in our culture. I’m so fucking sick of it.
If Velma is also in high school then how is that bad?
@@avinashreji60 the show was written by adults 😀
@@stripedpolkadots8692 Teen dramas have sex in them all the time, then again I’ve never seen the new Velma, I’ve only watched the scooby do from the 70s
@@avinashreji60Teens have sex, teens also talk about sexuality and all that, but not constantly. Also I don't remember a single incident where I was fully naked around another student in highschool and consciously got in their space. Also this series isn't the best place to address those themes simply because it's about Scooby Doo which focuses on solving mysteries. A normal highschool rom com or drama should touch on these dynamics just because of their genre, but Velma seems to force it in when it shouldn't be a point of interest or discussion at all.
@@avinashreji60 Something happening "all the time" without it being critically evaluated is the definition of normalisation, my guy 😅
I just wanna say that as someone with a stutter, seeing another content creator with one makes me feel less alone. Keep up the good work dude🤘🏻
The quality, explanation and humor of this video was top tier
Thank you for saying a brown guy gets picked 90% less than an equally attractive white guy. People often are not that transparent so thank you. It feels validating. I've heard some black women experience this as well from the woman's perspective and sometimes I wish there was just an app for the 2 of us, brown dudes and black women. That way we'd feel wanted and desired and also not have to constantly wonder if race or stereotypes has something to do with it.
Perhaps you could be the one to pioneer this app; and if it is promoted right, I guarantee you that it can be successful not only in Western countries but also in certain non-Western countries as well. It really is tiring to see the hatred and racism spewed towards Brown and Black people and how these racist stereotypes affect every aspect of your life. It really hurts but it is less isolating to hear from other people that are also affected by this.
It may not jus be the race...it may be the culture as well.Maybe they feel comfortable that way.
I mean, for blk women, they usually reject non blk men, they're the least likely to date out. I have heard a lot of non blk men talk about their rejection experience by blk women who "only date blk guys." Blk men are very self hating and do this to blk women more than anything, hence them dating out more than all other men combined. They prefer anything but their own a lot of the time
@@Isthisjoebidenexactly this! And alot of times we are just fetishized by non blck men as well.
I'm autistic and stutter sometimes too, you're killing it in terms of confident speaking! :)
When you mentioned how kids asked why you didn't have a red dot on your forehead I, for a very brief innocent moment thought you referring to the mommy dot, which is the "red dot" that only moms can see that appears on your forehead when you lie. So for a whole hot second I thought these kids were astounded at how honest of a person you were
The intro was gooood bro 😌😌
Mindy saying Indian sweets are bad is more offensive to me than anything else…
Not her brother’s behavior tho b/c what the fuck?
Same here, and I'm a black woman lol. Like wtf?
Saji is so nice to look at while ripping things apart logically. I love it
I love listening to him as well like his voice is so nice
thank u for being a fellow brown person speaking up !! i’ve heard so many non-south asian creators opinions and i was hoping for your viewpoints. all the pyaar ❤
Not one person can/should be responsible for writing all south asian women in TV. It would be so much better if she consulted other south asian women, with more people you get more diverse experiences and are able to make characters more relatable.
This is my problem with her, not uplifting fellow South Asian female writers like herself by collaborating with them, she wants to be the only one and pull the ladder up. The fact that she hired a straight white man to be the show runner and writer for a show about a LGBTQ South Asian teen, the two very things all straight white men know NOTHING about and have a history of offensively exploiting, it's unforgivable and a slap in the face.
This video is very very good so far!! its really cool to see someone who i saw in a minecraft server and gave diamonds to to grow this much and have such great content :>
NO WAY hahaha thats so funny thank you!!
My dude, it is so refreshing to have stutter rep out here! I've stuttered since I was a kid and my folks had to beat it out of me (Which worked for a while) but now it rlly only happens in anxiety now, which isn't better ig lol.
OH MY GOD LITERALLY before i went on anxiety meds i had a really bad stutter and i also happen to be indian, so it's really cool to see this kind of thing
My first video of yours. I'm glad UA-cam recommended me this.
I find so baffling too how some people say the Velma show is "woke" or "leftist agenda" when Mindy herself has alienated the left for a long while ago and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone on the left defending or supporting Velma or Mindy's works.
Btw, this is irrelevant, but you're super cute omg
Yeah, like all it did was chuck poc in the show along with some meta,#metoo,etc jokes in and called it a day! THAT IS NOT WOKE!!
@@SADIE_Maybe_SADISTICThat's exactly what most "progressive" mainstream media is doung, they are just left offensive abouth it... Yes, it's not thecnically "woke" , but it's really in line with current "woke media".
As soon as I saw the title I knew that this was going to be good.
I'm so glad I found this channel, I have a stammer and I'm so self conscious about it but you make me feel so much better because of the way your so professional and clear in the way your speak even with the stammer. It gives me confidence to keep making videos even when I stumble over words! Thank you!!
this is something that i’ve felt for such a long time and just haven’t been able to find the words for. as a first generation indian who grew up in a majorly white area,, cultural identity has been so hard to figure out and only now as a college student am i able to start dealing with it. the lack of positive and realistic representation was definitely damaging on my child brain and picking up the pieces is gonna be a long process
thank you so much for putting this frustration into words saji
Mindy Kaling writing a proud Indian character challenge (impossible)
saji ik this sounds weird but i LOVE the way you speak! i could literally listen to you for hours how can someones voice be so soothing hagshgskdskdjhdg
also thank you for defending indian sweets!!!! im eating some rn and literally when velma said that i choked 😭
It is important to recognize Mindy as a victim of her environment. Lots of people develop problematic tendencies if those around them apply enough social pressure. But she should try to break out of that mental trap and realize that you don't have to be what other people want you to be.
i love watching youtubers with speech impediments! he’s just like me for real!!!!!
same, bro!!!
Really love the focus and attention you give to these topics, really eye-opening and good to read everyone’s personal experiences, being able to relate so much with each other
great video as usual, side note: love the nail color!
I know this isnt super on topic, but i love that you dont try to hide your studder! My brother has a studder and he always gets embarrassed about it so seeing someone who has a studder is just so heart warming :)
ALSO THIS VIDEO IS SO GOOD I LOVE YOUR TOPICS!
I had really loved Mindy Kaling but I’m with you, for sure. It’s been decades of the same character traits. They felt self-aware and thoughtful when she was young, but it doesn’t seem so reflective now. Mindy’s old enough to have learned something from the problems her characters were exploring that many years ago.
Saji not only do you have really great points but your voice is so nice to listen to ( until you make me laugh and then I'm distracted from whatever I'm working on )
That comment at 6:50 about laying out your main points in a thesis format because of the school system, I felt that in my soul lol
Loved this video Saji, I feel our culture is an easy one for others to shit on because everyone finds it quite easy to lump in on Indians. The way Mindy portrays growing up as an Indian in a white culture is accurate but doesn't help break the mindset of people who go on to become like Avaneesh
these kinds of “it’s you it’s still you” things hit me so hard as a trans girl who has never felt like myself and has never been able to see my true self being able to sit down and recognize that the person in the mirror is me and i need to care about her even if she doesn’t look how i feel she is still me and she still matters and i should acknowledge the struggles the victories the losses the good times and the bad times because they all make up who i am so even tho the person in the mirror is me she could never truly show who i am.
this comment probably doesn’t make sense and most definitely is filled with grammatical errors but i struggle with putting my thoughts out there so this comment is more for me if this resonates with anyone else i’m glad even tho it is poorly written
I wanna know what the little lobster guy in the background is named
Lorono!!!
For a second I thought “Velma shitting on Indian desserts” was literal and I gagged HARD
With the show opening with cockroach fucking, l could believe it.
Aaaaaaaaand that's a mental image. Brb, kms.
This is such a well made video! I am a white guy and I noticed a lot of these stereotypes in the Velma show, but I really enjoyed being able to see how a person of color felt about them. The show was trying to make a point about "race blind casting", but Velma did quite the opposite of that in making it so that every character was solely made up of the negative stereotypes that society puts of them. I really liked your viewpoints on the topic, and again, great video!
hey, i really appreciate you leaving in your stutter for this video. i have a stutter that sounds a little similar to yours and there's times where it gets frustrating to talk, so it's nice to see someone that makes great speaking content with it regardless :)
im convinced im the only one who didnt notice he had any kind of speech impediment 😭😭😭
I really appreciate you being so confident, I struggle with stammering, but mainly from being overstimulated (which is pretty much always) and this is really validating and makes me feel more confident.
Thank you, it’s nice to see this from a perspective of someone from the same background as Mindy.
I’m looking into stereotypical characters and how to avoid them. I’ve noticed it mostly in Proud Family and Victorious depictions of the Jewish stereotype. (Which interests me because it applies to me, as Jewish woman who is tired of the Jewish pasty shy, nerdy weird kid who wears glasses and has braces, maybe also wild curls. If the production is feeling particularly brave)
Mindy’s Velma is an interesting case of self depreciation and what to avoid in observational humor, along with how not to write and show a panic attack (I do understand what they were going for, and the animation was very cool. But a panic attack does not look like that.)
It's a shame. I have friends with a variety of connections to asian culture (Pakistani/Indian Telugu/Sri Lankan Tamil/Malaysian Tamil- 1st/2nd/3rd etc. generation immigrants) and while all of them have their issues with the sexism they face, the beauty standards, or not knowing the reasons behind certain traditions, they all love to share and celebrate the things they do like about it. They love getting to connect to each other about differences in how they pronounce things or cook certain meals, and they have a lot of fun telling me about it and helping me celebrate it with them. It's natural for people to have mixed feelings about their own cultures but you hope that more people get to show the better sides of it in media rather than trying to push it away
Love your channel man . Takes guts to tackle the issues you’re tackling. You sir are a voice for a marginalized community that doesn’t get represented or talked about often. And when it does get represented/talked about it often gets met with absolute hostility. You’re brave as hell man , keep it up
I really appreciate that you listed out her achievements as well as her faults :) tbh I think most people dog pile on woc too quickly - I get that it's deserved in Mindy's case but it still felt a little off. Anyway, this was a great video, it was really entertaining and well articulated! Ty Saji for being the South Asian rep we need
This is a major issue with "representation". If you list "representation" as a reason for why you created a story or character, people will tear it apart, because the characters are then seen as literal representatives rather than characters, so any flaws they have are interpreted as criticisms of the group rather than traits of a single character. It's also why I find a lot of stories built on "representation" are not good, because creators are afraid to do anything interesting with their minority characters.
@@vlo4829 hm, i was about to HEAVILY disagree with you because at the beginning there it looked like you were about to fall into the classic lowkey racist excuse of shitting on representation but I kinda get what you’re saying. That is an interesting point.
But the point of representation that people don’t get a lot of the time, which is something you kinda mention to be fair, is that it’s not meant to be a monolithic representation of everyone in a group. But someone from a group just *being* there at all, a snapshot being present at all. There is a difference. Does that make sense? For people to expect one person/character to have the world of an entire people’s/culture’s representation on their shoulders is *exhausting* and *impossible. Can’t a person be of a specific group and go through the experiences of a group and just be a person?? Like i feel like this impossible standard is just another form of discrimination tbh, or a symptom of it. But i feel things like this is why we *need* more representation, so we stop having to rely on one character or person being the face of an entire group. But to get there we gotta make start making steps first.
oh my god i loveeee this format you’ve done! great work saji!
great vide Saji!
if anyone has any recs for good Indian American or other Indian diasporic media, would be lovely if y’all shared in comments. thanks in advance friends
i can't believe i wasn't subbed to the channel until now and i just happen to come across a fresh vid too? HELL YEAS this is my new fave channel hands down 😍
there was something about mindy that i couldn't figure out why i wasn't really into but this video definitely confirmed that something was off, great analysis!
just appreciating the new intro. clearly someone figured out motion graphics cuz damn that looks good.
This is a really great video! Really liked how you covered all the different aspects of Mindy Kaling from what she has done right to our current criticisms of her work. Thanks for the shoutout :)
Video healed part of my soul being half Pakistani and half Kazakh ❤️
Man my dog really liked this video thank you so much you made her so happy
Yo thank you for explaining your perspective so well, I actually feel like I learned a lot from this
You rock dude! This is the first video I’ve seen from you but it won’t be the last. Subscribed! Keep up the amazing work
another banger ! merci saji :))!!
I love that you are using the correct pronunciation. that "Namaste" had me in splits.
And here I was thinking she was only an awful person because she sexually assaulted someone then threatened them and admitted to it on live TV like it was a joke
Ty for linking RIddhi's video!! I'm going to check these out.
I'm new here and I immediately noticed that you have an old speech impediment which you have mastered really well. When I was little I had a stammer, it only comes out now when I'm super angry. Great content mate. x
When I first heard the line "well you know what my middle name is? Rhajaniganda. And I hate it!" I thought it was cool and interesting that she was writing an Indian character that had such negative feelings toward her Indian identity and that even if it wasn't explored- Kelly not exactly being a main character- it was still a profound and poignant look into the damage Eurocentrism and colonialism have done to the cultures of the people they interacted with.
Watching this video and learning about Mindy's other work makes me realise that Mindy was more like Kelly than I thought, and not in a good way.
Yes, this is true. But I always thought the punchline to the joke is that she hates it because it’s a boy’s name, which is obvious to everyone.
@Asmodius Jones as someone unfamiliar with Indian linguistics and naming traditions i did not know it was a boy's name although now that you say so it's obvious
@@zyaicob I didn’t know either, I think the joke is that the characters would expect people to know that it is (if even Kevin knows).
Right, it seems like it was self insert for her own complicated relationship with her heritage. I see nothing wrong with it, even though it doesnt always mirror my own- as a south asian.
Isn't that a paan masala brand?
Great video and great commentary. Thanks for putting this together
awesome video and it’s really interesting reading the comments-tons of super thoughtful responses and and perspectives i’m super grateful people took the time out to share. love this community thanks saji 🥰