![]() ![]() She still makes Tik Tok videos, eats junk food, obsesses over romance and losing her virginity like the rest of her peers. Instead, much like myself and every other second-generation South Asian migrant I know, Devi’s cultural background is one element of her broader personality and life, which doesn’t in any way detract from or alter her experiences of adolescence as a teen in the western world. While Kaling doesn’t shy away from bringing culture into the story – Devi’s cousin Kamala is in the throes of navigating an arranged marriage set-up Devi has her textbooks blessed at the mandir, which she also attends for Ganesh puja – it isn’t the defining and only driving force behind the show. Devi is Indian but she is also a person, not a caricature of an Indian migrant, there to serve as cultural dressing on a white bread sandwich. But Devi is also so much more than that – she’s obnoxious, precocious, principled, funny, insecure, sweet, and hopelessly out of control when it comes to her emotions. Never Have I Ever follows Los Angeles teen Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), who is navigating all the usual trials and tribulations of being a teenager: dating, identity, popularity, and the demands of her family and cultural life.ĭevi is Indian-American. It’s only in the past week, after binge-watching the entirety of the second season of Netflix show, Never Have I Ever (co-written by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher), that I truly understand that ickiness.īecause never have I ever felt so seen by a television show – seen in all of my cross-cultural, problematic, uncomfortable, funny, sad, angry glory. Where did this leave me, as a fellow Indian girl, who was less compliant, less likeable? ![]() Was my culture just a spectacle for the white majority, or were they meaningfully connecting with a diverse narrative? To be sympathetic, Jess had to be a pretty-but-not-too-pretty, nice, likeable Indian girl, defined by her culture and her inability to fit into the western world. Outer Banks is on the list of the best Netflix shows to watch right now! Stay tuned for more info about the new season.Mostly because when my white friends laughed at the depiction of the Indian “aunties” toddling along the footpath in their kameez-and-sneaker combos, or the exaggerated Indian accent of Jess’ mother screeching “You don’t even know how to cook dhaal”, I couldn’t tell if they were laughing with me or at me. Those are the picks to watch while you wait for Outer Banks season 4! Let us know what you’ll be watching.
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