The video I have selected is a scene from a Disney show called “Jessie.” It aired between 2011-2015, so I would have been in elementary school during its run. The show focuses on the titular character, an 18 year old nanny to a rich white couple’s four children (three of whom are adopted). Among the adoptees was an eleven year old boy named Ravi, who was adopted from India fairly recently and was taking time to adjust to life as an American. This aspect of him is not inherently wrong to represent; however, the showrunners decided it would be a better course of action to turn him into a caricature of South Asians. As with any Disney character, he was treated as comedic relief (specifically as the butt of most jokes), yet it came at the expense of his culture. There were jokes about his accent, his cultural attire, Hinduism, and the way he obviously wasn’t “American” enough. At some point, it starts to become very apparent that he was the joke of the show.

Some other things that bothered me about his character:
– His actor (Karan Brar) has an American accent but Disney hired an accent coach to help him sound more stereotypically Indian.
– Ravi wasn’t even supposed to be a character. If I recall correctly, Karan Brar auditioned to be another character (Luke), and the casting directors liked his enthusiasm but they did not see him as fit for Luke’s character. Instead, they made a new character (Ravi) and assigned him to it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWpc99HFOs0

To add context to the clip, this episode focused on Ravi navigating his way through his first day of public school. In this scene, three things are apparent: he is very tied to his Indian heritage, he has a very thick accent, and he has been learning English for some time. This already shows how his culture is about to be played for laughs, and that is exactly what happens as the two white characters in the scene (Jessie and Luke) make ridiculing comments about Ravi’s significant traditional garb both to his face and behind his back.

My name is Radiya Sharif, and my pronouns are they/them. I was born and raised in Queens, but I moved houses often when I was younger. Some other basic facts about me are that I am eighteen years old, my birthday is June 27, and my family is from Bangladesh. My interests include psychology, linguistics, English, and learning languages. I like all of these because they all share one thing in common—they help me understand people better because I tend to be socially awkward otherwise. My main hobbies are writing, creating art, and listening to music. My favorite artists at the moment are Enhypen, Atarashii Gakko, Sabrina Carpenter, Twice, and Niki. Some micro-hobbies of mine include photography, badminton, and cooking. I want to learn how to crochet, make bracelets, and play the electric guitar. I am majoring in psychology because I have loved it ever since middle school where I realized that I wanted to be a resource for people who need it, so their mental health doesn’t end up as neglected as mine was/still is. On a similar note, I really like helping people—my MBTI type is INFP, otherwise known as the mediator, and I also worked at a daycare for my summer job. I want to become a psychiatrist after I graduate.