fictional representation
I’m told that watching brown people in American film and tv is supposed to do the work of making me feel seen. I mildly disagree.
Like many other urban Indian kids, I grew up watching a lot of American rom-coms and soaps. Even in an isolated girls’ boarding school, without ever having used an answering machine or prom corsage, we went on as if they were part of our lives. I didn’t discriminate it from my regular Bollywood consumption either — a thoughtfully written character with some of the same quirks as me, always makes me feel seen. It's similar to the leap of faith we made as kids for Disney films, or Harry Potter books — projecting ourselves onto mermaids, witches or talking cars. In retrospect, they may have had their share of representation issues, and were disproportionately white, or heteronormative; But the implication that I felt invisible, could not be less true. If anything, the pitched up dialogue about representation is what aggravates my self consciousness about being brown or ‘other’.
realising that I do not look like Summer from The OC, while true, is a minor detail not worth disillusioning my teenage self for. I don’t condone the ‘I do not see colour’ argument, and absolutely commend any industry for accelerating inclusive hiring at all levels. As a consumer though, it’s less relevant; so don’t tell less compelling stories out of the moral obligation of ‘representing’ me.