Not very long ago, the first Indian most Americans came to know was the impossibly-named Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. Apu was a cartoon character who became a household name in the US in the early 1990s with his frequent appearances in the hit American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He embodied a number of qualities that were generally believed in America at the time of his creation, to be essentially Indian. As the owner of the Kwik-e-Mart corner store who spoke in heavily accented English, Apu served as the simplistic yet humorous proxy of Indian-Americans for over two decades.
Acting Out, Laughing Out Loud
When Narendra Modi visits the US this week, things could not be more different. A number of actors and actresses of Indian origin have in the last decade reached the rarefied heights of television comedy. Some of them play characters consistent with American stereotypes of Indian-Americans: the math genius Raj Koothrappali, played by Kunal Nayyar, of the hit TV series The Big Bang Theory, for example. Others like to challenge – if only moderately – such stereotypes, leaving us with the wisecracking stoner played by Kal Penn in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
Actress and comedian Mindy Kaling, for instance, has not only appeared in a host of prominent television and movie roles, she even has her very own sitcom, The Mindy Project. Kaling is joined by fellow Indian-American comedic standouts Aziz Ansari, Aasif Mandvi, and Hari Kondabolu.
The rise of Indian-American performers and entertainers is strongly correlated with the growing status of the Indian-American community as a whole. A 2013 poll by Pew Research indicates that even among Asian Americans (the richest, best-educated, and fastest-growing racial group in the US), Indians lead the pack by a large margin in levels of income and education.
But even as Indian-Americans appear more prominently in the US media, American public opinion on India is extremely divided: 46% of Americans have a favourable view of India, while 33% reported an unfavourable one.
Also interesting to note, however, is that support for India enjoys a surprising degree of bipartisan support in America, with 46% of Republicans indicating a favourable view of the country, compared to 48% of Democrats. Indians, despite being commonly perceived as culturally conservative, have been shown to support the Democratic Party more heavily than any other Asian subgroup, with 65% registering support.
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Acting Out, Laughing Out Loud
When Narendra Modi visits the US this week, things could not be more different. A number of actors and actresses of Indian origin have in the last decade reached the rarefied heights of television comedy. Some of them play characters consistent with American stereotypes of Indian-Americans: the math genius Raj Koothrappali, played by Kunal Nayyar, of the hit TV series The Big Bang Theory, for example. Others like to challenge – if only moderately – such stereotypes, leaving us with the wisecracking stoner played by Kal Penn in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
Actress and comedian Mindy Kaling, for instance, has not only appeared in a host of prominent television and movie roles, she even has her very own sitcom, The Mindy Project. Kaling is joined by fellow Indian-American comedic standouts Aziz Ansari, Aasif Mandvi, and Hari Kondabolu.
The rise of Indian-American performers and entertainers is strongly correlated with the growing status of the Indian-American community as a whole. A 2013 poll by Pew Research indicates that even among Asian Americans (the richest, best-educated, and fastest-growing racial group in the US), Indians lead the pack by a large margin in levels of income and education.
But even as Indian-Americans appear more prominently in the US media, American public opinion on India is extremely divided: 46% of Americans have a favourable view of India, while 33% reported an unfavourable one.
Also interesting to note, however, is that support for India enjoys a surprising degree of bipartisan support in America, with 46% of Republicans indicating a favourable view of the country, compared to 48% of Democrats. Indians, despite being commonly perceived as culturally conservative, have been shown to support the Democratic Party more heavily than any other Asian subgroup, with 65% registering support.
