Everyone knows about coming-of-age films such as Lady Bird, Eighth Grade, and The Breakfast Club. These films are all very popular and loved by all but there is one glaring similarity between all of them and the rest of this genre of film. Almost always is the main protagonist of the movie white. As the times change, blacks, Hispanics, and East Asians have received some representation in these types of movies albeit not a lot. However, it seems as though I have never seen a coming-of-age film about a character from Indian descent. When brown characters are represented in popular culture they often side characters that do not impact the plot too much; they are usually the nerdy, quirky characters that are supposed to be comedic relief. We never really see brown characters actually grow over the course of a film.
That is why for my creative project I created a brown character that we can see grow and develop as a person. I wanted to create this character because we can never really differentiate a brown character from the beginning of a movie and the end of the movie. They have no new personality traits or have grown in any way possible and the reason for this is because they are never the main character. For the creative project, the medium I chose to express my ideas was the narrative coloring book. I believe that the coloring book does an excellent job of showing the chronological progression of my character. It has six pages and showcases the changes from a baby, to a toddler, to a pre-teen, to a teenager, and then finally to an adult. We can really see the physical growth of my character and how he develops as a boy in Indian culture. Scattered throughout all of my coloring book pages are references to Indian culture which never really appears in popular culture and when it does, it is stereotyped and not portrayed in the best way possible. In my coloring book, you will see things such as traditional Indian clothing and patterns, cricket, and other staples of being Indian culture. The character that I created is not anyone in particular but just represents the lacking representation of brown protagonists in films in its entirety.
Here are my coloring book pages:
I really liked looking at the progression of your character from infant to adult! I agree, it definitely seems like representation in pop culture is limited to those stereotypes. I feel like sometimes minority characters are portrayed as being defined by their culture. I like how you incorporated elements of the character's culture while also maintaining his individuality.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly to May, I love how you showed not only a representation of a brown character but also showed their growth and what makes your culture unique. I especially love the drawings in your traditional wear/garments and playing cricket. Those are definitely aspects I hear about from my friends who share this culture and no doubt something to be proud of and celebrated within the media. I think it's so important to have close characters and figures that you can look up to and identify with as you are growing up for personal development and appreciation of your own identity.
ReplyDeleteI like how you also included the culture of your character. There are often stereotypes that the side characters who are people of color fall under. Everyone deserves to have characters in books and movies, or people in the media that they can relate to. I hope as our society progresses, we can see more people of color and different cultures portrayed in the media.
ReplyDeleteBeing Indian myself, I can completely relate to your frustration over the lack of coming-of-age films surrounding an Indian main character. Often times, like you said, the characters portrayed as Indian within a coming-of-age film/tv show are depicted as merely side characters, as well as the typical Indian stereotype: nerdy, slightly embarrassing goofball (Ravi from "Jessie" immediately comes to mind here). I really like how you've illustrated the growth of an Indian main character, all the while remaining true to Indian culture. Recently, however, a show called "Never, Have I Ever" released and it follows Devi, a first generation Indian-American teenager as she struggles throughout high school, so I recommend you check it out.
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