Even in mainstream films about South Asians, the director and/or screenwriter is almost always white. There’s the infamous Fisher Stevens performance in Short Circuit, but nobody talks about Max Minghella’s brownface in The Social Network. Or maybe we’re not even allowed to play ourselves. Maybe a South Asian man has a funny accent (where the joke is the accent having an accent alone isn’t racist or upsetting) and runs a convenience store. Usually we’re depicted as sexless nerds, or IT guys. The history of South Asian men in Hollywood is spotty at best. They are just two humans who love each other. While race plays a part in their breakup and Kumail’s life, their courtship doesn’t revolve around it. They are just two people who fall in love. ![]() She doesn’t fetishize his race he's not chasing white girls. The interracial romance is normalized between them. And the fact that Emily (played by Zoe Kazan) is sexually and romantically attracted to Kumail (Nanjiani plays a version of himself) feels revolutionary in its own way. Aziz Ansari on Netflix’s show Master of None and Mindy Kaling on The Mindy Project have done a lot for South Asian-American representation on television, but The Big Sick is a mainstream movie marketed to mainstream America. Seeing a fellow South Asian (Nanjiani is Pakistani, and I am Indian) as a romantic leading man is a big deal. The Big Sick tells its love story without holding its audience’s hands. ![]() But on a deeper level, the film subverts so many cross-cultural clichés, foregoing plot points and character beats that feel stale now after films like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Bend it Like Beckham, Coming to America, among others. It’s a perfect summer comedy, and I’m glad it’s been getting rave reviews and doing good business at the box office. Gordon, the film is sharply observed, warm, and empathetic. ![]() As written by comedians Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. On the surface, it’s pleasant and profound romantic-comedy about parents, culture, and traditions. The Big Sick is a quietly groundbreaking film.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |