Saturday, March 19, 2011

Quiz 6 global identities



This video, titled "Single Girls," is a parody of the song "Jingle Bells" but also is a parody on Indian culture. The main character consists of qualities of a common Indian stereotype: the Indian "nerd." The Indian "nerd" usually is male and socially awkward, very intelligent but usually has a problem relating to American culture. This particular "nerd" is short, balding, addicted to video games, and at 38 is still single and lives with his parents, a reference to the strong family bonds in Indian culture. He works a minimum wage job and never learned how to drive, which are other Indian stereotypes. He also plays "Sitar Hero." This video also negatively stereotypes Indian woman, as later in the video the main character is shown on a date with an Indian woman with a dot on her forehead and dressed in traditional Indian dress. She is not seen as very attractive and I argue that this video places a bad light on Indian women. The main character in the video is on a dating website, and I assume he is looking for American or white females, as he appears to disregard Indian women. I believe the overall impact of this video is negative and continues the joke of Indians in American culture. Many times I have seen the "Indian nerd" being portrayed, and there are rarely instances where an Indian will appear in a video and not awkwardly stand out for some reason.

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