Indian Characters in American Television

In my personal opinion, Indian people are some of the most highly stereotyped characters by American media, especially through television. Two of the most stereotyped characters in a television series today are Rajesh Koothrappali (of Big Bang Theory) and Cece Parekh (of New Girl). For those of you not familiar with these characters, they are seemingly very different from one another. Raj is a shy scientist who for a majority of the show thus far has been afraid/unable to converse with women whereas Cece is a very confident and driven model. Though they initially show nearly polar opposite traits there is one similarity that brings them together: their families and their influence on their life. 

Throughout both shows the parents make special appearances where they are portrayed as very strict and set in their ways. Perhaps the most obvious example of their similarities is that both of them become so desperate to be in a relationship (and live up to their parents expectations) that they ask their parents to set them up essentially with a spouse. Although neither of them actually go through with it they still go to that option. This carries on the stereotype that all marriages in the Indian culture are arranged by the parents when it is not as prominent. (Below are a link to Raj's conversation with his parents as well as a picture of Cece and Shivrang's arranged marriage ceremony).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AaJcIG__rc

In these shows, we also see the parents disapprove of their children being in relationship with people who are not Indian especially if they are white. Raj's sister, Priya, begins dating one of the main characters in the show (Leonard), and when her parents find out, they immediately disapprove and begin suggesting other potential suitors. More recently on New Girl, Schmidt proposed to Cece, and their friends and roommates throw them an engagement party. When Cece's mom meets Schmidt she immediately voices her disapproval and refuses to give her blessing to their marriage. In both instances, the parents are presented as being close-minded and almost racist towards anyone who is not of the same ethnicity. 

It is not necessarily that the writers have so heavily stereotyped the individual characters that I mentioned (Raj and Cece). These characters seem to be bending their "cultural expectations," but they are still facing the judgment and ever-present influence of their families who continue to live in India. No matter what format these traits are presented in they still equate to the same perception of Indian parents. Both characters feel so pressured to find someone to love that they resort to having their parents arrange a marriage for them even though they both vehemently reject the idea initially. Of course I am not an expert on Indian marriages, but I highly doubt that in this day and age that arranged marriages are as common as they are made to be in television. In addition to this, both examples enforce the idea that the elder generation of Indian families continues to be close-minded and unwilling to approve of anyone outside of their ethnicity and even community. They are conservative and very proud of tradition. These two very different shows and characters continue to enforce the same stereotype without further delving into the characters background.