I love him but....

[witchwillow]

Hiro Nakamura is not Japanese.

I know it seems like he is. He speaks Japanese, looks Japanese, has a Japanese corporate mogul father and a Japanese sister and most of all he has a Japanese salary-man as his best friend. But on tv, he's not Japanese.

Comments

[witchwillow]

I did end my post saying it's possible Hiro is 'exotic for the win'. I have agreed that he might be a Japanese Power Fantasy (in ways the writers of the show may not fully comprehend). And I admit in my post that what I know of Japanese culture could probably fit in a handbag, no matter how much I've read, I'm well aware it all gets watered down by the very next tv show or movie I see.

That said, I personally don't believe in being accepting and so grateful for Characters of Color that I don't discuss how they could have more depth, or how they might be invisible in the eyes of white viewers.

but you have to come to grips with the fact that it's producers and network on which it airs originally (NBC) are not the most diverse companies.

I don't have to come to grips with it. I really, really don't.
____

Re: Mohinder - Mohinder is a college professor who comes to NYC and drives a cab. While I appreciate they wanted to give him a job he could ditch at the drop of a hat - I see the stereotype there.

And while I'm sure some people might 'get' the concept of a college professor who comes to America and perhaps the only job he can get is something that doesn't use his training and experience. There are bound to be others who started watching the show and saw an East Indian driving a cab, and stopped watching the show and don't know anything differently. Two generations of college professors who end up driving cabs seems a touch sloppy writing to me - there could and are other ways to have had Mohinder encounter Mr. Bennet.

[lilacsigil]

But didn't the show address this? Mohinder was angry with his father for replacing a high-status job in India with a low-status job in the US (where his father thought he could better carry out his research). Both Suresh men have been shown at their high-status home and jobs. Mohinder hasn't been working as a cab driver, as far as we've seen - he used the cab to transport the "dead" Peter Petrelli.

And your argument seems a bit confused - Hiro is coded as a white male power fantasy AND a wimpy Japanese stereotype at the same time? I don't mind his references to US comics - there were certainly plenty of US comic book shops in Japan when I was there - but it would be great to throw in manga references, too. DL and Micah - who can both use their powers effectively - are less into the mythos than Hiro and Peter? But I have to agree that the way Simone was used was a terrible waste.

[sabonasi]

Wasn't it Nirand who was angry that Chandra for ditching his high-status job or the low-status one? I thought Mohinder just became a cab driver because that's what Chandra had done. Kinda that's-what-was-on-his-mind combined with following-in-his-father's-footsteps. (But I also understand what witchwillow means about people not getting it and just seeing the stereotype.)

[lilacsigil]

I could have sworn it was Mohinder shouting something like "Do you know what professors are in America? Taxi drivers!" but I may well be wrong!

And yes, they could have certainly chosen a different job for Chandra than cab driver, that still emphasised his obsession - I was just pleased that they addressed this point in the show and didn't assume it was "natural" for a highly educated Indian man to become a taxi driver!

[sabonasi]

No, that was definitely Nirand. Although of course now I can't find the quote on tv.com or imdb.com, but I'm fairly certain that it was him.

Agreed.

[debu_chan]

I thought they made him a taxi driver as a way to highlight how many who immigrate here from prestigious positions sometimes get knocked very far down? Not really a symptom of the writers being racist, but the writers using it as a moment to point out how racism in America works... or maybe I was just putting too much faith in the writers?