"Good grief . . . ! Brown thinking that it is white"
Taken from: http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1759782&issue_id=15150
FAR away in a country where children travelled to school on elephant back, cows idly walked the roads and poor emaciated women with tired, dishevelled looks trekked miles with water pots on their heads, lived an actress called Shilpa Shetty.
In exchange for a huge pot of money, the actress agreed to be locked in a cctv-ed house with a dozen strangers for close to a month, so the world could watch their social interactions and a TV channel could make millions out of the emerging media circus.
As D-day approached, the other inmates wondered, as did the white world of 'Big Brother' watchers, what it would be like to have a cultural stranger in their midst, round the clock.
The actress, who had her role precisely essayed for her, was determined to launch herself internationally, with her 'dignity' and easy Indo-Western ways.
Pleasantly surprised, the predominantly British inmates relaxed in the knowledge that Ms S could easily fit in as one of them and they all lived happily every after.
Right?
Wrong. Because, even as the other inmates were soaking in this unexpected sample of 'Indianness', along came Jade Goody, a vociferous celebrity created by this very show, and raised a self-destructive question that in a couple of days transformed a petty television programme into a globally significant drama.
By the time Ms Goody was done with her name-calling and hysterics, much of the world was wondering if she was an icon of what Britain stood for; if her overt or implied taunts and comments could be classified as 'racist'. This question was crucial to me, as an Indian. For years, I have seen India through the western media, portrayed largely in a stereotyped, incomplete manner. It was clear to me that Jade and her close allies, mainly Danielle, had low, ill-informed opinions about India and Indians.
The reference to slums, the backwardness of Shilpa's fans, and the comments about her accent and food habits were clearly meant to demean not just Shilpa, but a whole nation.
Racism is not new, but it was certainly a new experience to see this kind of 'racism in reverse' - where the white person on the show was unable to come to terms with the fact that the brown person was actually better at playing 'white' than the white person herself. It was a 'how dare an Indian think she is better than me' kind of racism. How can brown become the new white?
The future fortunes of Shilpa, Jade or Channel 4 are of little consequence to me. But it would certainly make a difference if this unpleasant drama sparks off some debates on the various dimensions of racism. Such as:
* If westernisation and development are in fact synonymous.
* If a white person really needs to congratulate himself for placing a brown or a black person on an equal status.
* If it is so unacceptable for a brown or black person to be dignified, intelligent and stunningly beautiful.
* And indeed, on a lighter vein, if brown is the new white after what happened on 'Big Brother'.
Priya Rajsekar is a freelance writer from India and a
columnist with the
multi-cultural newspaper Metro Eireann
FAR away in a country where children travelled to school on elephant back, cows idly walked the roads and poor emaciated women with tired, dishevelled looks trekked miles with water pots on their heads, lived an actress called Shilpa Shetty.
In exchange for a huge pot of money, the actress agreed to be locked in a cctv-ed house with a dozen strangers for close to a month, so the world could watch their social interactions and a TV channel could make millions out of the emerging media circus.
As D-day approached, the other inmates wondered, as did the white world of 'Big Brother' watchers, what it would be like to have a cultural stranger in their midst, round the clock.
The actress, who had her role precisely essayed for her, was determined to launch herself internationally, with her 'dignity' and easy Indo-Western ways.
Pleasantly surprised, the predominantly British inmates relaxed in the knowledge that Ms S could easily fit in as one of them and they all lived happily every after.
Right?
Wrong. Because, even as the other inmates were soaking in this unexpected sample of 'Indianness', along came Jade Goody, a vociferous celebrity created by this very show, and raised a self-destructive question that in a couple of days transformed a petty television programme into a globally significant drama.
By the time Ms Goody was done with her name-calling and hysterics, much of the world was wondering if she was an icon of what Britain stood for; if her overt or implied taunts and comments could be classified as 'racist'. This question was crucial to me, as an Indian. For years, I have seen India through the western media, portrayed largely in a stereotyped, incomplete manner. It was clear to me that Jade and her close allies, mainly Danielle, had low, ill-informed opinions about India and Indians.
The reference to slums, the backwardness of Shilpa's fans, and the comments about her accent and food habits were clearly meant to demean not just Shilpa, but a whole nation.
Racism is not new, but it was certainly a new experience to see this kind of 'racism in reverse' - where the white person on the show was unable to come to terms with the fact that the brown person was actually better at playing 'white' than the white person herself. It was a 'how dare an Indian think she is better than me' kind of racism. How can brown become the new white?
The future fortunes of Shilpa, Jade or Channel 4 are of little consequence to me. But it would certainly make a difference if this unpleasant drama sparks off some debates on the various dimensions of racism. Such as:
* If westernisation and development are in fact synonymous.
* If a white person really needs to congratulate himself for placing a brown or a black person on an equal status.
* If it is so unacceptable for a brown or black person to be dignified, intelligent and stunningly beautiful.
* And indeed, on a lighter vein, if brown is the new white after what happened on 'Big Brother'.
Priya Rajsekar is a freelance writer from India and a
columnist with the
multi-cultural newspaper Metro Eireann