This is an interesting time for race relations in America. To many Americans, the election of President Obama symbolized seminal moment in racial progress, a refreshing departure from our past and a renewal of our commitment to tolerance. Yet since the election of the first black president, numerous instances have revealed that we are not exactly living in a "post-racial" utopia. A month ago, Laura Schlessinger, a national radio talk-show host, resigned from her post after using the "N-word" 12 times in two minutes. Sarah Palin even tweeted in response, "Dr. Laura: Don't retreat ... reload!" Arizona just passed an immigration reform law that essentially requires racial profiling to be enforced. And manufactured conflicts like "terror babies" and the "mosque at ground zero" seem to reveal a current of fear and anger toward Muslims. Theoretically, we should have moved past this by now. But racism still exists.
Recently NBC added a new show to its Thursday night comedy lineup: Outsourced, a sitcom about an American manager whose office is outsourced to India. The manager, Todd, can keep his job, but must move to India to lead a call center with an entirely Indian staff. It is a "fish out of water" story in which Todd must explain American culture to the Indian staff and learn about their culture in the process. NBC should be applauded for giving a platform to talented Indian actors and actresses.\nCertainly, the decision to feature a predominantly Indian cast in a primetime slot suggests we may be approaching a period when multi-ethnic casts become the norm. The show also makes a sincere effort to highlight ridiculous aspects of American culture, creating a lighthearted atmosphere in which people can poke fun of cultural quirks. The call center sells novelty items to Americans (think toilet coffee mug), giving the writers a chance to critique absurd oddities of American consumerism.
The pilot episode sheds light on our cultural progress. Like current events, it gave a conflicting portrayal of what Americans think of minorities. The name of one character, for example, is Manmeet - seemingly only to allow people to make sexual puns out of his name. Also, there is not one, but four or five tasteless jokes about how Indian food will make your bowels irritable. It is not that I think those jokes are off-color or overtly offensive; I am just surprised that we are still making jokes about names and food at the expense of Indian culture.
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