Master Of None By Aziz Ansari

Master of None; created by, starring, and written by Aziz Ansari; follows the story of Dev, a 30-year-old actor in New York City. The show highlights Dev’s experiences as an Indian-American and the son of immigrants, and often uses comedy to discuss social issues, like race and feminism. In the Master of None episode “Indians on TV,” Dev and his friend Ravi discuss how most of the roles they try out for are stereotypical. Later on, they both try out for a show called Three Buddies, and Dev is accidentally forwarded an email where the producer of the show makes a racist comment. This ends up sparking a discussion about Indian representation, that is, how Indians are portrayed in the media. While Aziz Ansari’s Master of None facilitates an important discussion about race and representation in American media, sometimes it misses the mark. The plot of “Indians on TV” sheds light to two main issues with American television: the lack of representation for Indian Americans, and the narrow way in which they are represented. Take, for example, the
LGBT characters, even when represented, often have storylines of nothing but misery: their parents don’t accept them, they get beaten up, commit suicide, are murdered. Sometimes, when I recommend a TV show or movie to my sister, I preface it by saying “nobody dies”! According to GLAAD, more than 25 LBT female characters died on TV shows in 2016 alone. These deaths often “served no other purpose than to further the narrative of a more central (and often straight, cisgender) character,” and were often violent. LGB teens are a vulnerable group of people (they are almost five times more likely than their straight peers to attempt to commit suicide). This sends an awful message to an already vulnerable community: that they are destined for lives filled with sorrow and