Brown in Media: Fareeha Molvi Explores How South Asians are Represented on Screen - Stereotypes, Nuance, and Must-Watch Shows
“The media landscape has changed significantly. Now, there are so many talented Brown creators at all levels of media. I think that has vastly improved the way this community is being seen.” Today’s woman dreamer, Fareeha Molvi, is the founder of Brown in Media. A cultural essayist who has been featured in New York Magazine, Teen Vogue, Glamour, and more, Fareeha built her platform to dig deep into how South Asians are portrayed on screen, covering topics from stereotyping to nuance and characterization. A thought-provoking story, Fareeha shares how she thinks the media landscape has changed for Brown creators, her thoughts on Mindy Kaling’s popular “Never Have I Ever” and the top three t.v. shows out there that she feels represent the Brown community strongly. Enjoy!
1) Tell us your story. You are the founder of Brown in Media, a platform that covers brown representation across media platforms - tv, film, and more. What inspired you to launch this platform?
I've been writing for several years about Muslim and South Asian identity and representation for various outlets (CNN, Glamour, Teen Vogue). But there were always more stories I wanted to write about. A lot of them had to do with how I felt a brown character was (or wasn't) being represented authentically or a pop culture moment involving a brown celebrity that I didn't think was being discussed. Many times it was hard to convince non-brown editors of the significance of these moments even though I knew from discussions with friends/Internet discourse that it was.
One example is the Zayn Malik/Gigi Hadid relationship. A few years ago Hadid made a comment about Malik being "Middle-Eastern." And there were quite a few outlets that chastised her for what they saw as an embarrassing mistake, because Malik is actually half-Pakistani, which is technically South Asian. But I felt like I knew what she was getting at because Hadid herself is half-Palestinian. So there was a cultural literacy there that I and others from within the community could discern. But others, for instance, could not. Brown in Media is a place where I can discuss these kinds of stories for an audience with a level of cultural literacy and community.
2) How do you think representation of the brown community has changed in media over the past few years? Do you think the media has gotten better at staying away from stereotypes? Conversely, what issues do you feel are more prevalent nowadays?
The media landscape has changed significantly. Now, there are so many talented Brown creators at all levels of media. I think that has vastly improved the way this community is being seen. There's also more of an appetite in the current culture for diverse stories. Most of the time this is great. But there are times when I feel that the identity of a character is being pushed forth in a trope-y, heavy-handed way, and that almost becomes a stereotype in and of itself. For example, on Brown in Media's Instagram, we had a discussion about cringe-y moments on TV involving Muslim characters wearing hijab. So there are nuances that are sometimes hard to hit if you don't have a lot of support from all stakeholders. One Muslim writer on a show can only do so much if they're not empowered from decision-makers at all levels of the production.
3) What are your top 3 tv show or movie recommendations that you feel represent the brown community well?
I love Never Have I Ever for its representation of South Asian women. The remake of Four Weddings and a Funeral, also from Mindy Kaling, did a great job of seamlessly incorporating Muslim and South Asian characters in its ensemble cast. Ramy does a great job of showing the diverse spectrum of Muslims that exists, because we're often shown as a monolith.
4) You have done a lot of content on Mindy Kaling's Never Have I Ever. What are your thoughts on the show? How do you think this show is making history?
I talk about this a lot on Brown in Media, but while we have the likes of Hasan Minhaj and Riz Ahmed doing great work out there for South Asian representation, we haven't seen brown women being represented in a real way until Kaling's work. I love that Never Have I Ever is a very female-centric show. Not only that, we see these women in a multi-dimensional way. For example, Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan) could have been just the immigrant mother stereotype who we only see cooking and going to work. But in the last season, we got to see her as a physician, as a daughter visiting her own parents in India and her dating life as a widow. I love that the show takes care to flesh out its characters. I think Kaling's work has paved the way for more brown women's stories to come.
5) What has been the most interesting part of running Brown in Media? And what is your next big dream for the platform?
The most interesting part of Brown in Media has been the response to my content. The most frequent feedback I get is, "Wow, I was thinking the exact same thing but didn't know how to say it." It's an honor to be in a position to articulate a perspective that's out there but is rarely discussed. I hope this platform will do the work to push the discussion forward in whatever way it makes sense - Instagram, online articles, speaking, podcasts, book, film, etc.
Thank you Fareeha for sharing your wonderful story with us! We are excited to have you in our empowered women’s network!
Bio: Fareeha Molvi is a cultural essayist whose work explores identity in America. Her work has been featured in Allure, Glamour, Teen Vogue, New York Magazine and others. She’s been cited as an expert in the New York Times, Inc. and CBC Q. She runs @BrowninMedia on Instagram where she explores how brown people are seen on screen.
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