November 28, 2006
Television execs love "real" Asian men
Check out this picture. It is the cast of Beauty and the Geek 3 which debuts in January (here is a background on the series):
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Is that Matisyahu with the white cap? |
The CW (which I guess someone must still be watching) has decided to demonstrate that it is a network of diversity by featuring THREE Asian brothers in ONE reality show. This is unprecedented. We’ve now had a number of Asian Americans in reality shows but here three out of the eight men (competing for the mostly white women who are supposedly out-of-their-league) are Asian. What the F*ck? Can I get a “what what?” I mean, cynic that I am I always believed that the proper formula for a sexually charged reality show (The Real World being the paradigm) was to throw sex-crazed alcoholic white people together with angry black people and then add a homosexual in the mix to take the edge off. How do Asians fit in to that choreography? Oh wait…I get it. This is a show about Geeks. The guy in the middle with the glasses and red vest, that’s Sanjay from Westminster, California.
The producing team of Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg (“Punk’d”) recruited an all-new group of eight gorgeous but academically impaired women and eight brilliant but socially challenged men for the third installment to test intellect and social skills. This cycle will remain true to the series’ format — pairing eight gorgeous but academically impaired women with eight brilliant but socially challenged men to test intellect and social skills — for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize. [Link]
Sanjay, if you are listening then call up Ankur from Season 2 for some advice. And let’s all be grateful for the CW for featuring real Asian men. If I was an executive there I would have picked 8 nerdy women and 8 dumb-as-dirt but socially adept men (and three of them would be Asian). But alas, I’m not the TV exec type. I’ll just continue to pick nerdy South Asian women to blog for SM to compensate.
abhi on November 28, 2006 07:55 PM in · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
Amen, brother. Nerds are hot ;)
that picture is aggressively heteronormative.
I'll be sure to tune in to "White Women Are Stupid" and check it out.
And yes, yes I see her but come on it ruins the joke...
Oye vey Abhi you'll do anything to get a picture of scantily clad women up there. Admit it you are a little jealous you aren't Sanjay from Westminister.
Is this some Nerd mantra Ennis? ***ducking**
If young Sanjay is taking any cues from past CW South Asians (this means you Anchal from America's Next Top Model Cycle 7), then he will initally wow us with his stunningly exotic
looksbrains, get our hopes up when he doesn't get kicked off in the first 5 episodes, and then crash and burn when his typically South Asian lack of self-confidence gets the better of him. In any case, his parents must be proud.P.S. Am I wrong for proposing an Asian woman join the beauties at one point or another? Or are we just not "reality TV dumb" enough?
HELL YES! I give good nerd. Or, more accurately, I give good extrovert while my inner nerd snorts and then adjusts her glasses. ;)
Nerds are the new [insert something here].
indeed - a show about geeks would make no sense unless 1/3 of the cast was Asian. that's why there are no Asian hotties among the ladies - easy to find hot asian chicks, nearly impossible to find hot AND academically-impaired asian chicks.
Gangstas?
Word. Nerds Represent.
J. mehta:nearly impossible to find hot AND academically-impaired asian chicks.
But they need not fear.
heh... Weird Al Yankovic has his say on the subject...
kids on the block?
wtf indeed. If I have learned anything white women aren't the ones out of my reach its the ones of my own race that are out of reach.
brown is the new black
dhilbur shikdoom, shikdoom..............dhibur, shikdoom
Wow - 2 Indians guys featured on Beauty and the Geek that has been on for only 3 seasons, yet after a dozen seasons, no Indian male doctor on ER. Reality TV rules!
Nerds are the new.
New girls on the block
[navy blue of India]
kavita, i LOVE that quote! i use it all the time and people look so confused...sigh. :)
nerds are the new sexy :)
Nerds are the new [insert something here].
Surds, of course.
nerd is the new mard .
I just spent a minute trying to write an appropriate response to this, which included an attempt at developing a "sad yeti" emoticon [e.g. {8:(} ]. I hear you too.
oh you should have gone to my high school... we were well stocked... regardless of my anecdotal, this screams model minority myth doesn't it?
i could go off on this for a while, but this has been discussed a lot before. i was going to search for some of those discussions but i lost my momentum now... whoops :)
The more the merrier.. here is a list from my recent memory
Actor | Show | Plays as | Link
Ravi Kapoor | Crossing Jordan(NBC) | Dr. Mahesh "Bug" | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0438500
Parminder Nagra | ER(NBC) | Dr. Neela Rasgotra | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0619406
Sendhil Ramamurthy | Heroes(NBC) | Mohinder Suresh | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707983
Lakshmi Manchu | Las Vegas(NBC) | Sarasvati Kumar | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1711203
Padma Lakshmi | Host (Food Network) | Herself | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0482290
Ajay Naidu | Random Shows | Desi/Middle Eastern | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0619651
Mindy Kaling | The Office(NBC) | Kelly Kapoor | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0671980
Ajay Mehta | Random Shows | Desi roles | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0576538
Raj Bhakta | The Apprentice(NBC) | Himself | http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1722404
i'm watching this show right now... it's very painful. they need to call this show "ditzes and the geeks". the geeks are at least aware and almost apologetic for their absence of coolness and tact. the "beauties" are so incredibly stupid and they think it is funny. nice study in contrast.
ankur is a nut and an ego maniac! he was rambling about his insane mit gpa and his acceptance into berkeley's ph.d program (hiss). this guy's all about his biodata and had the nuts to say "i've accomplished so much in my life already, it's hard to pinpoint the most significant thing i've done" followed by his GPA musings followed by "get someone who's done what i have and then we'll talk". *gag*
HEY! hey, now!!!! If I didn't know better, I'd think that based on being the last SM female guest blogger picked by Abhi that I was just called NERDY! humph...
BTW, I LOVE this show- it's not at all competition driven- well it is, but it's more of a sidestory. It's about seeing what happens when smart folks have to work with pretty folks.
This reminds me of the time I tried out for the Real World a couple years ago in DC. As a desi woman, I didn't have a shot. They took us into a room in groups of 10 and made us talk. The nerd I am, the conversation went to politics (was wearing a political T-shirt that day), and I spent most of the time observing the 18-24 yr old youth. It was cool - like a focus group on youth politics.
Ok. sigh. I am nerdy. Needless to say, I wasn't picked to be on the Real World.
no story...well maybe its just not a story for the web. :)
Azher - Bloody oath.
You are not alone mate.
After heaps of rejections from desi sheilas I go with the white bread for now.
To paraphrase the pollies - how about a fair go for regular desi blokes?
The name Sanjay will make all the panties drop. If he want the panties to drop any faster then I hope the last name is Patel. Anybody watches HEROES here? What the hell kinda name is Sanjob?
You're lucky nerdy is so "hott" then, huh?
In terms of nerds being the new 'sexy' or 'cool', I would have to say Ugly Betty and Napolean Dynamite are prime examples of mainstream media portraying 'nerds' or 'geeks' in a different light. Viewers associate with them, they care about 'what they'll do next.' That's some momentum in a much wanted direction ;).
As for nerds being sexy, I find myself attracted to 'nerdy' guys. They tend to be sensitive and aware - good traits for lovers.
But sorry boys, I am taken...
"Nerds are the new....
Nerds. It's not a positive term, no matter how much people try to appropriate it. I went to the college with a lot of really smart people, and the "nerds" are simply the ones that lack social grace. It IS possible to be both intelligent and socially capable, you know. We shouldn't hold up awkwardness as evidence of brilliance or a necessary trait among the intellectual.
you tease!
Nerds are the new gangstas. Taj from Van Wilder has his own sequel coming out soon Rise of the Taj. "I want to take it through the car vash and vax that shit..baby"
The Rise of Taj previews have already made me cringe. It's not just the excessive pandering by Mr. Modi aka Kal Penn in hopes of furthering his career, but the tragic downfall of one of the great comedy houses, National Lampoon, into this straight to DVD garbage.
That's been true for at least 10 years though.
I mean honestly, the last good "National Lampoon" film starred Chevy Chase (!!), and the Onion has been wiping the floor with their magazine since the early 90s too.
Bidismoker,
"It's not just the excessive pandering by Mr. Modi aka Kal Penn in hopes of furthering his career,"
Mr.Modi's sole responsibility, esp, in the nascent stage of his career in this most fickle of industry, is solely to his pocketbook and his employer. Not to the greater Desi community.
i love the guy - because of harold and kumar - it brings a tear to my eye to remember my asiian buddy (doing a snarl like colbert) and the good times we had together... oh.. down to the midnight cravings we had for eating at this nasty ass greasy diner... and strangely enough... uncle ben's wild rice with asparagus soup...
it brings a tear to my eye.
and fart jokes, and beavis and butthead, and steempy, and ... -sigh-... we are all kumar ... or harold. i dont care.
You seem to believe that just cause he's brown he has to have some kind of self sacrificing obligation to his brown community. Lets get real.
btw - that pic up there - that's hurting my eyes - i just keep thinking of large hocks of ham hanging from a cleaver. somebody post a new article soon... pliss.
I like Harold and Kumar. Taj is pretty cringe worthy. I agree that he has no responsability to the greater desi community. I also don't think he should be held up as some great shining example of desi success either; it IS possible to be succesful without totally selling out. Or maybe it isn't in Hollywood. Either way, you have to stand behind your work. I guarantee you in 20 years we are going to look back on these movies and compare them to blackface or minstrel shows.
hairy d
"hey, if i'm hung like a moose, it doesnt mean i have to be a porn star. :-)"
No, you don't. But, If you did take the path of my idol, Ron Jeremy, who are we to question.
i'm hung like a moose
Srini, how could you leave out my man naveen?
Naveen Andress // Lost(ABC) // Sayid Jarrah // http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710/
Tazzy grrl, all the bloggers here, guests or permanents, are nerdy - and nerdy is hella sexy, even on Mr. Libertarian (but he's a handsome devil, and that helps him on whatever righty leanings the nerdy schitck don't cover).
Even the socially awkward nerds are sexy when they can own the Ken-doll-frat-boy in something that is not related to beer pong or chasing ass. Poor things, though, they don't know how to react even when you are impressed by them. I'd go out with even the socially awkward desi nerds if my bubbly interest didn't scare them so much that they would go the extra mile just to avoid me :)
While this show gets pretty rife with model minority concerns, I actually think it's fairly interesting. I mean, statistically people are more attracted to, and more willing to work with, people they find physically attractive than people who are necessarily smart/qualified [cite: Blink]. Maybe I am a sucker for editing, but I think some of the reactions of the "beauties" as they go through the show are pretty meaningful. How many times do you watch one of those women break down and talk about how they are superficial and would never have associated with their geek-partner in the real world.. but now, maybe they'll give it a shot.
Again, sucker for the editing, but there is some nice commentary there. It would be interesting to see what would happen if they put "hot" geeks with "hot" beauties. Or if they did a role reversal? (nerdy women and good looking men) This show also always makes me wonder about the gender politics behind it, but I digress.
Im a socially ackward desi nerd, and even i dont head for the hills like that. I think i used to in my youth,but I have grown a bit since then.
They wouldn't have a positive stereotype to go off of so it would never happen. I've never seen a good looking but dumb as rocks male character on tv. And even those dense male characters are given some positive attribute that makes up for their lack of intelligence. Oh, and they almost always have attractive wives.
This show just reinforces the idea that men are allowed to be severely deficient in one area and still be decent people. I saw the first season and the focus was almost completely on how badly the men were treated... but there was hardly any attention to the way men (in general, not just the geeks) treat(ed) women who they perceived to be incredibly attractive, but dumb by default. We saw the redeeming qualities in the nerds (kindness, intelligence, supposed ability to see beyond the physical) but not so much in the women.
If the show is going to be about breaking down stereotypes it may as well break down the main ones it introduces.
I can just see the Asian beauty's parents having a cow over their darling "beti" showing cleavage AND being dumb.
I guess this is one of the things I meant when I was talking about the gender politics of this show. At the end of the day this is just another TV show, right? It's not like it pretends to revolutionize how we see the world.
See:
The Bachelorette
Flava of Love
Would Joey count? You know, that guy from that show with the six attractive people that are always at the coffee shop.
True, but I still wish they would have gone a little deeper into why the women acted the way they did... I'm sure their experiences hit a little closer to whats home for me though...
Exactly. By definition "nerd" implies lack of social agility. The intelligence is just an add on bonus. Here's a perfect description...
HMF, that is clearly a "geek" or "dork".
Clearly you are not well-schooled in the taxonomy of maladjusted elementary school youth.
Flavor of Love? Aside from the rampant coonery I cannot watch the show because seeing Flav makes my stomach curdle. I said attractive men... good lord I'm gonna have nightmares tonight.
As far as the bachelorette goes, the winners were athletes and one was a business major... I don't think jocks are automatically dumb so I'll just leave that be.
I'd love to comment on this, but I have no idea who you're talking about. The only "Joey" I know was on "Blossom"
Flavor of Love? Aside from the rampant coonery I cannot watch the show because seeing Flav makes my stomach curdle. I said attractive men... good lord I'm gonna have nightmares tonight.
This totally made me laugh out loud. I have an iron stomach, but Flava-Flav gets the gag reflex going. Also, in the regular Bachelorette, wasn't it much less watched than the Bachelor? I have no idea; I didn't have TV for the 4 years I was in college.
I don't know because it's not really reality TV. A lot of television shows have a ditzy, attractive male character, but usually as a foil for the leading male, right? I think the Joey under conversation is Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) from Friends, yes?Well I dunno. Can David Schwimmer EVER realistically be called a "leading male"?
And they did spin Joey off into his own sitcom...
A spin-off that totally sucked! I think they were trying to keep milking a show that should have ended at season 6 and had already been dragged out 4 seasons. The only character with a shallow enough story to keep it going logically was Joey.
Also, you can't forget Chandler (Matthew Perry), my personal favorite male Friend. :)
Yes
Bahahah, I know you what you mean, I just offered it up as a suggestion because every woman on that show "pretends" he's good looking.
And I wasn't saying jocks are automatically dumb- but some of those guys were totally good looking and TOTALLY dumb!
From Wikipedia:
The Seasons
* Season 1: Trista Rehn selected Ryan Sutter, and the two were married on TV in December 2003 in one of the most widely viewed programs in the history of reality television.
Every friggin dating show features 80% dumb guys. Reality TV is better at this than most genres. I mean Blind Date? Taildaters? CHEATERS?!
i apologize, i meant to quote this comment instead:
From Wikipedia:
The Seasons
* Season 1: Trista Rehn selected Ryan Sutter, and the two were married on TV in December 2003 in one of the most widely viewed programs in the history of reality television.
As much as I hate to admit that maybe I actually watched, the tv show The Bachelorette was completely separate from Trista's wedding, which is what you refer to in your comment.
That being said I think having a "healthy" dose of nerdiness actually complements a bad-boy personality. Just my two $
Also, wasn't every subsequent season of Bachelorette pretty much ignored? I mean, come on, 90% of the show's appeal was watching what happened next with Trista.
Another (hot) desi actress hitting the networks is Indira Verma. She had a nice leading lady esque role in the HBO series, Rome, where she, alongwith great thespianism, showed pretty much all of her atributes.
Starting this week, Indira is the leading lady ( playing what else, a nuero surgeon, with a firang sounding name) on the CBS medical drama, 3 LBS, which apparently is the average weight of the human brain.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0890055/
If I have learned anything white women aren't the ones out of my reach its the ones of my own race that are out of reach.
Well, I can put in the Bangladeshi perspective on this... Some of my BD friends have said that they were told to stay away from all boys, even as friends (as teens)! They were interested in guys from their own background, but got no/little chance to date until later (when they weren't w/ the parents or got out of undergrad).
I'd go out with even the socially awkward desi nerds if my bubbly interest didn't scare them so much that they would go the extra mile just to avoid me :)
Yes, this has happened to me w/ a few BD (and other desi) guys! I used to be shy, but now I'm really looking for a serious/intelligent guy to date. Some I meet are too shy though...
In my experience, Desi women actually are too interested in being with desi men. Its not natural. We're not meant to stay within our little circles of self-imposed identity.
But also, Sanjay actually looks pretty cool. Maybe he will be like that one Geek from last season who was actually pretty socially adept, and considerate and nice too.
I Love Cheaters.
I would read your blog Neal.
+++
Didn't ANYONE else on this thread/site try out for a reality show? Anyone? I know abhi tried out for jeapordy, I tried out for Hollywood Squares (not peppy enough), and I tried to sign my lil sis up for one of those makeover shows on E!. (she really like LOTR). Maybe this trying out to be on TV reality is an LA thing...
It's definitely an LA thing, when I lived there, everyone I knew tried out to be on one. Another friend tried out for the apprentice, to be the bitch character. Her bitchiness was put to the test in a rigorous bitch screening, unfortunately she didn't make the cut. A friend of mine got on a makeover show, but during one of the interviews, her friend said something to the effect of "she has trouble getting men, and gets really depressed" or something to that effect. It pissed my friend of, and she pulled out of the show.
"A recent poll said that 65% percent of the population is sick of reality tv..... and 35% of the population is ON reality tv..."
- Conan O'Brien
NERDS! And on the C-DUB (Christian White) network.
NEEEEERDS!
I think it IS an LA thing. When I lived there I was on the Price is Right (got called down too!) and also tried out for Junkyard Wars on TLC.
I was a quarter-finalist for the Real World when I was a freshman in college. I wanted it so bad. I thought I was such a contradiction. Nerdy Indian girl who makes out with girls. Only after looking through other Desis' pictures on Friendster/Facebook/MySpace, it turns out the smart, wannabe-lessi Desis aren't that hard to find after all.
Flava Flav looks like a cross between a cockroach and a turd.
i feel so middle-aged auntie - trying to hook people up here.
andd... btw i went through your blog at ennis' hairy reference and found it kwite luvverly - like warm feta on a toasted chapati. sheee's a contender fjolkes -
Although I'm impressed that a Desi's never gotten caught on the wrong end of the camera on "Cheaters"...
Ooo, just wait. There is way too much ho'ing around for people to continue to go "uncaught."
While I'm proud of all the brown nerds out there, I'm a tad insulted that 1/3rd of the cast would be asian. Yeah, it's okay to be realistic about the real-world ratio when it comes to unsavoury "roles" such as this, (taxi driver & terrorist roles included, not that I have anything less than respect for taxi drivers either), but you won't find accurate representation on medical dramas. No, because that would mean putting minorities in more glamorous and glorious (highly-coveted) roles. Harumph :-(
to #86. perhaps u mean non-black minorities
Why are so embarrased to be ourselves?
http://notproud.com/pride/pride5986.php
Last year, the WB greenlit a spin-off of Beauty and the Geek where the gender roles would be reversed. However, it hasn't been mentioned since that initial announcement. I'm not sure if that means the show got lost in the transition to the CW or if it's a "nothing to announce" silence. There is less of a mythology to play off, as there are far more stories about the pretty woman who learns to appreciate what the geeky guy has to offer, but it would build on Ugly Betty's success.
I believe there was an (East, IIRC) Asian beauty in the second season. She was the one other beauties hated because she spent time studying for the elimination quizzes when the other beauties were chilling in the hot tub and "didn't belong" on the show because she was pretty and smart. She was likable until my mind would move to model minority stereotypes.
Hmm...sad.
I wonder if there will ever be anything for the geeky, intelligent male (Asian or otherwise) and pretty, intelligent female?
I go to medical school with Sanjay haha i saw the commercial was like whoa he's on that show haha!!!
Poor Sanjay - he's already gone - first one off the show. Damn his partner.
Fashionable model’s adult games at http://worldofadult.com