While Devi’s character is *clearly* written to be a dramatic teen-throwing around hyperboles like it’s her day job-the use of such a specific term is actually really problematic. In many instances, indentured servitude was exceedingly brutal and traumatic: For example, over 1 million people were taken from India during the 1830s and placed to work in sugar cane plantations across the Caribbean, until the system was banned in 1917. Individuals from Chinese, Indian, Irish, Tamil and Portugeuse communities were among those who left their home countries and were moved across the world throughout the 19th century. ICYMI in history class, indentured servitude was a contract of labour in exchange for transportation to a new country, a small payment and land upon job completion, among other things. This line, though maybe meaningless to some, triggered many people online, especially those who came from a history of indentured servitude. Read this next: You Need to Watch Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever My mom won’t let me leave the house, except for school events.” Talking to her BFFs Eleanor and Fabiola at lunch, Devi says: “I’m like a straight-up indentured servant.
It may have been a “blink-and-you-miss-it” moment for some, but for me the first hint that there may be more to dissect with the show came in episode 5, when Devi-upset with her mom after a fight-compares being grounded to servitude.
There’s *that* reference to indentured servants
#Never have i ever show series#
Because the show has some pretty problematic elements that can make the series kind of a hard watch-and we need to discuss them. As much as I revelled in watching Devi’s teen escapades, I was struck from the very first episode by how it fails other groups. This show is a milestone for representation in pop culture. Reading about it, I was so excited to dive in. And finally having this kind of representation in the Brown diaspora is seriously giving me *all* the feels. There are hundreds of comments left by members of the South Asian community on the show’s Instagram account, talking about how watching the show-and seeing someone like them and their families on-screen-was like reliving their teen years. It’s clearly resonated with a lot of people including, most notably, members of the South Asian diaspora. On Netflix, the show is currently number one in 10 countries and has received a coveted 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Since the show was released it’s been met with a largely positive reception from viewers and celebrity fans, with Patriot Act’ s Hasan Minhaj calling it “a classic.”Ĭongrats and y’all made a classic! I haven’t felt this way since Mom brought home “American Desi” on VHS from the Indian grocery store. But, along with all of these somewhat trivial teen issues, Devi also grapples with her Indian-American identity and figuring out what it all means to her. The show, which was released on April 27, follows 16-year-old Devi Vishwakumar (played by Canadian and FLARE #HowIMadeIt honouree Maitreyi Ramakrishnan ), an American teen dealing with the typical teen melodrama: popularity, finding a boyfriend, your parents ruining your life-you know the deal. But to have said Brown girl be the star of that Netflix show-and put the experience of an Indian-American family front and centre on screens around the world? That’s huge.Īnd that’s why Never Have I Ever, the latest series from actor/director Mindy Kaling, is such a big freakin’ deal. appearing in a Netflix show is a pretty big deal on its own. To have a Brown girl from Mississauga, Ont.
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