Outsourced?

Has anyone seen the NBC show Outsourced?

Check it out at 1:23.

This article sort of misses the point.
"Why can’t the show acknowledge Todd’s got a little Michael Scott in him? Rather than letting all those jokes fall flat — and worse, fall racist — why not just give us a hint that Todd, mostly a well-meaning, non-annoying guy, has his blind spots?"


Because, you know, racism is fine and forgiveable if it comes from a grown White man who means well, right?


A much funnier commentary on this ridiculousness.




I feel that there are both institutional and cultural components to the racism of this show.  Culturally, there's a form of xenophobia at work here and a definite sense of internalized superiority - a sort of "you're different, we don't know you, so we're going to create a 'funny' caricature of you to make ourselves more comfortable". By juxtaposing the dominant American view of 'amusing' Indian culture against the normalized behavior of the White male lead, the show reaffirms viewers sense that they are in the right.  But the institutional racism is what makes this comparison possible at all.  If our society, media, and pop culture were not built on a foundation that wholeheartedly supports the dominant culture in so many ways, then 'entertainment' of this sort would not be possible. Institutional racism is what tells us that it's okay to create Outsourced, it's okay to watch Outsourced, and it's okay to laugh at the jokes...even if you'd feel bad if you thought about them much further beyond the punchline.


My personal experience of traveling to India definitely influences my dismay at this show.  I had to come to terms with the fact that children were touching my White skin in awe, and their fathers were talking about how much more beautiful my light skin was compared to their deep brown skin. It was jilting to have that perception of superiority be stated so plainly; in the United States, we don't talk about internalized superiority so openly, do we? But it's there, to be sure, and it was obvious in the implications of the questions I was asked upon my return: It's dirty there, isn't it? Those people wipe their ass with their hands, huh? Ugh! What a backwards country, right? (To which I would always respond, WE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE BACKWARDS!). We're 'polite' here - we don't name our superiority complexes, we just live our lives, establish our laws, and laugh at our night-time tv shows in ways that make it clear without ever having to say a word.