A country deeply marred by political scandals, financial
scams, flagrant corruption, hapless poverty, deep seated unemployment and
external and internal security threats, doesn't feel raped of its pride when
stories which evince that people are being looted, cheated and inappropriately
served emerge out each day. However, an entire nation rolls in a common feeling
of hurt when an American (white) actor whose job is to impersonate characters,
wears the brown skin of an Indian in a commercial advertisement. Beware World.
India is a serious nation and we, Indians take ourselves too seriously. We may be brown but don’t you show it to us
or anyone else because if you do, WE WILL SUE YOU.
This is not the first time when Indians have not been able
to take a joke on themselves. In January this year, some Indians and an overtly
‘hurt’ N.R.I Dr. Randeep Dhillon dragged the American Comedian and the popular
TV show host, Jay Leno to court. Law Suit Case: Disrespecting and hurting the
feelings of the Sikh Community by portraying their holiest shrine, the Golden
Temple, as a place for the rich and mighty. Jay Leno, had shown a picture of
the Golden Temple while satirically and humorously calling it the summer home
of the Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney. Later in April this year, a huge controversy
emerged when the well-wishers of Mamta Banerjee and the members of the
Trinamool Congress went tooth and nail after Prof. Ambikesh Mohapatra of
Jadavpore University when he posted a funny cartoon of the Chief Minister on
his Facebook page. Rumors of social media censorship started emerging on the
surface after the dictatorial Mamta fanatics jailed the Professor and
threatened to take action against anyone who indulged in such lewd ribaldry in future. The many controversies like these, which have surfaced in the last few months have led us to the question- Has the Indians lost their funny bone? Do we take ourselves more seriously than we should?
The Indians have always been the Sentimentalists but now, many
Indians have been plagued by a new disease which has made them the
“projectionists”. The projectionists are very conscious about the kind of image
they wish to project of themselves. They deny the reality, refuse to accept it,
do everything to hide it and if anyone dares to put a mirror in front of it,
they blow storms. And yes, the
projectionists are utterly unable to take a joke on them because the projectionists
take their image too seriously. Do not ‘hurt’ them because they will sue you.
Ashton Kutcher’s ‘brownface ad’ provoked the Projectionists
in the country. Why? Because it was true and the projectionists hate it when
somebody shows them the truth that they do not like to hear and see. Does it
even matter that the majority of the Indians are actually brown skinned? Does
it even matter that Ashton Kutcher was only doing his job as an actor while
impersonating the mannerism and the skin tone of an Indian? Does it even matter
that the majority of the Indians did not find the advertisement at all racist?
No, it didn't. Why? Because the feelings of those projectionists within the
country, who buy millions of dollars worth of fairness cream, each year to look
fair, were ‘hurt’. How can anyone show them to be brown when they so want to be white?
The dating website decided to pull the advertisement off air
to avoid any controversy. However, in the opinion of an Indian who likes to see
things as they are, I did not find the concerned advertisement at all racist.
If at all there is anything racist, it is the attitude of the Indian
projectionists, elaborately discussed above, who refuse to accept the true
color of their skin and who secretively still vie to be white faced. The Whites
will rule the roost of color as long as the blacks and browns of the world
continue to cringe on the very mention of their color. How can we expect the
world to respect us for who we are, when we ourselves refuse to embrace our true
identity?
The question is simple and one -Who are we kidding, them or
us?
