Never Have I Ever (2020)
Created by Lang Fisher and Mindy Kaling; Produced by Netflix and Universal Television; Premiered in 2020 on Netflix; Starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan, Ramona Young, and Lee Rodriguez
Genre/Format: Television comedy series
AAFCA TV Honors Best Young Adult 2020
Rating TV-14
Plot Summary: This sitcom centers around Devi, an Indian-American girl dealing with typical teenage problems. We learn that Devi’s parents, Mohan and Nalini, immigrated from India before Devi was born. They tried to maintain their traditions, like being vegetarian, but we see Devi acting all-American when eating ribs at a barbecue. While she was performing at her school orchestra concert tragedy struck when her father died suddenly of a heart attack. One week later in PE class her legs stopped working. There was no medical reason for this but she was confined to a wheelchair. And, just as suddenly, her legs began working again three months later. And this was just the first few minutes of the pilot.
The show is narrated by 1980s tennis legend, John McEnroe, and probably best known for his temper tantrums on court. Initially McEnroe as narrator seems bizarre, but his narration makes more sense as the show progresses.
We then meet the characters Devi spends most of her time with: her two best friends, Eleanor, the self-proclaimed drama nerd, and Fabiola, the robotics genius. Devi lives with her mother, a dermatologist, and her beautiful cousin, Kamala, who is a PhD student from India, moved in after Mohan died. Devi is desperate for her and her friends to be cool and she decides that getting boyfriends will be the key to their success. [This sets up the rest of the pilot and the series....how can Devi become a cool American teenager while she navigates the traditions of Indian culture that her family demands of her.
Creator Background: Mindy Kaling is a comedic writer/actress who was acclaimed for her work as a writer/actor for the television series, The Office. Born in Massachusetts to Indian parents, her mother was an ob/gyn and her father was an architect (Sittenfeld, 2011). She currently heads her own production company where she has three other shows in production (Low). As the first Indian-American female actor/writer/producer who has risen to power in Hollywood Kaling said she feels a responsibility to help "young women and women of color...[because]...this job is only as enjoyable as I’m able to impart wisdom on younger people" (Kaling, as cited in Low, 2021).
Lang Fisher is a writer and producer known for her work on The Mindy Project and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (IMDB).
Critical Evaluation Never Have I Ever is a groundbreaking TV show. It is the first show in the U.S. that is centered on an Indian-American family. As I have mentioned in my other blog entries, representation is profoundly important, and this series is a critical first step in the right direction for Indian-American families. Other characters in the show are Latina, Asian-American, LGBTQ and Jewish, making it a more accurate depiction of a typical American High School. Almost anyone can turn on this show and see themselves reflected in one or more characters. Devi is desperate to be popular and will go to almost any length to achieve this goal. However, her methods are often immature and hurtful, making her into more of an anti-hero than hero. But this is a coming of age story, so I hope to see Devi grow and evolve over the lifetime of this show.
Creative Use for a Library Program: I would host a program in March to celebrate the Indian holiday, Holi, which is known as the Festival of Colors. We would invite teens to an outside event and encourage them to wear white so that the powdered color stands out when we throw it in the air and it lands on them. We will play music, encourage dancing and use the time to educate the teens about Holi.
Speed-Round Talk: Never have I ever watched a show about an Indian Family. Never have I ever heard of John McEnroe. Never have I ever been paralyzed for three months. Never have I ever been so excited to binge a show!
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: Although Never Have I Ever debuted to wide acclaim, a brief internet search will turn up some misgivings about Devi's own treatment of other people. Even Maitreyi Ramakrishnan who plays Devi tweeted, "Devi does not represent the ENTIRETY of the south Asian community. She is merely one story influenced by real life experience. There are still many stories waiting to be told. This is one of many steps forward in a much longer race" (2020). It is too much to ask for one show to represent each character accurately, and it's precisely this reason that we need more shows about South Asian people, not fewer.
Reason for Inclusion: As I stated above, this is an important show simply because it normalizes the experiences of one Indian-American family and, more importantly, it paves the other way for other shows that feature South Indians.
References
IMDB.Lang Fisher - Biography. IMDB.com. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3265847/bio?
Low, E. (2021, May 7). Mindy Kaling on Zoom Writers Rooms, Growing as a Leader and Why
She Loved ‘Barb and Star’. Variety, https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/mindy-kaling-never-
Ramakrishnan, M. (2020). Tweet. Twitter.com.
https://twitter.com/ramakrishnannn/status/1255267370987393026
Sittenfeld, C. (2011, September). A Long Day at ‘The Office’ With Mindy Kaling. New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/magazine/a-long-day-at-the-office-with-mindy-
kaling.html?hp
Comentários