Race is funny. Comedy is a relieving way to address loaded taboo subjects such as sexism, racism, and politics to name a few. There has been a surge of more ethnic players in comedy and even women too. Although their ‘disenfranchising’ element like being a female or black is the most salient on surface, comedians we love can address those issues in a more tactful and subtle manner or even not address it altogether. Through the globalizing trend, Hollywood has adopted some minorities as fully Americanized entities.
Maulik Pancholy from 30 Rock isn’t funny because of a well emulated Indian accent, and Aasif Mandvi the ‘brown’ correspondent from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is first and foremost a reporter more than he is Indian. A comedy troupe called ‘Axis of Evil’ made of three Arab Americans address issues of being seen as a ‘terrorist’ breed in America and also gives audiences further explanation of culture in order to better contextualize racial politics. And of course Mindy Kaling from The Office and Aziz Ansari from Parks and Recreations are pure jems of witticism and piercing humor. We want to celebrate the popularity and success of some of the funniest ethnic comedians who are breaking cultural and political barriers on top of making laugh so hard it hurts.
NEXT PAGE: 30 ROCK STAR & SWEETEST DRUG DEALER MAULIK PANCHOLY
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Maulik Pancholy (30 Rock/Weeds)
Maulik is familiar to us as Jack Donaghey’s (Alec Baldwin) nerdy and naive assistant Jonathan, or the hopeless teen crushing on Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker) in Weeds. The Yale School of Drama graduate has made appearances in many other television shows and movies and we all love him for the harmless innocence he brings to the game. He is funny without being vulgar and most of his characters are characters are not centered around his race.
Maulik is well known for the peculiar personalities he plays rather than falling into the stereotypical roles of the ethnic ‘other’ with thick Indian accents. His youthful age-defying face gives us a fresh new look at Indian Americans who fit in so well to mainstream western culture. Especially in his role as Sanjay for Weeds, he brings diversity to our view of the suburbs
NEXT PAGE: JON STEWART CORRESPONDENT AASIF MANDVI
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Aasif Mandvi (Jon Stewart correspondent)
Aasif Mandvi, a master at mocking the state of journalism as a correspondent on Jon Stewart provides us with a kind of “smart funny” in a casually humorous manner. His reports are peppered with sarcasm, delivered effortlessly. Aasif, although he addresses being ‘brown’ at times, his sarcasm of faux-journalism remains primary in his clips.
