Aliens in America

A new show that will air on Oct.1 on the CW network. The person who plays a Pakistani Muslim boy is Adhir Kalyan. Kalyan is of Indian origin and raised in Durban, South Africa. He started acting in South Africa then in London pursued his acting career and now he's stateside. I have been noticing previews for this show for some time now and i have been really curious and almost excited to see what they do with the character that he plays.

From the show's preview we learn that the Pakistani, Muslim boy is an exchange student in Wisconsin living with a middle-class American family. The boy, played by Dan Byrd, in that family is his age and feels like an outcast in his hometown. The show has a coming-of-age "see we all have our insecurities" or weird-is-normal vibe.

From the preview he dresses in kurta payjama, has an accent (that definitely sounds put on- it's that generic accent that supposedly every South Asian cab driver or 7-11 owner has), and loudly invokes his God's name when he's stressed out. He's presented as a caricature. I wonder if they'll show him in GAP jeans and polo style shirts and an acquired sliding-scale American accent by the end of the first season.

Some part of me wants to poke many holes in this show before even watching it, but i do think it is an important American show. it addresses a societal debate that's been happening the world over- can we accept people for who they are?

Just the other day as i sat at a traffic light i noticed a couple of cars around me- one had the little fish symbol on it, and another had a "Jesus saves" sticker on it. I thought about how i never see a car with a Star of David emblazoned on it, or a sticker that talks about the path to Mecca, nor do i ever see a bobble-headed Buddha in a window, or a Laxmi decal in someone's rear window. This only occurred to me because in Mumbai the rickshaw driver or truck drivers have their vehicles covered in religious paraphernalia that they believe protects them on the road. Also that day, my husband and i had just gone to the temple for a car puja for our new car. the priest gave us a picture of God to put in our car and I was aware of displaying it discreetly, because who knows what kind of places we one day might drive through. That may just be me, but it is disconcerting to think that i would be less wary of being attacked if i put a Jesus saves sticker on our car. hmm.