Indian Americans in Advertising

In “Con-fusing” Exotica: Producing India in U.S. Advertising, Sanjukta Ghosh analyzes the absence of Indian Americans in American advertisements, and the misrepresentation of Indian culture that is enabled by the dualistic meaning of the word “exotic” as both mysterious and alluring, as well as frightening and unknown. As Ghosh points out in the beginning of the article, the common excuse for why advertisers don’t feature minority groups in their ads, their “lack of disposable income”, doesn’t apply to Indian Americans, who are often well-educated and have (allegedly) the spending habits of a “credit-happy teenager”. (276) Thus, the reason for this exclusion lies elsewhere- as Indian Americans are characterized as the exoticized “other”, a clear line of demarcation is drawn between the West and the “Orient”, characterizing the latter as “backwards”, “spiritual” and unchanging in regards to belief and tradition (in contrast with the “dynamic” and high paced change of Western culture). The examples given in the article are primarily from fashion magazines. Specifically, the Vogue spread, in which a highly stereotypical Indian man (turban, bright colors, dark eye make-up) is depicted in a spontaneous love affair with a white woman along Route 66, simultaneously showing the woman’s “freedom” (as associated with the road), and constructing the man’s identity in the “parameters of the Orientalist gaze” (276). The presence of actual Indian American people in advertisements is rare, while the appearance of traditional Indian garments and styles of dress are often presented as chic and couture because of their exoticism. The traditionally Indian garments are signifiers of exotica, marking taste, sophistication and “awareness” in the consumers that possess these items. The presentation of these items set apart from their origins removes the history and the culture behind them, essentially removing Indian Americans and their culture from the picture altogether, except for the superficial “exotic” or “spiritual” connotations that arise from the fictive construction of Indian identity by American advertisers.




While reading this article, I found myself trying to remember Indian characters in movies and television shows that I’ve seen. The few that came to mind have all been depicted in a less-than-flattering light. The first to come to mind, as was the fortune teller from Drag Me to Hell, who was depicted as mysterious and dark, but whose legitimacy was seriously questioned by the white male lead of the movie, who basically equated his business with overly spiritual or mystical garbage, sold to unsuspecting white consumers as “exotic” or mysterious. The second, was Anwar from the British teen drama Skins, who is shown as devoutly religious, but also bumbling, simple and eager to please his white friends. The last was Tori from Battlestar Galactica, who spends the first half of her presence in the show as the President’s hardworking and serious assistant, but who quickly falls into a conniving and evil role after she finds out she’s a cylon (oops, spoiler). All these Indian-American characters are representative of the dualistic definition of “exotic” that defines these groups through the “Orientalist” gaze, embracing qualities that depict them as mysterious, exotic, dedicated to their culture, but also simple, “traditional”, set in their ways, and even conniving and evil.