Caught this article down at Advertising Age and wanted to pass it on.
"It would have been more ground breaking and refreshing if [NBC] had an Indian American as the star -- someone who had to go to India but has no knowledge of the culture or language," states Guy Aoki, founding president of Media Access Network for Asian Americans (MANAA). Aoki believes that casting an Asian-American actor as the "Outsourced" lead character would have forced viewers to put aside their preconceived notions about Asian Americans, who are often viewed as perpetual foreigners because of the way they look. According to Aoki, "It would send the message that we can't assume that someone with an Indian face is a foreigner and not as American as anyone else. Maybe [NBC] could introduce a character like that in the future."Read it in full here.
But even Aoki agrees that the program has merit.
"'Outsourced' is positive in that it tackles the issue of outsourcing jobs head-on," notes Aoki, who has taken on the networks and studios for not portraying real-world issues and challenges. "I was surprised that people would watch a series about Indians at call centers because there is so much resentment about American jobs going to India."
