Sacred Cows, Stinky Food, and Submissive South Asians : A Rhetorical Analysis of Race and Culture in the Television Show Outsourced

Abstract

In this thesis, I explore how South Asians are stereotyped into an image of Indian-ness as depicted on the television series Outsourced. I engage in ideological rhetorical criticism of Outsourced to examine how Indian-ness is projected to the American audience. Through a framework of postcolonial theory, I argue that the show contributes to a history of negative representation of Asians on U.S. television and film and perpetuates the continued colonization of Indian people by the Westerner. Engaging in a close textual analysis, I develop the following ideological themes: Indians as Other; Indians as unclean; Indians as technologically savvy; and India as having disgusting food. Additionally, I explore the intersection of race and gender on the show, noting the various stereotypes of both Indian and Western men and women.