With that in mind, it is important to note that a new season has started which a variety of new shows. I know that the "Big Bang Theory" and "Modern Family" might probably on of your favorite shows, but please check out and add ABC's newest show "Fresh of the Boat!"
Here is the trailer for it:
It is a funny a witty show that plays on pretty much all of the typical stereotypes seen with each race (mostly Asian obviously) to create very racist and comedy gold. This is a story about how the main character tries to fit in with the "American crowd." He dresses like a hip-hop artist and dripping swag wherever he walks, just so that he looks cool enough to be noticed by other peers. He starts eating "white people" food and he also starts listening to rap music. The synopsis of this show is basically my life when I was growing up.
Coming from an immigrant family, I pretty much suffered the things the main character of this show suffers from and that is trying to fit in with the "American crowd." I would not go as far as blinging out with swag changing who I am completely, but I did change minor details to help me fit in. I would wear typical American clothes instead of dresses. I would not wear the hijab (nor was I forced to), and also, I would change the food that I would eat in the morning. A typical South Asian breakfast would consist of type of bread called a naan/roti/paratha complemented with a variety of different curries. Then after the meal, one would drink a cup of tea, similar to how people drink coffee in the morning. Well, I was never a big fan of coffee or tea, so I would walk out of the house just eating the curries and bread. This however, turned out to be a big mistake on my part. According to other students, I would smell funny. My breath would smell like asparagus (which is bad?) and mint from the toothpaste creating a combination of a horrible and stink.
Kids would push themselves away from me and be with their own friend group. It is rare whether or not a random peer would come up and talk to you during the early elementary school phase. In order to make new friends, I would change up my game plan. I would eat "normal" American breakfasts such as cereal or waffles, and wear American clothing such as skirts and shorts. Even my parents tried to adjust to American culture by celebrating American holidays and wearing American clothes but as we all spent more time in America, we realized that it was our differences which made us unique. I started eating traditional South Asian cuisine for breakfast and started dressing more conservatively. By making little adjustments, I was able to fit in the perfect amount I wanted to fit into the "American culture" while still retaining my South Asian identity. I think that this show will show will portray the main character's transition from be a "hip-American" to coming back to his roots.
One of the main controversies this show has is its title. "Fresh of the boat" can be shortened to an acronym called FOB or FOBS in its plural form, which is mostly used by Asians to my knowledge. Basically, it means first generation immigrants. These people can be classified as people who have a very thick accent, eats very weird food, dresses strangely, and among many other things, have mannerisms that might or might not be socially acceptable. Even though most of the kids who are just like me are of different ethnicity and are American born, we do not want to associate ourselves with these FOBS because they ruin our "social status."
.......to be continued
