The Reasonably Prudent Law Student

Guys. I’m really into Numb3rs right now. Like, REALLY into Numb3rs. It’s this show about these two brothers, Don and Charlie, and one is an FBI agent and the other is his younger brother who’s a math whiz and a professor at CalSci, the fictional equivalent of CalTech. Charlie consults for the FBI and uses math and physics to help solve crimes.

It’s a really great show. I mean, there are things I hate about it. Like the extremely pro-po-po stance, but, come on, that’s to be expected when the main character is a hot, macho, gun-toting FBI agent with awesome hair. (And then he cut it, and it wasn’t as awesome. Sad.)

And random lines here and there make me guffaw and then vomit with anger. Like when one of the FBI agents told a bunch of environmentalists that the FBI hadn’t tried to undermine any legitimate civilian organizations since the 1960s. YEAH WHATEVER COLBY I’D LOOOOVE TO LIVE IN THAT WORLD.

>:(

Also, when Don, confronted with some shady program the Bureau ran in the 70s, said that he knew the FBI had a shady history, but…

First of all, HAD?! Second of all, BUT?!

:|

You guys.

:|

There is not a :| face that is :| enough.

But other than that, it’s a pretty great show, and Charlie’s love interest is Amita, this cute Indian girl who’s awesome at math and physics. On the one hand, I LOVE that they have a love interest for Charlie that isn’t just some random FBI agent or awestruck ingenue, but one of his colleagues who is very well educated and respected in her field.

But on the other hand, the fact that she’s Indian is kind of … interesting to me. I won’t say problematic. I enjoy seeing South Asian people on TV. I enjoy seeing People of Color on TV, period. And I REALLY enjoy seeing Women of Color on TV. They’re an underrepresented demographic and I love shows that try to change that by bringing more of them on. So I like that Amita is Indian. Well, Indian-American – she’s a first generation kid, like me and almost all of my friends. Immigrant parents, citizen kids.

But … and I kind of hate that I’m saying this and being nit-picky like this … the Model minority thing bugs me. And if I’m being fair, I’ll admit that it doesn’t really have that much to do with Numb3rs and their selection of Navi Rawat as Amita to be Charlie’s love interest and a supporting character. It just has a lot to do with the idea of the Model Minority as it pertains to Asian women.

As a South Asian woman, I’m sure you guys can understand why something like that would hit close to home for me.

Instead of baww’ing about cultural pressures and expectations and the harms of even positive stereotyping, I’m just going to link to this article that I think offers a good look at the problem for those that might not be too familiar with it. There is SO much more to say on the subject, but that’s a good start.

Please read it if you have a minute; you might understand a little bit more about why your Asian/South Asian female friends are so uptight and high-strung all the time.

Case in point: ME. But you guys already knew that.

Anyway, today’s post is inspired by Amita, but instead of putting up a picture of her to take you over to this Heave post, I’m going to put up a picture of Don Eppes, played by Rob Morrow, because Rob Morrow is IMPOSSIBLY good looking.

And yes, I’ve already introduced him to my mother as her Future Ex-Son-In-Law.

And yes, Ben McKenzie has some serious competition.

Ugh. Love.