18 Feb
Circa 1990 (anyone know the exact date?) a Sikh was featured on the Richard Bey show, a local New York City program. This charismatic young fellow (who is a few years my senior and now a well-respected doctor that organizes Health Fairs at gurdwaras) won the #1 fan competition. It’s an interesting clip, because Richard says a few things that may be considered a bit “off” today. At the same time, Varinder Singh shines through as the ultimate fan–his tenacity, dedication, and sheer entertainment value made him an easy first choice. He says, “I don’t smoke dope, I don’t drink bourbon, all I want to do is shake my turban.” I think I first heard that line from the Sikh Elvis impersonator–but that’s a different story. Anyway, with all the recent hoopla around Kenneth Cole Singh, what do you think of Richard Bey Singh?
The benefit of the Kenneth Cole campaign is that the focus is on Sonny the Sikh Entrepreneur. (I think that’s the title of a children’s book–Sonny the Sikh). Richard does make a joke about “Sikh”, but that’s not the focus of the program anyway. It’s just entertainment. I guess after watching this video again, it just makes me feel really glad that we have things like Kenneth Cole Singh, Waris Singh, and other prominent, positive representations in the American media.
One Response for "Sikh on the Richard Bey Show"
this reminds me of a minstrel show. varinder is such a caricature of a sikh man in how he acts and how he’s represented in this show. the googly-eyed, out of control, dancing fool. it reminds me so much of how black people used to be represented in american pop culture through minstrelsy (and still are in many ways). in short, i think richard bey singh straight up perpetuates and encourages racist stereotypes. a far stretch from kenneth cole singh for sure.
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