FanPost

Stereotypes and the problem with Jinder Mahal

WWE.com

As the controversy over Jinder Mahal's push into the WWE Title mix goes into its 2nd week, the topic of Jinder's ethnicity has become a major source of discussion on CSS. Is it "OK" in 2017 for WWE to push an ethnic heel? How is this any different from Kevin Owens or any of the previous Canadian heel gimmicks that have been pushed? What's color got to do with it anyway?

Taken in a vacuum, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Jinder's character. As a brown man myself, I can certainly attest to the existence of other pompous, egotistical, entitled brown men who deserve a slap to the face & a kick in the ass. Humanity, after all, is flawed, and one's pigment does not emancipate one from that fact. But art does not get consumed in a vacuum, so viewing Jinder's portrayal as an angry, vindictive Punjabi in isolation misses the greater implications for the product, the talent, & the fans.

Art, especially pro wrestling, exploits the fact that human beings are experts at creating associations. When you see a chiseled, 300-lb man body slam a 500-lb giant, you can't help but think that the next chiseled, 300-lb man could be capable of such strength. Or when a short luchador does a springboard 360 off the top rope, you then expect other luchadors to be capable of similar flippy feats. Or when you see a guy in a suit spit a condescending promo, you expect all guys in suits to be arrogant. When these associations get reinforced regularly, they become stereotypes.

Stereotypes get weakened when new evidence shows those assumptions could be false. Like when you first saw Brock Lesnar attempt a moonsault, your expectations of a chiseled, 300-lb man changed, at least a little. Or when you first saw Sin Cara & realized not all luchadors can do flippy stuff.

This is where we get to the case of Jinder Mahal. As a brown Indian-Canadian, Mahal is entering a medium where brown foreigners have exerted power only through anti-American treachery (ex: Muhammad Hassan, Iron Sheik, Colonel Mustafa, Yokozuna). In the WWE, we have yet to see a brown foreigner succeed through perseverance (like Daniel Bryan), or talent (like Bret Hart), or style (like HBK), or even masterful politicking (like Hulk Hogan). Without such counterexamples, Jinder’s heelish traits don’t stick to Jinder as an individual; they inevitably become associated with other Punjabis & other brown foreigners. Worse, this reinforces fans' xenophobic ideas that accusations of bigotry are simply signs of undeserved entitlement, regardless of the validity of the accusations.

It’s this same reason why Kevin Owens has the freedom to play a Canadian heel without worrying about stereotyping Canadians. With plenty of counterexamples of Canadian wrestlers who are either faces (ex: Sami Zayn) or have evolved along the face/heel spectrum (ex: Bret Hart, Chris Jericho), anything Owens says or does is but one Canadian representation among many. This plethora of Canadian characterizations means that fans associate Canadians with… being from Canada. Nothing more.

All that said, there’s still hope for Jinder to break out of the cultural stereotype. Replace the references to Punjab & "my people" with references to excellence & Armani suits and he could be his own version of Evolution (all the more poetic when facing Randy Orton). If he wants to mention Punjabis, he could rant at how his hard work makes him superior even to his own people, further cementing Jinder as the heel & not Punjabis as a whole. Regardless of its length, this angle deserves to succeed, and I believe its success depends upon WWE’s ability to build Jinder Mahal as an individual monster, not as a representation of the "other." If the WWE wants to avoid representations of the "other," then as an organization it needs to present just that: other representations.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.