Culture 16

Netflix’s show about an Indian-American teenager portrays South-Asians in a new and refreshing way, normalizing their culture and traditions.

Zainab Adil | Culture Editor: Print

When I first saw the new Netflix show “Never Have I Ever”, which was released on April 27, pop up on my Netflix home screen and on social media, I questioned the accuracy of its racial representation. Would this show feature another awkward nerdy Indian-American character with strict parents and an exaggerated accent, or would it finally give South-Asians the representation they deserve?

I was sceptical about its portrayal of South-Asians, an ethnic group which has rarely been presented realistically in Western media.

To my pleasant surprise, this show is anything but a montage of overused stereotypes, and instead it has created a new way of representing South-Asians in a healthy and more realistic way.

The main character of the show is Devi Vishwakumar. She is an IndianAmerican teenager who is entering her sophomore year of high school after having dealt with the death of her father and short-term paralysis of her legs the previous year.

The series begins with her praying in front of an altar in her house filled with pictures and statues of Hindu gods and goddesses.

What stuck out most to me in this scene was how completely normal and laid-back the show depicted Devi’s praying. In no way was this religious ritual meant to be “exotic” or “weird.” It was simply a normal girl praying before her first day of her sophomore year.

While watching the opening scene, I thought about all of the other well-known depictions of Hinduism which have been showcased in Western pop culture throughout the years. Sadly, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” was the first to pop into my head.

The movie centers around archaeologist Indiana Jones “saving” a small Hindu village in India by bringing back sacred stones which had been stolen from them.

From the way the Hindu villagers were shown as helpless and starving, to the fact that the villains were part of a cult who worshipped the Hindu goddess Kali, the movie’s portrayal of India and Hinduism was racist and alienated the country’s cultures.

Another more recent example of Hindu-Indian representation is Ravi from Disney’s TV show “Jessie,” a young boy who was adopted from India by an American couple.

I distinctly remember how in one episode of the show, Ravi is nearly crushed by falling furniture, and when his family members later call out to him to see if he’s okay, his reply is, “Gods? Is that you?”. Subsequently, a laugh track is played.

Though the joke is not entirely based on the fact that Hinduism has multiple gods, Ravi’s foreign culture is definitely still intended to be a source of laughter in this instance.

However, the portrayal of both Hinduism and South-Asian culture in “Never Have I Ever” was completely new and refreshing, especially for someone like myself who identifies as South-Asian.

Instead of using Devi’s culture as the butt of a joke or a tool to make the show more “exotic,” “Never Have I Ever” normalizes South-Asian cultures and religions by portraying them in a subtle and unbiased way. This casual yet powerful form of representation continues throughout the episodes of the first season.

For example, the show shares a number of small insights and quirks about South-Asian culture, which not only inform and educate nonSouth-Asian audiences, but are also bound to make South-Asian viewers laugh and relate the show to their own lives.

Unlike many other shows featuring South-Asians, these jokes and quirks are not created for the sole purpose of making fun of Indian culture and providing non-South-Asian viewers with some comedy. Instead, they grant South-Asian viewers a chance to see themselves and their own families portrayed in the show.

One of these small quirks of Indian culture was the portrayal of “aunty” culture in the show. In the words of the narrator, “aunties” are “older Indian women who have no “ Instead of cutting and pasting stereotypes which are already well-known to the vast American public, the show provides insight into parts of South-Asian culture which aren’t as reported.

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blood relationship to you but are allowed to have opinions about your life and all your shortcomings. And you have to be nice to them because you’re Indian.”

Almost any South-Asian can relate to this aspect of culture, which is what sets “Never Have I Ever” apart from so many other shows and movies that have come before it.

Instead of cutting and pasting stereotypes which are already wellknown to the vast American public, the show provides insight into parts of South-Asian culture which aren’t as reported on and instead gives the opportunity for South-Asian viewers to relate to the show, which is a rarity for many of us.

Furthermore, as the show centers around an Indian teenager who has lived in the U.S. her entire life, the series makes sure to highlight the fact that Devi identifies with American culture as well, and often feels alienated by the heritage and culture of her family.

For example, while wearing a sari, Devi says “I don’t really feel at home right now in my choice of clothing.” On top of providing insights about Indian culture, the show makes sure to also depict Devi’s struggles with being both Indian and American, a unique challenge which applies to many South-Asians who have grown up abroad.

I can definitely relate to Devi’s struggles regarding her sometimes conflicting identities. Even though I am very proud of being South-Asian and love visiting Pakistan, it can be tough to find a balance between being both Paksitani and being British. I often feel out of place in both Pakistan and Britain, as I identify with pieces of both cultures.

However, having this challenge portrayed in a Netflix show like “Never Have I Ever” assures me and other South-Asian viewers who have similar struggles that their feelings are valid and normal.

Moreover, the plot of the show is fairly cliché, as it follows similar

plots from other recent teen movies and shows. After facing the trauma of her freshman year, Devi wants to improve her social status at school by losing her virginity to the most popular boy at school.

For this reason, many argue that the show is not as revolutionary and powerful. However, the fact that the series incorporates a subtle and progressive method of representation in a plot that is cliché and fairly ordinary in the world of teen entertainment makes the show even more amazing.

By featuring a South-Asian main character and portraying Indian culture in a show with a familiar plot, “Never Have I Ever” revolutionizes the way in which SouthAsians are portrayed in Western media.

Herron leaves 26 year legacy behind

After working at ASL for more than two decades, Performing Arts Teacher Buck Herron is leaving the school with a memorable legacy. Former and current students reflect on the impact he has had on them.

Imogen Weiss | Media Director Emeritus

Walking down the theater foyer staircase to his office, Performing

Arts Teacher Buck Herron said he felt at home. “Somehow I felt more relaxed in that one little walk,” he said. “It was just the excitement of what was happening [and] my appreciation for the [school], because I feel so lucky that I’ve been able to do what I’ve been able to do.”

Herron’s journey working in both the arts and teaching was somewhat non-linear. As a college student, he studied both psychology and English, convinced he would pursue a career in psychology.

However, after spontaneously deciding to participate in a play, “You Can’t Take it With You,” he said he “fell in love with the camaraderie of what we were doing as a group of actors.”

“I just thought, ‘Oh this is the greatest thing that someone can do,’” he said. “When I graduated college, I went to graduate school and it’s there, that I continued [to study drama].”

After having worked as an actor in Los Angeles for 15 years, Herron came to London to participate in “The Las Vegas Series” and decided to stay for longer. Soon after that, a friend of his recommended him to ASL. He then had made the choice to continue to teach at ASL.

“I stayed, and I must say it was the best decision for me because suddenly I was creating more often than I was finding creativity in my acting life,” he said. ing a skill-based program “ultimately challenge” his students and help them become better actors.

began working at the school as a substitute teacher in the English department.

“In the afternoons I would direct the [school] musicals to help out the music director at the time, and after two years they asked me if I’d like the drama position,” he said. “I thought, ‘I’ll do it for a year, it will be good for me’ and that was 24 years ago.”

Herron said that he is glad that he

Herron also said he finds it exciting when he sees an actor “grow and take on a challenge.”

“[Watching] them become confi“ He’s always pushing you to think about something in a different way. He never lets you settle.

Daya Benami (’20)

Herron said he feels grateful that the school encouraged him to create his own curriculum.

“When I came to ASL, they allowed me to establish a program that was a little bit unusual,” he said. “It’s really modelled after my advanced actor training program which is skill based, looking at voice and movement, script analysis and scene.”

Herron said it was “exciting” havdent in making choices on stage [and] seeing them find their voice was always exciting,” he said.

Max Olsher (’21) said Herron challenged him to reach his full potential as a performer through the variety of roles he cast him in.

“Each year he’s just challenged me to try and become better at acting through roles I may not have been 100% prepared for the first day, but I became comfortable portraying [by] the end,” he said. “He set very high bars and never let me tell myself that I couldn’t reach them.”

Olsher did not have any acting experience prior to auditioning for the production of “Cabaret” when he was in Grade 9.

“I never thought I would do acting, [but Herron] gave me a chance by giving me one of the main roles and it completely opened up the world of theater to me,” he said.

Riley Steege (’19), who was in the Advanced Acting class and in multiple plays and musicals, said she always looked forward to going to Herron’s classes.

“I liked the structure of his classes and the environment he created,” she said. “Acting class was the only class [where] I never thought, ‘ugh I have acting next.’”

Steege accredits Herron for teaching her how to be “a smart actor.”

“He taught me to really understand why I was doing what I was doing,

to look at a script and analyze it and analyze a character’s choices,” she said. “He taught me how to deal with the ups and down of what being an actor is.”

Similar to Steege, Daya Benami (’20) gained a lot of critical thinking skills from Herron’s program.

“He’s always pushing you to think about something in a different way. He never lets you settle,” she said. “I could play a character one way and he’ll say, ‘okay, now let’s try it this way.’ He always makes you look at things from multiple perspectives.”

Throughout her time enrolled in Herron’s courses, Benami said she came to realize the power theater has to unite people and spark dialogues, particularly after partaking in the Advanced Acting production of Prettiest Friend in 2019.

Herron agrees with Benami and said that theater can “help with awareness and spark change within a community,” and therefore, he chose to put on “edgy” and “unusual” pieces such as “The Picture of Dorian Grey,” “The Laramie Project” and “Avenue Q.”

“Theater provides so many different ways of helping,” he said. “Sometimes it’s an escape and entertainment … Sometimes it’s where certain topics are not discussed and so therefore, it’s a safe place to allow someone to comfortably sit and observe horror in front of you ... hopefully [it] pushes people a little bit.”

Herron said he’s feels very fortunate that in the 52 productions he’s directed at ASL, the school never censored his work.

“We’ve done some very, very edgy pieces of work, so I have to be grateful for ASL who said, ‘Keep going, just keep going,’” he said.

Herron said that he is very appreciative of the community’s consistently positive response and attendance of the productions he has directed at the school.

“Some people have come up and thanked me for doing certain plays,” he said.

Herron said when he is directing he always appreciates “the relationship between myself, the actor and the script.”

“It’s when those three components come together – the actor, the material, the playwright – that art is created,” he said. “I’ve had moments where I thought, ‘Oh, I never thought the scene would end up this way,’ but it has, not necessarily because of my input, but because of all three fractions coming together.”

Elna Baker (’00) said she found Herron’s directing style to be both supportive and constructive.

“He would always get the job done but in a really compassionate way,” she said. “He treated me like an adult and like a peer. I felt like my mind was being taken seriously and my passion was encouraged.”

Baker said she attributes Herron’s guidance to helping her get into New York University to study drama at Tisch School of the Arts and for laying the foundations of her career in the entertainment industry.

At the time, Baker, who comes from a Mormon family, said she felt “a lot of pressure” to do what her family expected and apply to Brigham Young University instead of pursuing her passion for the arts.

“I find him to be instrumental in that he fulfilled the role that for many a parent would fill saying, ‘go follow your dreams,’” she said. “He was very hands on and helped me when it came to applying to NYU. He helped me work on my monologues — choose my monologues. He built up my confidence so when I went to audition I felt prepared.”

Herron admits at times part of his directing approach can be “blunt,” but he said his tough love stems from his belief in his students.

“For me it’s really important to be direct when I can with students and I think, for the most part, they interpret it as, ‘He means well, he does mean well,’ he said. “‘He does want me to look good and he does want the production to go well.’”

With that, Herron said that he has had to learn to be flexible with his directing style in order to accommodate his students’ needs.

“I have to be sensitive to what may be going on with them because [there may be some] unusual situations or personal things I wasn’t aware of,” he said. “The connection is always important between director and actor.”

However, Olsher said that Herron’s “directness” is what ultimately elevated his work as a performer.

“You loved him for his directness,” he said. “He broke everything down for me.”

During his time at ASL, Herron also expanded performing arts by introducing both dance classes and creating the film festival, a collaborative effort between the English Department, Visual Arts Teacher Erik Niemi’s Video and Animation class, and the Director’s Independent Study.

“Dance felt like something we were missing in terms of expression, so I’m glad we have that as part of our performing arts program,” he said. “Also the film component is something not every school has. We’ve produced around 75 films at this point.”

However, Herron said that he wished that there were more students who had the opportunity to try drama instead of simpy sticking with one passion.

“There are so many students who are married to their instrument at a very early age at ASL, and they don’t want to venture out to drama,” he said. “It’s not to take away from what music offers at all, but I always thought there were so many kids that would have been great on stage but we never saw them.”

Whether students pursue the arts professionally or as a hobby, Herron said his ultimate goal is to “help students find their voice so perhaps when they’re in an English class they can just raise their hand.”

“If they become actors, how nice,” he said. “But it’s really to give them more confidence, to be less self-conscious, and to be able to find their voice so they can stand up for themselves and express themselves in whatever they do in their lives.”

After Herron retires, he said he plans to travel and hopes to return to directing professional acting.

“There’s a lot of the world which I have seen and feel very fortunate to have seen, but there’s also a lot I haven’t see,” he said. “I’d love to go to South America, I’d love to go to parts of Asia.”

Herron said that he will miss the daily interactions he has with students and faculty.

“In a time of my life where I was at a crossroads debating whether or not I go back to LA, ASL came into my life, and I had such wonderful and supportive faculty and staff and it surprised me,” he said.

Herron said that the connections he made with his students have lasted long after many of them have graduated. He said he still remains in contact with many of his former students to this day. “I never thought when I taught them [that] would be the case, but I go to their weddings, almost one a year,” he said. “It’s sort of an extension to my family

Steege said she can’t imagine where drama would be without Herron and his contributions.

“There would be no ASL drama department without Mr. Herron,” she said. “His legacy and his impact will be seen on the walls of the yellow hallways for so many years, and I hope people recognize and remember that.” Buck Herron with the 2019 cast of “Prettiest Friend,” which was written by one of Herron’s former students specifically for the Advanced Acting: Play Production class. The play explored topics related to peer pressure and high school cliques. PHOTO COURTESY OF BUCK HERRON Buck Herron with the 2018 cast of “Cabaret,” one of the many musicals Herron directed throughout his career at ASL. PHOTO COURTESY OF BUCK HERRON “ I feel so lucky that I’ve been able to do what I’ve been able to do.

Buck Herron, Performing Arts Teacher

COVID-19 impacts student athlete

Katherine Demetris (’23), a three season varsity athlete, reflects on her athletic life before and after the coronavirus pandemic.

Maarya Shafqat Adil | Media Editor

Katherine Demetris (’23) started playing sports at only 5 years old and hasn’t stopped since.

Demetris played on the varsity soccer team this school year, was the only Grade 9 student on the varsity basketball team this past winter, and played JV softball in Grade 8.

Demetris said that her family inspired her to play sports as her dad and brothers love sports.

“I continued because I really enjoyed it,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite things to do and I’ve made almost all my friends through sports.”

Demetris said that getting on the varsity basketball team took a lot of hard work. so going out there, playing in front of a lot of people, I’ve had to learn and become more confident,” she said.

However, with COVID-19, Demetris said that her athletic life has changed drastically as she is no longer able to compete alongside her teammates.

Demetris said that before the pandemic, she was getting at least two hours of exercise a day, but this has dropped significantly.

To exercise, she said she has switched to running and said she feels bored running by herself.

“I would rather just run and be back in practice than being at home and running by myself,” she said. “ When you go out there and play an actual game in uniform, there’s just a special feeling.

Katherine Demetris (’23)

“I was happy that I made it cause I put in a lot of work,” Demetris said.

At first, Demetris said she was anxious to start playing on the varsity basketball team. She said she was nervous about not being able to make friends, but these feelings quickly faded.

She said that the team was more inclusive, welcoming and encouraging than she thought they would be.

“I made friends with these upperclassmen that I was scared of,” she said.

Moreover, Demetris said that she uses the competition of these sports as a way to create friendships.

“I love being on a team,” she said. “You make so many friends and you make such close bonds.”

In addition to making friends, Demetris said that being able to play on these teams has been beneficial to her self esteem.

“I’m not a very confident person,

Demetris also said that the current situation has led her to learn to appreciate sports more.

“I’ll just appreciate everything,” “ Going out there, playing in front of a lot of people, I’ve had to learn to become

Furthermore, Demetris said that the absence of sports creates more challenges in her life.

“When I have sports, I have to be very disciplined about my work,” she said. “I don’t have as much time, but now when I have all of this time, I just tend to get off task and not [be] as productive as I should be.”

There are a lot of things Demetris said that she has come to miss.

“I miss just playing sports after school, and I miss my team, the coaches, my friends, everything,” she said. “I miss the games. When you go out and play an actual game in uniform, there’s just a special feeling.”

Demetris said that this absence of sports, although difficult, has changed her perspective greatly.

“I didn’t expect that I would miss all the practices as much as I did, I even miss the bad practices,” she said PHOTO BY KIRA CRUTCHER Katherine Demetris dribbles the ball away from an attacker from the International School of the Hague at Canons Park. Girls varsity won 5-0 Oct. 4, 2019. she said. “I’ll appreciate my coaches and teammates more than I already do. I’ll appreciate every single game we have and just everything, just being able to be out there and play that many times in the week and just appreciate that I’m on the varsity team and I get to have that opportunity.”

more confident.

Sports Editor: Online Jasmin Taylor explains how track and field has strengthened her character and revealed the importance of perseverance, both inside and outside the sport.

Jasmin Taylor | Sports Editor: Online

Wanting to win is part of my DNA, and if I am not performing at my best I am not satisfied. In a sport like track and field, winning and improving after every single race is difficult and not always possible. For me, every race is just me against myself: the hardest person to beat. My true adversary lies within myself – in my ability to flawlessly execute the motions I go over so many times during practice.

Under the pressure of the clock, the gun and the seven other girls beside you, it’s hard to master your nerves and emotions. In the short sprints, one mistake alone can snatch away any hopes of a gold medal.

Unlike some other sports, in track, you cannot win by exploiting the weaknesses of your opponent. It’s just you, in your lane, running your race. track and field ISSTs in the spring. Until the 2019-20 school year, track and field ISSTs were divided into U14 (JV) and U18 (varsity). So there I was, a middle school student, competing against high school students in my first competition overseas.

I was a bucket of nerves to say the least. On day one, I placed fifth in the long jump finals (which didn’t bother me because jumps aren’t my primary discipline), but I was elated to have made finals in the 100m, 200m and 4x400m relay.

Day two began with the 100m finals, the most stressful race I compete in. The 100m is the most popular and prestigious sprint, and one of the most competitive events in track and field. But for an event so coveted, it is not as strategic as others.

From the moment the start gun quickly with time; other times they require more serious measures like surgery. Thankfully, my torn muscle didn’t require that, but for weeks it hurt to even walk up the stairs.

Despite my strong drive to win or run a personal best every race, not every race is perfect. I have definitely slipped up in the past, such as the 100m ISST final last year. I came up from my drive phase (first 30m of the race) too early, causing me to lose vital time and distance to build up speed.

Although I could have made up the lost distance if I remained calm, I panicked and started to tense up, which isn’t favorable in any sport. The race ended in a disappointing secondplace finish to someone I had beaten in the past, and although I definitely value the silver medal, it was a downgrade from year before.

Every race is a lesson to learn from, so that situation should not happen again. Even though I sacrificed a gold medal then, that experience may help me win another one in the future.

In Grade 8, I was part of one of the groups of middle schoolers to attend goes off, every step is like a hammer driving a nail into the track. Pow. Pow. Pow. Drive. Drive. Drive.

Tearing a muscle vital to hip extension meant I couldn’t balance on one leg or lift my knee higher than shin level without pain. As a result of this injury, my knee on the other leg overcompensated and also became strained. Running was definitely out of the picture, and I couldn’t return to the sport I loved for six months.

The feeling of having track snatched away due to injury is akin to how I feel now that sports have ground to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowing that the track is a 40-minute TFL journey away, but having no way to get there that does not put the health of myself “THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE FEELING OF STANDING AT THE TOP OF THE PODIUM.”

It’s a race exclusively about technique, power, speed and leg turnover. In the way the 3000m is a test of stamina, the 100m is a test of who can maintain maximum velocity after the drive phase.

So in a race that banks on your ability to run in a straight line as fast as possible, when you tear a muscle in your hip mid-race, as I did in the 100m finals my first time at ISSTs, hopes of success in that race and for the rest of the season vanish immediately.

I returned home from ISSTs proud of the team for placing second overall, but nonetheless distraught to be carrying an injury, my first one at that.

Injuries can be one of the greatest setbacks an athlete can face. Sometimes they are small enough to heal

and my family at risk is just as much of a barrier as the injury was.

After my injury, the only thing that kept me going is thinking about the future, and I have found myself applying the same principles to my life now. Whether it is next month, later in the summer or next season, I will get the opportunity to compete again. And even sooner than that, I will spike up on the track again.

However, I find solace in the fact that now I’m not going through this hindrance alone. All over the world, athletes of every sport and gender are grappling with losing the sport they love in some form for the time being.

As athletes, when faced with adversity, we must make the most of what we have. Although my workouts are now adapted to suit a garden or park environment, instead of the usual track and gym, I recognize how important it is to continue working hard and staying dedicated to my sport.

I can’t quit training now because what if there are other girls in the country who are still training, still working hard? If one day I race against them, I don’t want them to have the upper hand.

When I was recovering from my hip injury, I spent days reading up on how to strengthen muscle, types of treatments and how to massage the newly forming scar tissue. Then, during the winter when I was healthy, I trained extensively, knowing that I wanted to be on the podium at ISSTs the next year.

The hard work paid off: I won gold, achieved school records, in the

Jasmin Taylor receives her varsity 400m gold medal at the 2019 track and field ISSTs. It was her fifth track and field ISST gold medal. PHOTO COURTESY OF NATALIE COSTELLO 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay at ISSTs, placed first in the 4x400m relay, and was awarded the ASL coaches award at the end of the season. Overall, the whole team and the JV girls also won ISSTs.

There is nothing like the feeling of standing at the top of the podium, especially after spending so many hours killing yourself on the track, so I cherish it. Literal blood, sweat, tears and even vomit – which always concerns non-runners, but if you’ve never thrown up at practice are you even doing it right? – gets shed on the track, just to feel that indescribable sense of joy and achievement after you win or the satisfaction after running a personal best.

I felt blessed knowing I did everything in my ability to prepare for my comeback at ISSTs in my freshman year, and that when the time came, it was more than enough for me to reach my goals.

With that being said, whenever you start something new the beginning is tough. It may seem like all the hours you put in to improve are just a waste of time, but if running has taught me anything it’s that the results of perseverance will show eventually and shine even brighter than expected.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NATALIE COSTELLO The 2019 track and field ISST team stand together after the medal ceremony. Overall, the team won ISSTs, with varsity and JV girls placing first, varsity boys placing third and JV boys finishing sixth.