Master of None
by
Abstract: South Asians have rarely been depicted on American television as having normal, fully realized romantic relationships and sexual lives, but Ritesh Mehta explores how Aziz Ansari’s Master of None is a breakthrough exception in this regard. Using Stuart Hall’s theory of decoding to examine protagonist Dev Shah’s relationships, Mehta encourages audiences to consider what constitutes “normal” and how their unique readings of TV programs reflect their position vis-à-vis society’s dominant ideology.
This essay may be found on page 145 of the printed volume.