I WAS Molly Patel

People

I WAS Molly Patel

Mindy Kaling, an idol and one of the best comedy writers in the mainstream, created this character in her film Late Night (2019). Warning - a few spoilers below.

I learned about Mindy Kaling five years ago when an Indian -American colleague mentioned that I resembled her. Since then I have binge watched the Mindy Show, caught up on the Office, read her books, and then watched anything associated with her name.

My fascination with her had less to do with the interesting wardrobe and more to do with the reality she creates in mainstream. She epitomizes the marginalized slightly overweight dark brown woman with a unique voice and cleverness to match anyone in the room. When she walks into a room everyone makes assumptions and she is constantly having to prove and define herself to the people around her.

She is accepted by all but at the same time rejected by all. She is viewed as an intelligent person but also seen as conservative, ultra naive, and a push over.

The women she represents navigate the pressures and high standards set within their childhoods only to be thrust upon a world that is ill prepared to receive their expectations and to give them the respect they command.

These women are type cast and are vilified if they fall out of the role that they are supposed to play. You see the same scenarios play out in The Office, the Mindy show, and Late Night. How are they accepted? Molly Patel works by day at a Chemical Factory and dreams of being a comedy writer by night. She is obviously educated and capable to have a career with a reliable full time job but she is expected to stay within the non-creative realm.

She applies for a position writing for a talk show. Despite the obvious nepotistic competition, she is hired not for her talent but on the basis of being female with the bonus that she is a woman of color. Luckily for her, she is talented but gives herself no credit. She finds it incredibly hard to take the slights and professional criticisms from authority figures but doesn’t blink an eye when she needs to use a garbage can for a seat or have her male colleagues use the women’s bathroom to take a dump. She is the caretaker, the one bringing cupcakes for the office, and the one who repairs all the things that are broken for the people around her.

How is she rejected? She is judged for being new and having a refreshing take on existing problems. Her perspective is that of a young woman and it is in direct conflict with that of her ‘by the book’ male colleagues. Her language and mannerisms do not follow the existing norms. She is the only character who shows any interest in charitable work or generosity outside of a career. The men in this equation are all career driven and set upon enjoying the ride that they are on. They are a boy’s club and have no interest in helping. When one does show interest it is for the purpose of a hookup. Her suggestions are over-ruled by the older man in authority. The older female role takes the man’s advice over the inexperienced woman’s. It is only when Molly is fired that it is obvious she has made a mark on the life of the person with whom she shares an office. Until then, she has not had any real indication of belonging and value from her colleagues who frequently make her out to be a threat. She is until that point always on the outside striving for a sense of belonging that through her very personality and actions — is unobtainable.

Mindy Kaling creates a character that echos some of her life experiences. She wrote for The Office but was the only producer to have to fight to receive credit. She was also the only female producer. She is a romantic and provides a fresh take on old stories such as When Harry Met Sally (Mindy Show) and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Her material and the stories she produces are fresh and involve diverse characters with complexity woven into their backstories. She is not afraid to introduce elements that leave fans wanting to switch off the show only to come back and be pleasantly surprised by how it all works out in the end.

So how do I relate? The same way most women irregardless of ethnicity relate to J.K. Rowling’s Hermione. Here is this smart, efficient, capable woman who is forever in the background while the boys take center stage. She is the one cleaning up all the messes but taking little to no credit. She is the one carrying the purse that holds all the things, she is the one planning for all outcomes, she is the one who takes over and waves her magic wand when the other characters fail. Yet she is a supporting character and not the main role.

The difference is, when you’re a woman of color — like the Patel sisters of the same series, you are expected to just look pretty and provide clever input but play no role and have no value. You are a prop. You are there to play the diversity role. You are not there to be the CEO or heroine or to move the plot in any way. Those Patel sisters have the absolute worst role in the Harry Potter series. Not only were they asked to attend a dance as the last minute choice — why did they not have dates already?— they also had a terrible time as Harry and Ron were focused only on Hermione.

Accepting and making do with what is given to you is a common theme here. The trash basket for a seat or the shared bathroom experience are extremes. The reality to many women is they are not given the extra monitors or new hardware given to more valued colleagues, fixed desk space (in favor of floating desks), open offices with little to no privacy. On a more humble note this means she is the one finishing the book report for the group (as enacted in Netflix’ Never have I ever), rushing to test and push content that she did not create for a release, and doing other people’s jobs while they are complacently absent.

Oh leave it alone, “Molly” will take care of it.

The reality is often that she has asked for something to be done and is ignored time and again. She takes matters into her own hands and now is in charge of the duties that are not in her job description.

After being downsized from a position a colleague called to relate how they had discovered the extent to free-loading only after I had left. He is still working for the company, I am not.

Molly is interested in moving the entire ship forward — not just herself. This is a very hard concept for your average person to take at face value. It’s never personal. She wants the group to get to done. She will stop to wait for the person who needs help. She wishes someone stopped for her to help her so why not? She will also feel responsible for how other people’s failures apply to her. If the team fails, she fails. She’ll probably be the first one fired or downsized. She needs to perform at a higher level because she perceives people will not accept her if she were to stick to status quo. Perhaps she perceives it as her own failure if people around her fail. To everyone else, there are other jobs — to Molly, there is THIS job.

Mindy Kaling has not disappointed with the remake of Four Weddings and a Funeral and with Never have I ever. In the former, she shows how relationships and perceptions are effected by the accidents of fate. In the latter, it’s how the stereotyped mediocre and invisible become visible. In both of these shows she is able to epitomize how individual desires are conflicted when trying to meet the needs of the collective or of societal norms and values. She does this with the magic of humor and a dose of painful reality.

Thanks to Mindy Kaling’s work, people have started recognizing the contribution of like women in their midst.

I look forward to what comes next.