Ethnocentrism In Murray's The Big Bang Theory

Revolving around a group of nerdy scientists struggling to survive through even the most basic social situations, The Big Bang Theory is an award-winning comedy entering its tenth season. The show’s main characters, Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, are best friends and colleagues who manage to share an apartment in Pasadena, California despite their unconventional relationship. Living across the hall and constantly reaching out to her neighbors for help with rent payments, access to free food, and Wi-Fi, Penny is an aspiring actress working at the Cheesecake Factory. Also central to the show’s premise are Leonard and Sheldon’s friends and coworkers at Caltech, Howard Wolowitz and Rajesh Koothrapali. As the only character of color on the sitcom, Rajesh acts as a vehicle for communicating the writers’ ethnocentric assumption about people of the Indian culture.
From the beginning of the series, The Big Bang Theory sets a precedent for casting Rajesh’s character as the anomaly of the group. During Penny’s interaction with the astrophysicist from India, she questions his ability to speak and addresses the silence by asking, “I’m

Because Hollywood and the entire entertainment industry have such an impact on how the rest of society acts and almost serves as a moral compass of some sorts, it’s important that we spread this culture that moves away from ethnocentrism and emphasizes equality. However, this type of ideal world is nearly impossible where some people don’t even recognize the ethnocentric assumptions or implicit bias they have within them and how they act on them in their everyday life. To become closer to living in the ideal world, education about concepts such as ethnocentrism, implicit bias, and maybe even diversity are essential to recognizing the differences that distinguish different groups but also unite us all in this modern