I grew up in a small town outside of Allentown, PA – just shy of three hours from State College. There was little diversity in the area, and even less represented in the tiny high school I graduated from, so needless to say: my time at Penn State has exposed me to many different races, ethnicities and cultures. As I prepare for a life beyond graduation this upcoming spring, I know it will be crucial to continue surrounding myself with those who are different from me and increasing my knowledge on diversity. 

For the purposes of this assignment, I chose to view the Youtube documentary Meet the Patels. This film was about an hour and a half in length, and was narrated and recorded by American-born Indian Ravi Patel, with the help of his sister, Geeta. It follows Ravi’s journey in trying to find a wife, which was something that he explains his parents – as in typical Indian culture – were highly critical of and involved in. I learned that Indians’ norms and expectations for marriage seem much different than the Caucasian American culture I belong to, and naturally, I was fascinated by this difference. 

Ravi expresses that in his extended family of “Patels,” it was custom to marry into another family of Patels. He makes it clear that it’s not a sign of incest (as one may automatically assume), but rather an indication that a woman’s family originates from a certain region in India. Approaching his 30s, Ravi’s parents tried everything to set him up with the ideal Indian woman: an overseas trip to India, speed dating-style conventions, matchmaking efforts in the U.S., blind dates to weddings. 

No woman made a strong impression on Ravi during his time of dating, much to the despair of his parents. Several times throughout this process, Ravi contemplates what he really wants in a partner. A lot of the film focuses on how conflicted he feels between wanting to fulfill his parents’ expectations, his own desires to part take in Indian traditions, yet his yearn for someone with American customs all at once. He often reflects back on the only girlfriend he ever had: Audrey, a woman from Connecticut who was ultimately kept a secret from his parents for years.  However, after months of failed dating attempts, Ravi decides to come clean about his past relationship with Audrey. The film closes with his parents assuring they just want Ravi to settle down and be happy, and scenes are shown of the entire family (plus Audrey) cooking Indian dishes and spending time together. 

Admittedly, I knew very little about Indian culture prior to watching this documentary (and I still have lots to learn!). My childhood best friend is currently dating someone of Indian descent and of the last name Patel, and while I don’t believe his family subscribes to all of these traditions surrounding relationships, I thought this would help me understand his broader culture better. For that very reason, I think it’s important to be informed of multicultural audiences in the public relations field. I also don’t have much of a reason to believe that this portrayal of Indian culture was necessarily harmful in any way. The only misconception that could perhaps emerge after viewing this is that all families of Indian descent have similar preferences or experiences. As I mentioned with my best friend’s boyfriend, he may not be able to relate to everything shown in the documentary, but I’m sure he still would feel a sense of unity with the overarching culture. I think there’s a balance when forming PR messages and campaigns for a specific cultural audience between considering generalized statistics and respecting individual differences at the same time. 

Different ethnic, culture, racial, etc. backgrounds are impacted in various ways by societal issues. For example, we learned in the Milwaukee case study about implications of teen pregnancy especially for Latino and African-American members of that community. I believe doing research uncovers a lot of statistics on underlying differences and helps guide a campaign in its strategic planning stage. Once PR professionals can identify any cultural groups that stand out especially within a target audience, they can start considering any defining beliefs, behaviors or customs of that group to form the most effective messages possible. Drawing back on the Milwaukee case, for instance, faith leaders were encouraged to talk to African American teens about engaging in safe, consensual sexual behavior – given how central religion was to African Americans in the area. 

To further broaden my multicultural experiences, I plan on watching other films or TV shows and can start with ones provided on the Canvas list, even. Though there’s an added challenge of communicating via Zoom, I also think that speaking with international students enrolled in my same courses this semester would be an excellent place to continue exposing myself to diverse audiences.