Jus Reign, Canadian YouTube Enthusiast Who Has Revolutionized Comedy - Essay Sample

Introduction

Jus Reign born as Jasmeet Singh Raina is a Canadian YouTube enthusiast who has revolutionized comedy. Interestingly, Reign is a Sikh comedian who wears a turban and has managed to balance his beliefs with comedy and pop culture. Jus Reign was born to Sikh immigrants in Canada who wanted him to study medicine and become a doctor. However, being the only student of Indian descent in his class, Reign was subjected to bullying and racism. At one point after 9/11, there were rumors going around in school that he was the cousin to Osama Bin Laden, the al Qaeda terrorist responsible for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the US (CBC Radio). However, Reign was not bothered by the rumors and never fought with bullies due to their ignorance. Instead, he championed his energy to using comedy to dispel racism, racial stereotypes, and societal norms regarding brown people. Currently, Jasmeet Singh has become a sensational Canadian comedian whose humour touches on culture, race, societal living through his personal experiences "Who Is Jasmeet Singh Raina? Everything You Need to Know"). Singh has won various awards as well as nominations. In 2016, he won the Sikh Heritage Award and Next Media Award as the Outstanding Member of Sikh and YouTuber of the Year respectively ("Jasmit Singh"). In the same year, Singh was nominated for Best Collaboration in the Streamy Award ("Jasmit Singh"). Similarly, he was nominated for the Shorty Awards YouTube Comedian of the Year and Playback Magazine's 5 To Watch in 2015 "Who Is Jasmeet Singh Raina? Everything You Need to Know"). Jus Reign should have his own spotlight in the course because of his incredible bilingual and bicultural comic that is controversial in addressing racial and cultural stereotypes.

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The character Jus Reign uses his personal experience to address the cultural flaws and stereotypes of the South Asian culture. Being of Punjabi Indian Sikh descent, Reign's parents took him to school to study and be a doctor. He enrolled in a Bio-Med course, a career path that his parents had chosen for him. However, he realized that his passion was the pursuit of comedy and medicine was not for him. As a result, he had to convince his parents about comedy. According to Reign, South Asian cultures expect children to study hard and be doctors, engineers or lawyers (Singh). Such cultural stereotypes have found their way in the west. Indian immigrants in Canada still cherish and maintain cultural practices. As a result, Jus Reign uses comedy to dispel the myths surrounding the Punjabi traditions often misinterpreted by whites. Ontario, for instance, has the largest ethnic minority of Punjabi Indian origin. Therefore, as much as Reigns comics are entertaining, they are controversial because he uses his personal experiences to eradicate cultural stereotypes. With a massive YouTube subscription of 968, 498 followers (JusReign), he has become a sensational comic for the young Indian generation in Canada and in India.

Likewise, Singh uses the Punjabi language in his comedy skits to portray the relationship between Indian parents and their children. It is noteworthy to comprehend that the South Asian cultural groups expect children to be very respectful to their parents. For instance, dating from another culture is prohibited and often shocking when native Punjabis date white women. In the skit "Desi Parents and RELATIONSHIPS," Reign argues that relationships are a taboo in Punjabi families to avoid impregnating women before marriage (JusReign). Similarly, when his mother found him with a white girl, she was surprised. The comic expounds on the cultural expectations of parents towards their children. In other words, Desi families expect their children to respect their decisions and traditions and find assimilating into a new culture quite difficult. Nevertheless, Singh represents the new generation of Canadian Indians who have assimilated into the mainstream Canadian pop culture who transcend beyond ethnic stereotypes.

Racism is a phenomenon ethnic minority groups face across the globe. In particular, the minority Punjabi Canadian are experience racism from the dominantly white population. Jus Reign uses his personal experiences with racism and how it helped propel his career as a YouTube comedian. Therefore, in his comedy skits, he showcases how whites use racist stereotypes about South Asian cultures. In his skit "The FBI is Watching US," Reigns plays a double role as a white federal agent and as a normal guy of Asian origin. The comic episode on YouTube depicts two Punjabi friends in the youth who have assimilated into the American culture using texting language slang that is common among the pop culture youths (JusReign). Unfortunately, the FBI intercepts the messages and lists the two as wanted terrorists due to their ethnicity. Therefore, racism has been a controversial issue that Jus Reign has been working hard to dispel and spread the message that people should accept each others' differences. However, despite his fame a Punjabi Sikh comedian, Jus Reign experienced racism in his US travel at the San Francisco airport. Reign was forced to remove his turban by airport security even after been cleared of all other security checks. According to the Sikh religion, it not mandatory for men to wear a turban or dastaar and "it is not appropriate to remove it in public" (CBS News). Racism is a real threat to brown people and other people of color in North America. Jus Reign hopes his comedies will inspire social and cultural integration while entertaining people to learn about ethnic tolerance and respect.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Jasmeet Singh popularly known as Jus Reign is a Punjabi-Canadian comedian who deserves an honorable mention in the course for his revolution of Canadian humour. Jus Reign has grown to become a successful YouTuber by using alternative means of spreading his message to the world using his comic skills. Unlike traditional Canadian comics who used television shows and comedy films to earn a spotlight, Reign has opted to use social media sites and video streaming platforms to sell his name as a comedian. In the current age of technology, platforms such as YouTube enable content creators to post videos and reach their target market niche without struggling for TV shows auditions. Most importantly, Jus Reign has focused on the nitty-gritty of social ills or controversial subjects such as racism and cultural stereotypes. Social media platforms give people an opportunity to explore their freedom of expression and speech and showcase their talents. Jus Reign represents the new generation of Canadian humour: A generation that does not shy away from controversial topics while addressing the social problems in a way acceptable to all regardless of their differences. As such, Jus Reign uses his rich cultural heritage to portray the values and beliefs of the Punjabi people in mainstream Canadian society.

Works Cited

CBC News. "Jus Reign Forced To Remove Turban To Board Flight ". CBC,

2016, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/jus-reign-turban-1.3460092.CBC Radio. "How Jasmeet Singh Used Comedy To Diffuse Anger Facing Racism | CBC

Radio". CBC, 2016, https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-september-26-2016-1.3778689/how-jasmeet-singh-used-comedy-to-diffuse-anger-facing-racism-1.3778722."Jasmit Singh". Sikhrolemodel.Com, 2017, http://sikhrolemodel.com/listing/jasmit-singh/.JusReign. "The FBI is Watching Us." Online Video Clip. 2018,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=325&v=f07Cad9gBy0JusReign. "Desi Parents And RELATIONSHIPS." Online Video Clip. 2015,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sG8fZ9Z1lA. Accessed 30 Mar 2019.Singh, Ganit. "The Emergence Of The Indian Comedian." 36 Chapters, 2017,

https://36chapters.com/the-emergence-of-the-indian-comedian-5a20b56bd055.

"Who Is Jasmeet Singh Raina? Everything You Need to Know." Jasmeet Singh Raina (Jus

Reign) - Bio, Facts, Family Life of Canadian YouTuber, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jasmeet-singh-raina-38106.php.