Much ado about Scooby-Doo

Velma is being brought to life by Indian American actor/producer Mindy Kaling, right.

A tempest is brewing over the roiling controversy of the ethnicity of Velma, one of Scooby-Doo's friends.

Isn't that a cartoon, you ask? What's the big deal? Apparently, it is a very big deal for some people. The reaction from certain sectors of our society is an indication of the lengths some people will go to protect white supremacy and the status of Whites, long the cultural, economic, and political dominant racial group in the U.S.

The latest dustup in our culture wars began when comedic actor Mindy Kaling, an Indian American, cast hereself as the voice actor for Velma, one of the team of human friends of the Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, a cartoon character that was popular in the later half of the 20th century.

Kaling is executive producer of a spin-off of the Scooby Doo character. titled Velma. In her production, Velma will be Indian American and voiced by Kaling.

The news of the reimagining of Velma drew strong criticism, some of which was racist. There were also defenders of Kaling's decision.

“I grew up with ‘Scooby-Doo’ and Velma, and for sure I could really see her as East Asian,” sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen told NBC. “Hopefully not in a model minority way but a quirky way that’s kind of bookish but she’s multifaceted. The fact that she could be nerdy, that was kind of revolutionary back then.”

"Why are people so mad abt Velma being East Asian in Mindy Kaling's version she's not real, she's not connected to any culture and if you don't like it scooby doo has been around for decades. There's like a billion white versions of Velma you can watch," tweeted one writer.

What critics don't remember is that Velma was Asian American in one version of the cartoon that didn't raise an eyebrow. Hayley Kiyoko, who is of Japanese descent, played Velma in two live-action TV movies that aired on Cartoon Network in 2009 and 2010.

Hayley Kyoko portrayed Velma in an earlier Scooby-Doo TV series.

Kaling is producing the 10-episode animated series which will be a comedic take on the brainy Velma's origins, for HBO Max. 

Kaling is a one-woman force in in Hollywood for changing the lack of Asian American presence onscreen. Her production company is responsible for Never Have I Ever, about an Indian American teen and the remake of Four Weddings and A Funeral. Her company is also producing Ms. Marvel, featuring a Pakistani American superhero.