Historicist: "The city that nobody loves"
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-Verse
You can't throw a brick without hitting a blogger who has an opinion on CBC's new show, Little Mosque On the Prairie. Previous to tonight's premiere episode, Torontoist's sole opinion on Little Mosque was that it made a great excuse for the CBC to give away lots of shawarma. (In the presence of camels, of course. Because you can't spell "shawarma" without "camels.")
Of course, the media shitstorm that's been building up to the premiere of Little Mosque was inevitable. On the one hand, there's been no shortage of (usually American) right-wing bloggers decrying Little Mosque as the end of civilization or jihadist propaganda or both. On the other hand, you've got the folks at liberal outposts like My Blahg saying "watch Little Mosque to make the righties cry." And somewhere in the middle of all of this, the question of whether or not the show is actually any good got lost as it became yet another political football.
So, is it any good?
The best word to describe the pilot episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie is "clunky." It's not unfunny, but this is definitely a show finding its footing.
The show's biggest letdown is that it treats the obvious ethnic conflict between "average white Canadians" and Muslim-Canadians so very, very badly. It's played for laughs - which is good because it's a comedy - but the jokes aren't funny because the Dumb White Folks are so clownish and buffoonish you feel like you're being told to laugh, or worse, lectured on tolerance and diversity. (It doesn't help that Neil Crone's boring Rush Limbaugh parody and Sitara Hewitt's gratingly self-righteous young Muslim woman make one want to put on a blindfold and earmuffs until they go off the screen.)
On the bright side, however, the show picks up very nicely on another conflict - the fact that Torontonians and Albertans hate each other. (Torontoist is biased, as we are located in the greatest city in the world and not in a province full of tar-sand-loving rednecks.) There's a lot of promise here as an additional theme, not least because Zaib Shaikh plays Amaar, the new imam from Toronto, as a total city boy who knows what's best in life - like low-fat cappucinos.
And the cast is talented. They're all still playing stock characters at the moment (Carlo Rota is playing the Slightly Sleazy But Good-Hearted Businessman, Manoj Sood is playing the Old Stick In The Mud Who Thinks He Knows Best Even Though He's An Idiot, Arlene Duncan is playing the Tough Lady Who Doesn't Take Any Crap From You, and so forth), but most of the stock characters are funny enough and there's room for growth. Corner Gas started off with much the same array of cliches and just gradually stepped back and let them grow into full-fledged comic entities (and so did Friends, for that matter), so this is as good a starting place as any.
Ultimately, though, the show is hit-and-miss at the moment. For every excellent joke (and there are quite a few) and spirited bit of interplay between the various Muslim characters (there's a brilliant gag about Saudi Arabia halfway through that will make you spit up whatever you're drinking), there's a Stupid White Folks joke that just sits there like a big stinking turd, demanding your approval or at least your respectful tolerance.
So, to sum up: less stupid white people, and bring on the funny Muslims!
Image from the CBC.
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The show is set in Saskatchewan, not Alberta. The tar-sands are in Alberta, not Saskatchewan. The people are quite different (politically speaking).
The show is set in Saskatchewan, not Alberta.
BAH! I can't be expected to understand the various differences between those funny flat provinces! I live in THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE, you hear me?
A pretty good review of the show, I felt much the same about it...as a convert to Islam I got could see the humour in the jokes, but the bumpkins were just a little too bumpkin, more charactature then parody..get rid of the cartoon townfolks (escept the reverend) and stick with the 'funny Muslims"...odd though to watch You bet Your Ass and see Sitara and her hot body in a mini skirt tanding there then half an hour later watch her as an upright Muslima lol...hopefully the show will find its footing and the CBC will give it a chance to do so
p.s. my imam is one who just may make the wine gum comment lol
and oh yah..about this TO as greatest city thing....ummm GO HABS GO..souldn't resist
Isn't Alberta one of the flat provinces with mountains? :D
For a pilot episode, it was definitely... a pilot episode. Hopefully Mother Corps will give it enough time for the writers and actors to carve the characters out of the Stock.
If anything, I hope as the lead-in to Intelligence tonight, it got Intelligence a few more regular viewers.
I thought the show was better than I expected, but I had somewhat medicore expectations. The problem was that it wasn't funny enough to justify the preachiness and stereotypes. I'm sure it will get better once they get the airport terrorism jokes out of their systems, but the production design looks OK for such a miniscule budget and the acting is quite good too.
My other point is that it does seem to portray Muslims more accurately to those who don't have personal exposure to any. Most of the Muslims I know are laid-back, fun-loving and funny just like everyone else, but since politics and conflict are all many people ever see, it's nice to see the range, especially including a range of Muslims whom aren't just from the Middle East (i.e. the white convert, the Nigerian woman).
It's interesting how they made the young female character a progressive feminist who is also very devout and wears the hijab. In fact, save for the crotchety father character, it's the white people that seem the most buffoonish and uninteresting at this point. I quite liked the character of Yasir, the construction company owner, and the actor who plays him was very good and resisted the urge to go over the top.
For now, it needs to either be funnier or more serious, or even a combination of both so it doesn't feel watered down and directionless. Certain things could have been played totally serious to great effect (the airport) and others like the radio host might have done better as more outrageous. Canadians also love making fun of themselves, so more anti-Toronto jokes are welcome too as long as they have some edge.
I'm hoping the novelty doesn't wear off right away and that future episodes continue to improve so it can find some solid footing. At least it's somewhat different and new.
I lost interest part of the way through. It has potential, but as others have mentioned, you could definitely tell it was Canadian, and that it was a pilot. It fell extremely short of all the hype...but then again, what doesn't these days.
A Canadian website denounces The Freedom Fighter's Journal for "jihadist propaganda" for its spoof of "Little Mosque" then goes on to agree in so many words that it is an exercise in Political Correctness where the true object of humor are the "Dumb White Folks."
This would be "jihadist propaganda," I do believe.
No, Ronbo, it would be "clumsy writing," and "a pilot episode."
Ronbo, there's a big difference between Muslim and Jihadist. They are not one and the same. Also, he wasn't calling your website "jihadist propaganda" - he was saying that's what you were calling the show.
Maybe the show's depiction of buffoonish whites isn't so far off, judging from some of the right wing blogs out there.
Manoj Sood's accent really needs improvement--urdu accent speaking English--he doesn't quite get it right.
As someone who grew up in a teeny-tiny small town, what's scary is that sometime those buffoonish redneck hick stereotypes are totally true. My town wouldn't be burning crosses on anyone's lawn or anything like that, but a lot of the older crowd would be sleeping with one eye open.
"but the bumpkins were just a little too bumpkin"
Have you been to Sask.? (i keed, i keed)
"urdu accent speaking English--he doesn't quite get it right"
If thats the kind of criteria we're going to judge the show on, it's doomed already...
My sister lives in a small town and I dread going there (and probably wouldn't, if it weren't for my niece and nephew). I've never in my life met so many openly ignorant people - to the point where I don't even think they realize that what they're saying is wrong. Anyone who's anything other than white usually gets ridiculed and is made to feel so uncomfortable that they leave town. It's sad, and the problem is, the stereotypers don't know any better because they're not exposed to culture the way those in big cities are, so the likelihood of changing their behaviour is slim to none.
While they were obviously exaggerating the stereotypes on the show, there's certainly a lot of truth to them sometimes, sadly.
When lived in the states, I would play a game with my yankee friends where I'd attempt to guess if a TV movie was filmed in Canada or the US. To their amazement, I was never wrong. Giveaways:
1. extra-low production values, air farce-ishness
2. bit players' reaction shots that last too long, mugging
3. loose, sluggish editing sapping the momentum
4. general lack of drama or edge, feeling that everybody wants to stop shooting and go home
5. that cringeworthy accent! can't professional actors minimize it?
ilovecanada - I'm not sure, does your list indicate CDN TV movies or the current state of SNL?
I thought the show was totally embarrassing.
It should be the Cosby Show with Muslims, but instead it's just humiliating.
a) White Canadians just aren't that openly racist. I have never been to the prairies, and I'm not denying that white Canadians can be racists, but they just don't tremble in fear at the sight of a brown person. The scene where the white dude RUNS out of the room when he sees muslims praying was particularily appalling.
b) what are all those muslims doing in a small shithole in the prairie anyway? my friend commented to me after we watched the show, "you or i wouldn't move to that town, what the hell is making all those muslims move there? why wouldn't they move to toronto, or other major cities? or less-small towns?"
c) the imam would NEVER act like that. I know plenty of youngish people who have chosen to dedicate their lives to religious service and not one of them would be so smug, selfish and snide as he was. None of them would say, "ugh, you don't know how to make a cappuccino? i'm on the next plane outta this dump". Appalling.
Ease up a little, Roxanne. This is a sitcom, not 'the realistic portrayal of every Muslim's life.'
As far as your three points go, they just don't hold.
The scene you reference with the white guy running out of the mosque is the town idiot reacting to what he thinks is a group of terrorists plotting. He's wrong as can be and over-acting the part but it's not a completely unrealistic scenario. (And I do believe that there are far too many people -- even in cities -- who would have a similar, if less dramatic, response.)
To your second point: I think that through the character who is married to the white woman and running his own contracting business we see that he e/immigrated to Canada and built a life for himself through assimilation. Once one person or a family settle in a certain area it becomes far more desireable to other people from that particular ethno/racial community (naturally you want to know people and share your values/customs/etc with likeminded people, as well as meet new people.) And I'm sure that as the plot continues we'll find out how the first Muslim came to live in that tiny town. Just give the story a chance.
I agree with your third point to a degree but I think that showing the imam's flaws and that muslims are different depending on their experiences growing up is an attempt at showing some humility. I think it's fair to generalize that most non-Muslims see Islam as a very serious, uniformed culture/religion; the imam's character adds a new dimension. Plus, CBC can't just take potshots at the prairies. If they want to keep every Canadian happy (which is the CBC's mandate in not as many words) then they also have to find a way to make light of us Big City folks, too.
The other break they deserve is that this was the pilot. It can take a bit of time -- even a whole season -- for the actors to really get into their character so that it's funny but not too over the top like many scenes were in the first episode.
So I'll be watching again because even if it doesn't get a whole lot better I'll be curious to see how they tackle the various issues from a Muslim perspective -- one that is almost completely absent in mainstream Canadian media and storytelling.
Is it really clunky in the parts where they make fun of White pwople or is it that the reviewer might be White and is having trouble with race-based comedy that doesn't subscribe to the typical Black on White(Chappelle/Rock/Murphy) style White jokes? We all know what Black people think about White people (well, at least you think you do) but it's refreshingly different to see Whites from another cultures point of view. It's the first episode for Christ's sake, give it some time. I'm sure the White jokes will get better!
gee, I hate to be a kill joy, but I've been watching baseball for about twenty years, and I think I've seen all of four bloop doubles. Maybe you're thinking of a bloop single? Or a Texas Leaguer?
Max, I guess you missed the old Astroturf at SkyDome. A bloop single could turn into a bloop double for the speedier players like Devon White about 8 or 10 times a year.
The play would go something like this: Devo up to bat, hit's a shallow fly to right. Realizing that he won't get to the ball the visiting team's outfielder pulls up thinking he'll take it on a bounce. Not playing on Astroturf very often, the outfielder isn't in position to handle the 10ft hop and the ball goes over his head. After retrieving the ball White is standing on second with a stand-up bloop double.
That said, I think the reviewer's bloop double reference was more that it was better than a lousy bloop single but that the show could have done pretty much anything within the context of a comedy about Muslims in the prairies and it would have succeeded to some degree.
The point that many are missing here is that Islam ("Submission") is a fascist ideology dressed up in religious clothing -- the more correct term would be "Islamofascism" or "Islamonazism."
Furthermore, there is no such creature as a "moderate" or "peaceful" Muslim many more than of a Nazi during the Second World. It would be tantamount to saying that Hess was a "moderate" Nazi because he wanted peace with England. Many Muslim may be peaceful and say they are moderate but they live in countries like the Canada and the USA where the law would come down on them like a ton of bricks if they start wholesale killing and/or enslavement of "Infidels" -- Non-Muslims.
So "Little Mosque" -- in addition to all other critical anaylsis posted here is simply bad taste. I'm reminded of "Hogan's Heroes" where the Nazis were a lovable bunch of Keystone Cops.
Germanonazis are not funny, nor are Islamonazis.
"Little Mosque" depends of offensive stereotypes for its humour.
Also, while at times funny, I do wonder about how "real" the situation is. I once saw a show about how the Nazis made two propaganda films about the conflict between the British and the Irish. The films, at least according to those who were interviewed who had seen them were quite good. The only problem was that the people in the movies were not Irish. What I mean by that was that the culture of the Irish portrayed in the films in no way reflected actual Irish culture as I guess the Germans who wrote, produced, and acted in the movies never took the time to get to understand the traditions and feel of the Irish people. It just wasn't important to them because in the end it had nothing to do with the Irish. It was as one commentator of the movies said "Germans talking to Germans".
And that is kind of what I am getting with the "Little Mosque" show. In the end it isn't really about small town Saskatchewan or Muslim communities living within small town Saskatchewan. In the end what it comes down to is just Liberal Urbanite Canadians talking to Liberal Urbanite Canadians, with their political message being far more important to them than whether or not the situation portrayed reflects a real situation in the country accurately enough.
By the way, why does "The She Mayor" remind me so much of the mayor on South Park?