There was a show that caught my attention back in 2009. The show is called "Little Mosque on the Prairie" (LMOTP). LMOTP is a Canadian sitcom on CBC, created by Zarqa Nawaz. The series is an internationally-acclaimed comedy about Muslims and Christians attempting to live in harmony with each other in the small town of Mercy in Saskatchewan, Canada. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton herself once thanked the show's makers for "everything you're doing to foster cross-cultural unity and understanding through comedy".
While the show give an idea of what could be achieved between Muslim and Christians, it doesn't exclude the reality that it isn't as easy as thought.
Could LMOTP have the Cosby effect for the Muslims?
While the show give an idea of what could be achieved between Muslim and Christians, it doesn't exclude the reality that it isn't as easy as thought.
Could LMOTP have the Cosby effect for the Muslims?
Katie Couric, an influential American broadcaster, suggested comedy to be used as a way to change attitudes towards Muslims in the US. Back in December she wanted to see a Muslim equivalent of The Cosby Show to help do for Muslim Americans what the 80's sitcom did for African Americans.
A comedy show has the potential to break racial/cultural barriers. It might help educate in an indirect and less serious way. The laid-back nature of a comedy show could help ease the process of accepting and digestion. In a way, you can 'insult' through comedy and get away with it (most of the time). Insult is an important component in comedy.
However boundaries should be observed since there is 'little room' for comedy in Islam. That is to say, God and His commandments is not something that could be ridiculed. This is definitely the hardest obstacle in creating an Islamic comedy show.
So comedy might not be the best way in removing stereotypes of Arabs and Muslim.
The Cosby Show
A comedy show has the potential to break racial/cultural barriers. It might help educate in an indirect and less serious way. The laid-back nature of a comedy show could help ease the process of accepting and digestion. In a way, you can 'insult' through comedy and get away with it (most of the time). Insult is an important component in comedy.
However boundaries should be observed since there is 'little room' for comedy in Islam. That is to say, God and His commandments is not something that could be ridiculed. This is definitely the hardest obstacle in creating an Islamic comedy show.
So comedy might not be the best way in removing stereotypes of Arabs and Muslim.
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show had proved successful in fostering the relation between black and white Americans. The show helped to make way to a larger variety of shows based on African Americans.
What made the Cosby Show to be successful? Well one thing for sure, the show employs mostly African Americans. The actors have a real understanding about their race. This help them project a true depiction of the (urban) black community. Although it might not cover the less fortunate blacks (since it depicts only a certain portion of the black population), it was praised to portray African Americans who were educated and successful. This has broken one of the mainstream racist stereotypes.
For me, another thing that made the Cosby Show well received is that it wasn't intended to be an 'educational comedy' in the first place. It was plain comedy. The educating part came second and unintended. People were drawn to the Cosby Show because it was funny.
LMOTP
As I watched some LMOTP episodes, the show is not funny enough. It feels more like a drama than a comedy.
Furthermore, the show is quite 'liberal'. Instead of sorting out misconception, it might be a source of confusion. People interested to know more about Islam might get 'lost' since some elements of the show doesn't genuinely depict the Islamic way of life. One of the main problem of the show is that some actors do not have a real understanding of Islam. How could an educator educate when he is not well equipped.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/9543066.stm
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2010/12/01/wikileaks-cbc.html
Its funny how the US diplomat feel offended by these kind of things while shows like South Park etc. keep on pummeling stereotype jokes about Canadians. Please be fair in your judgement.
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