Taking Muslim Portrayal Too Far

It is no surprise that Muslims are rarely represented in the media. They tend to not be portrayed often, and when they are, they are almost always some sort of terrorist. That was why I was so surprised to see a Muslim girl as one of the main characters in the Netflix show “Elite”. The show, set in Spain, tells the story of three lower class high schoolers, including the Muslim girl Nadia, that are granted a scholarship to one of the most prestigious high schools in Spain. All of their lives are thrown upside down after being exposed to this upper class environment, but Nadia faces different problems than the other two as she is often targeted for her ethnicity and religion. In the show “Elite”, Muslims are portrayed as having to deal with excessive racism on a daily basis to the point where it becomes commonplace and just a regular part of their lives.
In the very first episode of the show, called “Welcome”, Nadia does not receive a very warm welcome from the students at the high school. When walking into the classroom, Nadia is targeted with a sassy remark of, “wasn’t this a secular school?” and mutters of “I don’t understand how she got into this school”.The rich students are obviously very against Nadia being at the school, whether they feel threatened by her smarts or simply because they don’t like people different than them. They continue to target her throughout the entire day of school. At this point, Nadia is portrayed at not being bothered by the insults both spoken to her face and what she overhears. It is obvious that she is used to these taunts, she doesn’t let them bother her. This will show viewers, especially those in high school who may have been bullied, to not let those against them try to bring them down. Nadia shows how to be strong, and the viewers will want to follow her example.
At the same time, white viewers who are watching and have racist thoughts may feel like it is fine to be racist towards Muslims. They will see a white and popular character going as far as pretending to be friends with Nadia to ruin her reputation with it having no effect on Nadia. They will see that Nadia isn’t bothered by these remarks and actions and then feel that doing those things is not wrong.
The discrimination against Nadia begins to get excessive when the school even targets her for her religion. During her first day, Nadia is called into the principal’s office and told that she is not allowed to wear her hijab to school anymore. The principal informs Nadia that “no accessories are allowed.” This kind of behavior is completely unacceptable by a school official, and even when Nadia points out that there are many other students who wear jewelry and hair accessories, the principal threatens to remove her scholarship. Instead of standing up for herself, Nadia goes along with the principal and takes off her hijab. This moment in the show seems completely extravagant and unrealistic, firstly because no school official should be targeting someone based off of their religion, but secondly because Nadia does remove her hijab. Muslim viewers will see Nadia taking off her hijab and think that her religion isn’t very important to her. Nadia is so used to, and almost accepts, that racism is a part of her daily life that she does not stand up for herself. Muslim viewers may start to believe that all they are expected to face in their life is lots of discrimination, so they better get used to it.
Finally, Nadia herself admits that she has grown used to the discrimination and hate against her. When walking into the school, one of the other new kids mentions how the other kids are “looking at us like we are Martians.” Nadia responds with a simple “you get used to it.” Right off the bat, it is obvious that the stares and the racism are simply a part of Nadia’s daily life. Even being called “that Taliban girl” has no impact on Nadia as she just shrugs it off.
Overall, I believe that “Elite”’s portrayal of Muslims is negative. To me, it seems like “Elite” aimed to be inclusive by including a Muslim character and showing the discrimination against her. However, they took the discrimination too far and did not show an accurate representation of how most people would react. This show may normalize racism towards Muslims. Muslim viewers may feel that they are supposed to be insensitized to any rude acts against them, when that is totally not accurate. They may try to repress their emotions and not stand up for themselves. It is completely okay to be upset by harmful words, but the portrayal of Nadia would make it seem as though one should be strong enough to not let it bother them. This may also cause others to believe that it is okay to be racist to Muslims because they are “used to it.” Representation is always good, but inaccurate representation can have very negative effects.
