I Think My Neighbor is Trying to Kill Me, but I Need Her WiFi Password

Over the last decade and more, Americans have been fed a steady diet of headlines reporting the next in a long series of terrorist acts by radical Islamic terrorists. Less thoughtful or underinformed media consumers may fail to differentiate between Islamic and “radical Islamic,” much to the hurt and dismay of the millions of hard-working, peace-loving, family-raising citizens who make up the vast majority of Muslim America. Despite a persistent undercurrent of voices protesting the Muslim-as-terrorist stereotype, each new mind-numbing, body-mutilating act of violence makes it a little bit easier to succumb to the prejudice. However, with television shows, like Roseanne, the media holds the power to break down these stereotypes, and rebuild a more realistic image of what it means to be Muslim. In the episode “Go Cubs,” viewers may get the positive impression that Muslim immigrants are regular, functioning members of American society instead of strange foreigners.
During the beginning of the episode, Roseanne is asked to babysit her young niece and assist her niece in making a Skype call to her mother who was called away on duty in the Army. As they are trying to log onto the video chat network, Roseanne’s WiFi goes out due to lack of payment on her part. Seeing the desperation in her niece’s eyes, Roseanne musters the strength to go next door to her new neighbor’s house and ask to borrow their WiFi. The only catch is her new neighbors are Muslim. Prior to this moment Roseanne had avidly expressed her stereotypical belief that all Muslims are dangerous terrorists who aren’t to be trusted. As she approaches the front door Roseanne arms herself with a baseball bat and pseudo-kindness in order to defray any possible dangers. Immediately after answering the door, Fatima, the Muslim mother, dismisses Roseanne’s awkwardness, and lends Rose the password, saying that “the ignorance of adults shouldn’t punish the children.” This scene makes leaps of progress toward portraying Muslims to be kind-hearted and logical human beings, instead of radical, irrational killers. By portraying Fatima to be a family-centered mother who values kindness amidst facing trials because of her appearance, this show makes great strides in proving that Muslims are good-natured and benevolent people.
As the show progresses, Fatima and Roseanne find themselves at the grocery store, picking up weekly necessities via food stamps, seeing as how they are both from low income families. Unfortunately, when Fatima tries to pay for her grocery findings, there are insufficient funds on her card to complete the transaction. Roseanne, seeing a woman with a family in need, helps pay for Fatima’s groceries. However, to Roseanne’s dismay, the grocery store employee ringing them up makes wildly offensive, stereotypical comments regarding Fatima’s religious affiliation, saying, “Maybe you can help her carry her groceries out to her camel too.” Although it would have been very easy to make a demonstration of anger for the whole store to see, Fatima instead remains quiet and humble, avoiding eye contact with the employee. Through the media, Muslims are often portrayed as radical humans who are incapable of controlling their emotions. However, through this scene Fatima does great justice to her people, stopping the enforcement of the norm that Muslims are all violent.
Throughout the entire episode, Roseanne’s family tries to solve the mystery surrounding the inordinate amount of fertilizer in Fatima’s front yard. Roseanne maintains that the only logical solution is that their neighbors are trying to blow up the neighborhood, because “that’s what these people do.” However, at the tail end of the episode, we learn in a light-hearted and comical scene that the reason behind all the fertilizer was that Fatima’s husband, Samir, was unaware of how online shopping works. Fatima explains that “Genius over here doesn’t know that every time you hit the Amazon order button, you’re putting another 50 pound bag in the cart!” By providing a comical solution to a problem that implied Muslims are all terrorists, this scene is greatly beneficial in breaking down the stereotypes surrounding Muslims. By having Samir make such an innocent and humorous mistake that could’ve happened to anyone, Roseanne solidifies the theme that Muslims are normal human beings who make simple, foolish mistakes like everyone else.
Overall, Roseanne’s “Go Cubs” episode can be viewed as a quality piece of modern media because it humanizes Muslim immigrants in America. By presenting such a sensitive topic with humor and gusto, Roseanne effectively prompts viewers to lower their guards and poke fun at their own stereotypes. Essentially, we’re not watching Roseanne; we’re watching ourselves. Suddenly our fears and suspicions seem small, petty, and ignorant. “Go Cubs” brings a refreshing look at how often Americans allow their stereotypes to plummet them into an abyss of ignorance, and forces viewers to subconsciously reconsider how big a role they allow stereotypes to play in their lives.
