Comedy and Satire Can Make America Great Again
As we head into the 2020 election season, I don’t think that anyone can deny that the last three years have been a strange roller coaster.
Despite how far America has come since the years of the Civil Rights Movement, there has been an uptick in White Nationalistic groups in 2018, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The anti-Muslim sentiment has been increasing as well, over the last few years. In fact, according to a Pew Research poll, 2016 had more incidents of Islamophobia than 2001.
Samy Chouia’s Travel Ban takes aim at Islamophobia, through comedy. But don’t walk into the theater expecting a good laugh. It’s not a comedy — it’s a documentary that follows the work of a few Muslim comedians, who use their art to dispel stereotypes.
Don’t get me wrong — it’s funny. But not funny in a way that makes you snort your soda out through your nose. It’s funny in a smart way, the way we used to enjoy The Daily Show.
It’s satire. Or social commentary, for those who don’t know what the true definition of satire is.
Satire is a form of art that ridicules and uses irony to make a point.
In a time where things are ridiculous, ridicule is really the best way to address the issues.
What’s fascinating about Travel Ban is how Chouia tells the story of comedians going on tour, yet his documentary retains an undertone of seriousness, if not morbidity.
As the film follows comedian Aron Kader, it switches between comedy shows and morose images of Japanese interment camps. In once scene, Maz Jobrani is regaling the audience with his Iranian accent. In another scene, the audience is watching YouTube and iPhone videos of Muslims and Hispanics getting attacked in the days following Donald Trump’s election.
I saw the final viewing at Cinequest, a Silicon Valley film festival. My friend and I were the only two obvious looking Muslims in a sea of old white people. Travel Ban resonated with the majority of the audience, as it was a novelty to them — “hey, there are Moslem comedians?”
For me and my friend, it was a roster of people we’d seen before. Which is the reason that I rave about Chouia’s work — unlike much of the work that Muslim directors and filmmakers put out, this was not made for a Muslim audience.
That’s the work of Muslim screenwriters and directors these days. We’re not writing for ourselves anymore. We’re writing to reshape the narrative — a narrative that needs to shift away from the “Good-Muslim/Bad-Muslim” narrative. The narrative must shift from the Muslim terrorist or the “good Muslim guy” who saves the world from the terrorist.
Much like Fresh Prince of Bel Air did for the African American community, screenwriters and producers are working towards creating a narrative that normalizes Muslim Americans.
In that vein, Travel Ban hit the mark.
If, however, you’re a Muslim who wants to hear more lotta and shitaafa jokes, I’m sorry, but Travel Ban isn’t for you.
By MK Ansari
Content Development Associate, Marquee Media
