How did this ludicrous, crown jewel of a TV storyline concocted by the good people at As the World Turns (ATWT) fall under my nose?
This As the World Turns storyline, which aired first aired February 22nd of this year, focuses on a mutually beneficial relationship. Ameera Ali Aziz (AAA), an Iraqi native college student, needs a visa to stay in school, and classmate, makes the friendly gesture of marrying Ameera to keep her in the country. Noah feels indebted to Ameera because his estranged father, an US colonel, was in a relationship with Ameera’s mother during his service in Iraq (I know, I know, strange as it is, remind yourselves that it is a soap opera). This marriage also helps to Noah rake up some socially viable good samaritan/humanitarian points. However, the relationship and immigration investigations wear on the Noah’s relationship with the jealous and skeptical Luke. But, there is a point of shared lived experience that both the marginalized queer male and the re/oppressed Arab Muslim woman relate to each other on:
“You don’t realize your freedom until you lose it.”
See the drama (and in my opinion comedic hijinks) ensue for yourself:
Watch around minute 2 for the juiciness to start pouring:
An immigration inspector’s check-up on the relationship and raid on their living quarters addresses the legitimacy of their marriage. The ICE officer informs Ameera that he, “discovered you and your husband don’t share a bed.”
“In Ameera’s culture, relations between a man and woman are discrete and I respect that.”
What is this? I Love Lucy redux? America’s sugar-coated fifties fantasies re-hashed for the 21st century’s daytime TV crowd?
Related posts:
- Gay Harry Potter Character Outed as Arab!
- Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis Unite!
- Iraqi Refugee Situation Part II: The Strain on Syria
- An Al Jazeera Report on Iraqi Widows Turning to the Oldest Profession in the Book
- Arabina-whoops! I mean “Angelina”-Jolie visits Iraqi Refugee camps in Syria
are you insane? this is a soap opera!
i have to work for a living!
doesn’t anyone else?!!!
Posted by Anonymous | September 23, 2008, 10:14 amsee how undesirably addictive it is!
Posted by Maytha | September 23, 2008, 11:35 amHilariously bad acting, woo!
(Side note: Just saw Sukiyaki Western Django last night… def. worth checking out, any of you in NY or LA, or downloading for the rest of you.)
Question on your choice of language: She’s “oppressed” because she’s having trouble getting a visa?
Posted by Joe | September 23, 2008, 12:25 pmJoe,
I meant to write “marginalized” before “queer” (which I just corrected). This ties into your question, because I wanted to demonstrate how the show was using two metanarrative stereotypes-the marginalized queer male and the re/oppressed Arab-to how such “victims” aren’t so different afterall.
It was not a commentary on her visa situation, but one the stereotype attached to her.
Posted by Maytha | September 23, 2008, 12:36 pmGotcha, thanks for clarifying.
Posted by Joe | September 23, 2008, 6:15 pmYou mean “muhajabeh.” The word “muhajabat” is plural.
Posted by Anonymous | September 23, 2008, 8:28 pmanon 8:28,
whoops you’re right. This was an old post saved as a draft for quite some time-so I forgot to check the title for grammatic soundness!
And plus I’m a FOB Arab-American, which means my weak understanding of plurals and the use of the singular appears both in my English and Arabic writing and speech.
Posted by Maytha | September 23, 2008, 8:38 pmCheck this interview with ahmedinejad, it’s insane. the ultimate expression of media colonialism. and notice the difference between the full text and what they aired. someone should write a journal article on it. it’s insane, and a perfect example of everything that is wrong with the american media:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94887472
Posted by Anonymous | September 23, 2008, 9:58 pmWe’ve written about this here, here, and here.
Posted by Fatemeh | September 24, 2008, 12:07 pm