Review: Unfair and Ugly

I finally finished watching all 6 episodes of the Muslim-y web series #UnfairAndUgly, and I have... thoughts.

Firstly, I'll admit that I enjoyed seeing something Muslim-y that wasn't too "heavy." I do appreciate Muslim writers and filmmakers getting out there and producing *something* that isn't just hijabista fashion or documentaries on Islamophobia. Storytelling is incredibly important, and it's good to see that *our* stories are beginning to be told in a way that's open and accessible.

Buuuuuut... I was also rather underwhelmed. The acting was often stilted, and the entire show was centered on very privileged, liberal, millenial characters and their issues. Not that I don't recognize that some of the issues touched on were and are relevant - racism, depression, disappointing desi parents - but it all felt very shallow and I simply could not relate to the characters at all.
If anything, they seemed to be a near-parody of the Mipster trope - the girlfriend-that-the-family-doesn't-approve-of, hanging out at shisha cafes, the so-woke-he's-cringe dude, and on and on.

The only bit that really stuck out to me, that I actually enjoyed, was the sibling relationship - there were only a few brief moments, but it was the only relationship that actually seemed genuine and unforced, and not deliberately injecting an SJW theme into every interaction.

I did find it ironic that while much of Muslim social media revolves around trying to prove that liberal millenial Muslims are *not* just a bunch of silly tropes that involve much haraamness, this show kind of proved that... well... they kind of are.

It was even more ironic that while my Facebook wall was flooded with people getting upset about judgments of young Muslim men and women having inappropriate, un-halal relationships with one another, this show - which is by and for millennial Muslims - simply proved my point.

Haraamness *is* normalized, and so much of what I - as a conservative millenial Muslim who has never really actually *seen* a lot of these things happening outside of totally irreligious circles - had initially dismissed as exaggerations are apparently not exaggerations at all.

When our storytelling and "representation" paints a rather shallow picture of privileged kids with privileged problems, that do little to dispel SJW Mipster stereotypes, what does that say about us? What does that say about the state of our community?

Of course, I'm just a judgmental Salafi anyway, so what do I know...

In any case, I do hope that Muslim creatives are able to produce more content that reflects both higher quality storytelling, and stories that are themselves deeper, more nuanced, and meaningful.

#SalafiGrinchetteReviews
#NextTimeIShouldDoAYouTubeSeriesWhereYouAllWatchMyReactionsAsIWatch
#ThereWasMuchWTFluffingAndCringeing
#DoMipstersREALLYSoundLikeThatIRLTho
#SoMuchSecondHandEmbarrassment

Ali Huda TV - a review

Touted as the new “Netflix for Muslim kids,” I was quite excited when I heard about the launch of Ali Huda TV. I’m pretty thoroughly sick of Paw Patrol and random weird cut-and-paste YouTube Kids videos, and so I logged into my new Ali Huda account in anticipation of having my three-year-old son captivated by something other than bizarre remakes of children’s nursery rhymes.

Unfortunately… my three year old, a connoisseur of Netflix, PBS Kids, and YouTube Kids alike, was epically unimpressed. And so was I. While I appreciate the good intentions behind the website, I was disappointed to notice the lack of both variety and quality programming. Of the animated programs available, few were up to par in comparison to mainstream cartoons. While Christian producers have done exceedingly well in producing high-quality children’s shows and movies that impart religious values as well as engaging entertainment, Muslims sadly struggle to develop the same.

Divided into age groups (age 2-3, 4-5, and 9-12) and categories (Travel and Outdoors, Science and Craft, Songs and Nasheed, and more), Ali Huda does try to imitate the Netflix layout, which makes for easier navigation - but only on desktop. Unfortunately, trying to access it on a mobile device is nigh-impossible due to the inability to navigate it without being logged out or simply taken back to the home screen without a way to actually navigate the shows.

One thing that Ali Huda could do to improve their service is to include classic Muslim children’s shows and movies - the Adam’s World Series, Zaki, Muslim Scouts, Hurray for Baba Ali, and so many more pioneering examples of Muslim entertainment. There are entire collections of famous nasheed artists such as Native Deen, Dawud Wharnsby Ali, Talib al-Habeeb and others, and to have their work collected on one streaming service would be extremely helpful to those of us who otherwise rely on YouTube playlists that our kids can easily click out of.

Of course, I do appreciate that the first effort has been made to provide this kind of halal streaming option for Muslim children. My daughters enjoyed the “Science Made Cool” show, although they wished there was a hijabi girl also involved in the experiments, instead of being relegated to the “Kids in the Kitchen” show. While the “Saladin” and “Ibn Battuta: Prince of Explorers” cartoons try to bring famous Islamic figures to kids’ attention, unfortunately, the quality of the animation was so poor that it rather failed at its purpose.
I also appreciate that Ali Huda donates to a charity for orphans, and that there is a special discount for schools - this is quite beneficial for those who run full-time Muslim schools, or even part-time community Madrasas.

Something for people to keep in mind is that exposure has a lot to do with how well Muslim children will handle “Muslim TV” - when my daughter was quite young, I restricted her entertainment heavily and only allowed her to watch select Muslim entertainment. Since she had very few options, she enjoyed whatever it was that I let her watch. My three year old son, however, is your average toddler whose screentime indulgences include Daniel Tiger, Paw Patrol, and Pokemon - hence his much high standards.

I look forward to seeing Ali Huda develop further, and hope that the people behind it are able to fulfill its full potential by reaching out to other Muslim media and entertainment creators. I also hope that they are able to reach the level that Netflix has in being able to work with other Muslim developers to create new entertainment that is high quality, creative, and appeals to Muslim kids who already have a higher expectation of what will capture their attention.

The Muslim community is in dire need of greater media and entertainment that is not only produced by our own writers and artists, but also meets a higher standard that can compete with mainstream non-Muslim options. Ali Huda has the potential to be a great resource for Muslim kids, and I truly hope that they are able to develop themselves further to meet a major need in the Muslim community.

Rating: 2/5