Crossing cultural lines ends in comedy and controversy
Tonight television
CREATING comedy about ethnic minorities is a dangerous game, especially when religion plays an intrinsic role. What might be intended as a humorous look at the cultural nuances of a migrant community can easily be construed as poking fun at somebody’s “otherness”. This is especially true when the most cliched of stereotypes are mined for easy laughs.
Into the midst of this particular minefield strides Mr Khan, the loud-mouthed, opinionated and self-appointed community leader of Sparkhill, Birmingham – the capital of British Pakistan, he proclaims.
Save for his religious beliefs, Mr Khan is about as British as they come, with a penchant for tea and cricket, and the stirrings of a stiff upper lip. His attempts to improve his standing in his adopted home provide the bulk of the comedy in Citizen Khan, with his long-suffering wife and daughters reluctant passengers on this bumpy ride.
Comparisons with that quintessential British ’70s sitcom classic, Mind Your Language, are unavoidable. Despite the potentially contentious subject matter at hand, Citizen Khan plays it very safe, albeit with a very naughty wink, like when our hero is caught singing to himself on the speakers at his local mosque. Nevertheless, even a flirtation with the concept of Islam was enough to draw the ire of some watchers. Hundreds of complaints were registered with the BBC, claiming that the show was poking fun at Muslims, even though the show’s creator and star, Adil Ray, shared the same faith.
Citizen Khan prompted heated debate across many platforms in the UK, but also cultivated a strong fan base, which prompted the BBC to renew it for three more seasons. The moral seems to be, as with all comedy, that you can’t count on everybody to get the joke.
Across the Atlantic, in Canada of all places, another sitcom attempted much the same thing and was welcomed with open arms. Little Mosque on the Prairie, which was screened locally on SABC3, focused on a Muslim community in a fictional town and their attempts to assimilate into their Western environs. Again, it sidestepped the powder keg that is current affairs, instead playing on notions of cultural identity. In one memorable episode, the question of how to celebrate the very American institution of Halloween took centre stage. In a hilarious compromise, the young imam suggested that the local children reinvent the occasion as Halaal-oween, just so that they could enjoy the event alongside their Canadian friends.
Citizen Khan ploughs a similar route, but with British humour as its trump card. At its heart lies the message that despite our differences of religion and politics, we all desire and do roughly the same things. And because we take it so seriously, perhaps it would be a good idea, once in a while, to take a step back and have a good laugh about how silly we all can be.
Citizen Kahn airs at 7.30pm
every Monday on
Glow TV (DStv
channel 167) and
OpenView HD
(channel 108).