Highbrow Magazine - african immigrants https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/african-immigrants en A Different Story: The State of Black Immigrant Tales in the Digital Age https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4128-different-story-state-black-immigrant-tales-digital-age <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 07/14/2014 - 10:52</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1africanmovies.jpg?itok=Lj9K13aX"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1africanmovies.jpg?itok=Lj9K13aX" width="480" height="270" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>The early days of the Clintonian era were, in stark contrast to that period’s recession that caused a dearth of opportunities for Generation X, an explosion both in and out of the mainstream in regards to portrayals of cultural identity.  Nowhere was this more evident than in the far more nuanced representations of the Asian and Asian-American experience in both conventional and independent cinema. </p> <p> </p> <p>Hollywood’s 1993 adaptation of Amy Tan’s 1989 novel <em>The Joy Luck Club</em> received mixed reviews and performed modestly (it received $33 million at the box office) during its theatrical release, but in the two decades since, it’s become a staple on American cable networks, and has been viewed by millions, and resonated with just as many.   In his September 17, 1993 review of the film, film critic Roger Ebert wrote, “These stories are about Chinese and Chinese-American characters, but they are universal stories. Anyone with parents or children, which is to say, everyone, will identify with the way that the hopes of one generation can become both the restraints and the inspirations of the next.”</p> <p>Canadian filmmaker Mina Shum’s indie <em>Double Happiness</em> covered similar terrain through the eyes of a woman torn between her family’s efforts to find her a successful Chinese husband to settle down with and her own passions for both becoming an actress and her white paramour.  Starring a pre-<em>Grey’s Anatomy</em> Sandra Oh, it also eventually found a new life and audiences on American cable networks.  In his August 25, 1995 review of the film, Ebert wrote, ” "Double Happiness" is not a deep or brilliant film, but that's not its purpose…By the end, she has told a story that has been told uncounted times for centuries on this continent, which was settled by people who left home and yet tried to bring it with them.”</p> <p>During this same time period, television’s racial boundaries were briefly broken with the premiere of the first and ultimately only season of comedienne Margaret Cho’s failed ABC sitcom <em>All-American Girl, </em>which was essentially a toned-down version of her brash, uncompromising stand–up acts about her Korean-American upbringing in San Francisco.  As she later stated in her 2000 concert film <em>I’m The One That I Want</em>, there was far more drama behind the scenes of the show than in its scripts; including network executives going as far as to hire an “Asian consultant” in an effort to have Cho act “more Asian” on the show. </p> <p> </p> <p>The network’s attempt to please both Asian-American and broader audiences meant that<em> All-American Girl </em>lost any chance of making an impact with viewers of any race.  In his October 7, 1994 review of the show for <em>Entertainment Weekly</em>, Ken Tucker wrote that “From its title on down, <em>All-American Girl</em> is the opposite of what Margaret Cho's stand-up act is about: This sitcom ends up <em>endorsing</em> ethnic myths. The very fact that the show is called <em>All-American Girl</em> implies that it's still peculiar for a young woman with Asian features to be considered a ''true'' American. Every character in the series is a tidy stereotype: Grandma is hopelessly unassimilated; Margaret's parents are first-generation strivers; Margaret is a second-generation rebel doing her best to reject her roots for what she sees as the freedom of American pop culture… so far on <em>Girl</em>, the stereotypes are taking the place of humor.” </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2africanmovies.jpg" style="height:318px; width:602px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>When the personally political ‘90s gave way to the digital era of the 2000s the “centuries-old” tale of trying to make it in a modern world while still trying to please the old one found new life on the silver, small, and iPhone screens.  The most notable examples of this include British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha’s 2003 global hit <em>Bend It Like Beckham</em>, in which a teenage girl secretly joins a soccer team behind her Punjabi Sikh family’s back.  It grossed nearly $80 million worldwide a decade after <em>The Joy Luck Club’s</em> release, and also launched the career of future <em>Pirates of the Caribbean</em> star Keira Knightley.   The film adaptation of Nia Vardalos’ play <em>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</em>, a comedy about a 30 year old Greek American woman from a colorful family who gets engaged to an archetypal American dreamboat, surpassed those numbers a year before earning nearly $400 million during its theatrical run. </p> <p>And nearly 20 years after Cho’s challenging ordeal with ABC, Indian–American writer, producer, director, and actress Mindy Kaling followed up her successful run with NBC’s flagship sitcom <em>The Office</em> by helming her own FOX sitcom <em>The Mindy Project, </em>which has managed to get praise from both viewers and critics alike, and is about to go into its third season with no signs of slowing down.  Save for a few interactions with her brother in the first season, Kaling’s OB/GYN character Dr.  Mindy Lahiri’s family is the least of her immediate concerns.   She is a classic single girl in the city; a modern, relatable romantic comedy archetype looking for love in all the wrong places with eligible bachelors from all walks of life. </p> <p> </p> <p>And this fall ABC will be premiering the family sitcom <em>Fresh Off The Boat</em>, which is based on chef and TV personality Eddie Huang’s 2013 memoir.  John Cho, alum of the <em>Harold &amp; Kumar </em>film franchise, which used the lens of the bromance to skewer longheld stereotypes about Asian-Americans and spawned three successful films in the noughties, will also be featured on the network in the sitcom <em>Selfie,</em> a digital age <em>Pygmalion</em> update.  </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3africanmovies.jpg" style="height:625px; width:417px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The dominant first and second generation narratives in both film and television seem to have focused largely on Asian and Latino communities, with occasional forays into the European experience, as evidenced recently with <em>Devious Maids</em>’ Roselyn Sanchez and Dania Ramirez’ portrayals of Carmen, a singer who becomes a maid to a Latin pop star as a fast track to her big break, and Rosie, a Dominican immigrant who spends much of the show’s first season struggling to bring her young son stateside, and  the <em>Elevator</em> series on the sitcom <em>Louie</em> in which the main character saves the life of a Hungarian immigrant and starts a romance with her visiting niece in the process. </p> <p> </p> <p>However, the state of first and second generation narratives in the African diaspora is sorely lacking in comparison.  The dominant Black voice in mainstream cinema and television is overwhelmingly American.  It is no secret that nuanced portraits of Black immigrants and the experience of their offspring in mainstream media are few and far between. </p> <p>During the Reagan era, the sitcoms <em>The Cosby Show </em>and <em>A Different World</em> would occasionally feature characters from the Caribbean or South Africa, particularly during the country’s apartheid years.  The FOX comedy sketch show <em>In Living Color</em> satirized the stereotypical Caribbean work ethic in their <em>Hey Mon</em> sketches, in which members of the Hedley family, including the “lazy bum” whose main signifier were his dreadlocks, would rattle off the seemingly endless list of menial jobs they had whenever they came across those who had the gall to only have one job. (One particular sketch even pits the Hedleys up against the Wans, a Korean family who open a fruit stand next to their restaurant.)</p> <p> </p> <p>The actor Doug E. Doug of <em>Cool Runnings</em> fame also briefly starred in the critically acclaimed, low-rated sitcom <em>Where I Live</em>, which was centered around the misadventures of a Trinidian-American youth living with his hardworking parents in Harlem.  Those portrayals, however limited or nuanced, were nearly 25 years ago. </p> <p> </p> <p>If one is looking today for something beyond the cultural caricatures on crime procedurals, even a cursory glance at websites such as Netflix, Indieflix, and Snag Films that do house cutting-edge works and cover global topics can still leave one wanting for such an experience.  “I think there’s an issue in general, with black film as sort of rare, seen as the niche.,” says Haitian-American filmmaker Stefani Saintonge, who recently received <em>Essence </em>Magazine’s Discovery award after her short film <em>Seventh Grade</em> won the publication’s Black Women In Hollywood Short Film Contest.   “ …To have non-Americans, first generations as well, is even more of a specific niche.  I think it has to do with proportion and just the lack of Caribbean-Americans, and African-Americans, (Africans from Africa) creating work.  I would think that studios would think it was a pretty small audience.  There’s not as many Caribbean-Americans as Latin Americans, there’s not as many Caribbean Americans as there are Asian-Americans either.  It’s probably a combination of things, the lack of filmmakers and the lack of an audience perhaps.  I tend to feel that some things are universal, that the first generation experience can be universal and can appeal to a wide audience…Investors, they want to see something more concrete.  If it happens that there’s no example or precedent for it they’re not going to take much of a risk on it.”</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4africanmovies.jpg" style="height:415px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>First and second generation narratives in the African diaspora undeniably have a far more solid home in the world of literature, most notably with authors such as the Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri, whose 2003 novel <em>The Namesake</em> was adapted by Mira Nair (<em>Monsoon Wedding</em>) in 2006,  Dominican-American Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz, and the Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat.  Interesting to note, the last two authors have been successful for nearly two decades, and Hollywood has either failed to express interest, or has been unable to bring any of their literary works to fruition.  In the case of Diaz’ 2007 genre breaking, smash novel <em>The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao</em>, (a work that has garnered  on top of critical praise, raves from the Dominican-American starlet Zoe Saldana), it’s truly puzzling.  Danticat’s <em>The Farming of Bones</em>, which depicts the little known Parsley Massacre of 1937, would also be interesting material to mine for a feature film. </p> <p>There are some glimmers of light in regards to cinema; Sierra Leonian-American Nikyatu Jusu’s  early short films <em>Say Grace Before Drowning </em>and <em>African Booty Scratcher </em>deal with themes such as recovering from wartime trauma, the cultural dualities of being both African and American, and intraracial disharmony.  The Nigerian filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu’s second feature length indie <em>Mother of George</em>, about Nigerian newlyweds living in Brooklyn and are struggling to conceive, starred Danai Gurira of <em>The Walking Dead</em> fame, and was released this past fall to rave reviews.</p> <p>The digital revolution has managed to have a profound effect on mainstream cinema and television; one example being the comedy sketch show <em>Saturday Night Live</em> making  a star out of Andy Samberg by airing the digital shorts he created with his fellow members of The Lonely Island, and with <em>Old School</em> director Adam McKay creating the popular website FunnyOrDie.com.  Perhaps in the near future, there could be a similar development for Black first and second generation artists who wish to showcase their work, especially as audiences’ attention spans and the length of web videos grow shorter.  “Short films are usually self-financed.  It’s usually just the filmmaker making it happen,” says Saintonge.   “I guess when we have the power in our hands, it’s a different story. “</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><br /> <strong><em>Sophia Dorval is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/caribean-american" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">caribean american</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-experience" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african experience</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-books" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african books</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-literature" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african literature</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-movies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african movies</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-music" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african music</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-art" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african art</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-artists" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african artists</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Sophia Dorval</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 14 Jul 2014 14:52:50 +0000 tara 4941 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4128-different-story-state-black-immigrant-tales-digital-age#comments Why Somali Immigrants Are Heading Back Home https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3956-why-somali-immigrants-are-heading-back-home <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 05/05/2014 - 15:09</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1somalis.jpg?itok=P9YyuXsU"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1somalis.jpg?itok=P9YyuXsU" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/">Twin Cities Daily Planet</a> and our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/05/minnesota-somalis-heading-home.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>When the civil war in Somalia broke out more than 20 years ago, Jaylani Hussein and his family were among the first to move to the United States.</p> <p> </p> <p>Hussein has lived in the U.S. since 1993. He speaks English without any hint of an accent, holds two bachelor’s degrees, goes deer hunting in the fall and works for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2008, Hussein returned to his birthplace, the city of Hargeisa, for the first time.</p> <p> </p> <p>“As I was landing in Hargeisa, I was thinking, ‘Oh my God. What have I gotten myself into?’” Hussein said. “When I was on the way home, I was thinking, ‘Why didn’t I come sooner?’”</p> <p> </p> <p>Just like Hussein, more Minnesotan Somalis are going back. An ongoing University of Minnesota research project from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs is collecting stories from immigrant Somalis in the Twin Cities to find out why.</p> <p> </p> <p>Though the number of people returning is “impossible to quantify,” signals such as airlines flying daily to the capital of Mogadishu or “chatter in the community about returning” can’t be ignored, said Ryan Allen, principal researcher and assistant community and economic development professor.</p> <p> </p> <p>Humphrey research consultant Kadra Abdi said other research has looked at the financial side of people returning, but they wanted to focus on the social aspect.</p> <p> </p> <p>Allen and his research team have so far completed about 60 oral interviews with Twin Cities residents who have returned to Somalia, most of whom were men in their late 20s or 60s.</p> <p> </p> <p>The researchers presented their findings last month in Washington, D.C., to the National Security Council and the State Department, among other stakeholders. Since the study is ongoing, the findings are currently preliminary. But Allen said he hopes to finish the data collection by the end of May.</p> <p> </p> <p>A report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than 1 million Somali refugees are living around the world. Of those, about 10,000 have returned to Somalia.</p> <p> </p> <p>But the research at the University has found that those returning are usually not doing so permanently.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Some had no qualms about feeling at home in both Somalia and the Twin Cities,” Allen said. “They don’t want to move, but their culture is important to them and their families.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Whether it was due to feelings some Somalis have toward the U.S. or because some Americans distrust Somalis, Allen said, he’s found returners feel safer if they have as little to do with the U.S. government as possible.</p> <p> </p> <p>Allen said those returning might get a temporary job or internship in Somalia, or they come back because they’re concerned with security there.</p> <p> </p> <p>“It’s hard to say there’s a peace there,” said Hussein Ahmed, executive director of the West Bank Community Coalition. “These people might go to Kenya or Uganda first to make contacts in a safer place.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2somalis%20%28fotopedia%29.jpg" style="height:416px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Or, as in Hussein’s case, the researchers found that returners worked on humanitarian projects. As a board member of American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa, Hussein helped set up schools, distribute food and improve infrastructure in northern Somalia and along the Ethiopian border.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Even regular people are going back,” Hussein said. “People who didn’t think they could make an impact found they could.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The researchers have mostly collected information from people beyond their early 20s.</p> <p> </p> <p>Mohamed Shire, president of the University’s Somali Student Association, said most young Somalis have no intention of going back to Somalia, though many will send money back to their families. It’s mainly the older generations that want to return to Somalia, he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>“There’s a huge difference in culture. The younger kids are American. It’s never occurred to them, going back,” Shire said.</p> <p> </p> <p>But Hussein said he sees it differently.</p> <p> </p> <p>“There’s the first wave of immigrants who’s lived the horror of Somalia,” Hussein said. “We, their children, were sheltered from it. They don’t see it as a place of hope. I look at Somalia as an opportunity.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The Somali-Americans who return to Somalia mostly work in the government or for nongovernmental organizations, Allen said. Many start businesses there. Some have run for office, and some even intend to run for president.</p> <p> </p> <p>“People who go back are highly engaged, both in the U.S. and Somalia,” Allen said. “They’re doing the same thing there. They care about Minnesota, but also about Somalia.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Abdi said those who return are in tune with both countries, and that shapes their dual identities.</p> <p> </p> <p>“A few years ago, some young men from Minneapolis returned to Somalia and joined [the terrorist group] al-Shabaab,” Abdi said. “That’s the narrative that’s stuck with most people. We want to provide a broader narrative and highlight the positive changes.”</p> <p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/">Twin Cities Daily Planet</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/somalia" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">somalia</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/somalis" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">somalis</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/twin-cities" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">twin cities</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/somali-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">somali immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/africa" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">africa</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/african-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">african immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/minnesota" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">minnesota</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ethan Nelson</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Fotopedia</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 05 May 2014 19:09:49 +0000 tara 4661 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3956-why-somali-immigrants-are-heading-back-home#comments