haleyknudsenmulticulturalamerica

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Blog Post 3: Mehdi and Mubina

Mehdi and Mubina (mehdinatv) are a married Islam couple who make TikTok and YouTube content. Their content consists of educating others on the religion of Islam, like what is approved in the religion, their cultural and religious celebrations, and answering general questions that those unfamiliar with Islam may have. Mubina wears a niqab, a religious garment that only shows her eyes, which is what a lot of their content is about. Mehdi is also a converted Muslim, which they also discuss. The content they make allows for proper education on Islam and represents multiculturalism.

As previously stated, Mehdi was not always Muslim. Mehdi was a Christian when he met Mubina in college. Due to her religious beliefs, Mubina was not allowed to marry Mehdi unless he was a Muslim. This led to Mehdi converting to Islam, thus allowing the two to get married. This represents multiculturalism because of the cultural differences the two had before forming a relationship. Mehdi’s family was not very supportive of this change. In a Daily Mail interview, Mehdi shares that his Christian family advised him that he should not get too close to Mubina. Mehdi even shared “I’d seen a girl with a veil and back then I had a very Islamophobic view” (Brennan). Gregory Jay discusses religious differences and its effect on multiculturalism in “What is Multiculturalism?” Jay states, “the ‘melting pot’ of cultural pluralism appeared challenged by seemingly unbridgeable and sometimes violent religious differences” (3). 9/11 caused a very negative opinion on Muslims, in which those outside of the religion deemed them as “terrorists”. This connects to Mehdi and Mubina’s struggles with religious differences because there were likely preconceived notions made about Mubina and her religion. 

The Hapa Project in ways can also be connected to Mehdi and Mubina. The Hapa Project had the intentions of showing mixed race individuals and discuss how they feel about their identity. The project spanned across 15 years, with models writing an identity statement at the beginning and then 15 years later. One that really stuck out to me was a girl who is Japanese and white. Her initial statement was “I am a person” and her statement 15 years later was “When I was little, I wrote that I am a person, and now that I’m older I can’t think of anything better to say.” Mehdi and Mubina do face a lot of criticism in their comments. Many simply are ignorant to Mubina’s choice to wear the niqab, while other criticize Mehdi’s conversion to Islam for Mubina. I think it is important to recognize that Mehdi and Mubina are just people, like the girl from the Hapa Project stated. Outside of their religious and cultural beliefs, they are people and do not deserve to face criticism because of their religious and cultural practices. 

In general, Mehdi and Mubina are a great example of multiculturalism on social media. They use their platform for education and spread positive. They constantly share their ethnic and religious identity to the world, while also being positive and open to differing beliefs and cultures. 

Sources:

“Hapa.Me.” Kip Fulbeck, 17 May 2021, kipfulbeck.com/hapa-me/. 

Mailonline, Siofra Brennan For. “Muslim Woman Reveals Her Husband Married Her without Ever Seeing Her Face despite Knowing Each Other for Four Years - after He Converted to Islam so They Could Wed.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 23 Apr. 2021, www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9503683/Muslim-womans-husband-didnt-face-four-years-married.html. 

Jay, Gregory. What Is Multiculturalism? 2011.

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Blog Post 2: Get Out (2017)

The movie Get Out, the 2017 directorial debut of Jordan Peele, uses a unique horror premise to spread social commentary on the deep-rooted prejudices of black people. The story follows Chris Washington, a black man who goes to meet the family of Rose Armitage, his white girlfriend. Chris experiences many strange occurrences during his stay with the Armitage family. The family seems off, and their black housekeeper and groundskeeper do too. There continues to be racial undertones in every interaction Chris has, until it is revealed that the Armitage family lure black people into their family to put white people’s brains into their bodies. The original hosts are then trapped in the "Sunken Place", where they are prisoners in their own minds. This movie generates a big conversation surrounding race and relates to the course material. 

The main message of Get Out is the issue of white people unjustly benefiting and stealing the works and endeavors of people of color. The main character, Chris, is an extremely talented photographer. The man who wants his body, a blind art dealer, is very appreciative in Chris’s art. At one point, the art dealer tells Chris, “I want your eye, man.” He is not just appreciative, but envious, and wants it for himself. It is the appreciation for black art, but not the person responsible for the art. 

Richard Dyer touches on the issue of white people not seeing people of color as fellow individuals in On the Matter of Whiteness (2003). Dyer states that there is an “assumption that white people are just people, which Is not far off saying that whites are people whereas other colors are some else” (p. 302). When black people or any people of color are discussed, their race Is almost always considered, which is not the case for white people. In Get Out, there is a scene where the Armitage’s host a party where all their friends attend. This party consisted of white people who made every interaction they had with Chris about race. Many asked questions regarding stereotypes, like how strong Chris was and if he was good at sports. Though likely toned down, this is an experience some black people face when surrounded by white people. The conversation is never so much focused on individuality, but upon race. 

References:

Fusco, Coco, and Brian Wallis. Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self. International Center of Photography in Association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 2003. 

Chow, Kai-Ming. “Get out (2017): The Horrors of Internalized Racism.” Medium, Cinemania, 29 Oct. 2020, medium.com/cinemania/get-out-2017-the-horrors-of-internalized-racism-48ff96ae0e9c. 

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Blog Post 1: On My Block

The show, On My Block, is a Netflix original TV show centered around four high school students: Jamal, Monsé, Ruby, and Cesar. On My Block takes place in South Central Los Angeles, specifically in the “rough inner city”, as Netflix describes. With the setting and the ethnically diverse characters in this show, there are many ways that it relates to our course topics. 

In general, On My Block is a representation of multiculturalism. Gregory Jay discusses multiculturalism in his paper, What is Multiculturalism? The term “multiculturalism” is used to stray away from the term “race” when discussing one’s identity. Jay states that “race has no significant meaning as a way of categorizing human differences” (2). Multiculturalism is a much broader term that includes a variety of aspects of an individual’s identity. Jay describes three aspects of one’s identity: Visible, Invisible, and Core (5). Visible aspects include one’s gender, ethnicity, age, and physical attributes. Invisible aspects include religion, education, skills, and parental status. The core aspects are things like character, personality, and sexual orientation. A wide array of multiculturalism is seen in On My Block through the main four characters alone. Monsé is “a headstrong Afro-Latina tomboy” who is raised by a single father, as stated by Wikipedia. Ruby is an academically strong character of Mexican descent. Jamal is the nerd of the group, who is African American. Lastly, Cesar is a Latino who is forced into gang life at the hands of his older brother. All four characters have differing ethnicities, characteristics, and lifestyles, which expresses the multiculturalism within the show. 

Latino identity is at the core of On My Block. Besides Jamal, the main characters all share some form of Latino descent. The Latino identity and life within it is expressed in Chela Sandoval and Guisela Latorre’s article, Chicana/o Artivism: Judy Baca’s Digital Work with Youth of Color. Baca grew up in similar neighborhoods described in On My Block. Baca collaborated with gang members on her murals, bringing the community around her together. Sandoval and Latorre describe that “she forged with rival gang members across neighborhood lines” (88). They gained mutual respect through creative works. Baca’s work was also based in Los Angeles, the show’s setting. She created unity through her murals and often discussed racial and gender issues through her art. On My Block takes place in a roughly Hispanic-dominated setting. There is gang rivalry represented in the shows through “the Santos”, a Hispanic gang, and “the Prophet$”, an African American gang. The gang rivalry in the show can be connected to Baca’s description of gang activity surrounding her murals. Outside of the gang activity in On My Block, many of the side characters are of Hispanic heritage, which Baca’s work is centered around. 

Finally, our course topics and On My Block have a connection through the idea of multiracial identity. One of the main four, Monse, is of African American and Latino descent. This is a big part of how she identifies as a person. Susan Saulny discusses multiracial identity and the issues regarding it in her article, Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above. Saulny visits the University of Maryland and speaks with individuals apart of the “Multiracial and Biracial Student Association (MBSA)” (1). It is discussed that multiracial individuals often struggle with understanding how to identify. When it comes to the census, it was only an option to select one ethnicity box for generations. Some people of multiracial ethnicity only feel comfortable identifying with one race because of their skin color. Monsé tends to only identify as African American throughout the show. This may be due to her skin color or that she is raised by her father who is African American. There are times in On My Block where Monsé will identify more with Hispanic customs, though. I think the struggle of multiracial identity is one of the smaller aspects of the show but is still represented through Monsé.

References:

“On My Block.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_My_Block. 

Saulny, Susan. “Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Jan. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/us/30mixed.html. 

Sandoval, Chela. “‘chicana/o Artivism: Judy Baca’s Digital Work with Youth of Color.’” Academia.Edu, 9 June 2014, www.academia.edu/2659317/_Chicana_o_Artivism_Judy_Bacas_Digital_Work_With_Youth_of_Color_. 

Jay, Gregory. What Is Multiculturalism? 2011.

Thomas, Kaitlin. “On My Block Season 3 Review: Netflix’s Best Teen Series Is Better Than Ever.” TV Guide, 2020, www.tvguide.com/news/on-my-block-season-3-review-netflix.