To Thank Or Not To Thank Ramy Youssef
Reviewing #1 Happy Family USA & thinking about representation
This piece contains minor spoilers for #1 Happy Family USA, arriving on Amazon Prime on April 17th. Add it to your watchlist here!
Being a proud Muslim has not come easy for most. Seeing Muslims on-screen hasn’t always been normal. Muslims joking about Islam, their identities and hybrid experiences hasn’t exactly been a common theme either.
Ramy Youssef didn’t let that stay true for long.
From his gradual encroachment into American television starting with Mr Robot, snowballing into his self-titled show Ramy, while knocking out a SNL hosting gig in the process, Youssef may not have had a seat left for him but he sure as hell brought his own chair.
His latest project #1 Happy Family USA is a collaboration with A24 (take from that what you will), an adult-animation sitcom citing “the childhood nightmares of Ramy Youssef” as its source material and Youssef means that literally. Having been around ten years old during the events of 9/11, he navigated a transition into adolescence surrounded by the fear enmeshed with his identity and the consequences of being himself: a reality for any Muslim in the early 2000s and beyond. When interviewed recently for The New York Times by Lulu Garcia-Navarro (which I highly recommend reading), Youssef reiterates with significant clarity that this show, and Ramy, are self-reflective: not intended to be blanket representation. He’s very aware some Muslims did not resonate with his experiences, that some Muslims were offended by his representation of his faith, and that he still has every right to share his story and experiences. In fairness to Youssef, he’s not wishy-washy on this issue: he said the same thing back in 2020 to David Marchese.
Ramy Youssef is not here to make you feel better about being a Muslim, having a dual identity, or struggling to fit into a post-9/11 world. But you might still find yourself nodding in appreciation, unable to wipe a knowing smile off of your face as you watch his latest show. I know I felt that way, and I was barely two years old during 9/11.
If Youssef’s work makes me feel better about being a Muslim, should I thank Ramy Youssef for the stories he’s told?
I think so. But what about Muslims that think showing animated Egyptian women with and without a headscarf is bad press for the faith? What about those that are tired of terrorism-adjacent jokes, even if it’s from one of our own? They’re not thanking Ramy and feel he should be held accountable: good Muslims should make good Muslim characters. After all, if we want any representation, we want it to be accurate, fair and helpful. Right?
I disagree, and I’m encouraging disagreement.
In the same way that some people hate Yorgos Lanthimos on a good day (my hand is up!), some people don’t like when religious communities are examined through a less religious lens. That’s very valid: up to a certain point, I too found it very discomforting to hear Muslim women and immodest behaviour discussed the same breath. I think my discomfort came from wanting to be a better Muslim, and engaging with not-good-Muslim media wasn’t going to help that. Now, I’ve grown up a bit, I’ve watched more, I’ve talked to people and I’ve learned that the best representation—the most accurate representation—is through characters that are fallible, not perfect. Through characters that learn and grow, through characters that touch on the hidden and the forbidden as well as the stories that go untold.
Who in their right mind would think Muslims need a funny little show about 9/11? Not a lot of us would. But Ramy Youssef knew how he felt as a child in an Egyptian-American family and that’s all he needed. The best representation? It’s unintentional and it’s personal. #1 Happy Family USA is for Youssef, and then it’s for you, for us, for me.
Representation is a very layered conversation with so many rightful opinions to be heard: and I want to hear them! Are you a Muslim who’s nervous about some of the humour in Ramy’s work? Are you a non-Muslim who finds these shows funny? Do you think representation still matters? How do we monitor its accuracy? Let me know how you feel in the comments.
Great post! I never figured out who Ramy's work was for..is it for me (a practicing muslim woman..btw, not a flex at all lol but that s how i identify) or to appeal to a non Muslim gaze. Like you can be funny and be uncompromising in faith!
This is such an interesting post and I’m really excited to watch the show when it’s out. I often find myself thinking of TV shows like Citizen Khan and films like Four Lions and asking myself the very same questions.