Thank you! Please, continue to celebrate writers and creators like Nanjiani.
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Just binge watched “Little America” today. Heartbreaking, joyful, and hopeful all at once. I loved it!
But I can’t help feeling like it’s a bit dated. Like all the stories happened before Trump got into office. Back when being racist, narrow-minded and hateful was looked down on. I’m so glad to see that we’ll be getting a season two. I hope we can get stories that show this America still exists despite the monster in the White House and his minions. I want to keep living in the America that draws these wonderful people. The one where lying, being greedy, selfishness, hate, xenophobia, and racism are all considered bad personality traits and worthy of shame.
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I’ve seen the trailers and find them worrying. They remind me of certain British shows featuring South Asians which are extremely pandering and essentially racist, even if South Asian people are participating. The StepnFetchit of South Asians. My wife who is from London feels the same way.
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From what I watched last night, it’s a beautiful show. Had to refrain from watching the whole series in one sitting so I could savor it over a few days.
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So far I’ve seen only the first episode, Kabir, about the Indian child who runs his parents’ motel when they are forced to return to India. It was heartbreaking. I mourned the life he was never able to live.
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This show sounds really interesting. Thanks for highlighting it...I will check it out!
Congrats Kumail! Your work is a huge gift to us all!
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My wife and I spent a lot of time, effort and money over a couple of years going through legal channels to get her U.S. citizenship. If Nanjiani is anything like her he also has no patience or sympathy for “open borders”, “sanctuary” cities and line jumpers. Hence his obvious “no politics” dodge when discussing immigration.
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Ginormous congrats to Kumail, Emily and others who have created this TV series. The production approach they've taken appears to be pitch perfect. As other shows have gotten spun into production in different countries, hope a "Little America" begets a "Little Canada" and a "Little Britain" and a "Little Germany", etc.
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Kudos to Kumail! He's now ripped as all get out, getting swooned over by the likes of Selma Hayek (at 42!), and gets to play a super-powered swordsman...living the dream, haha. Wild transformation. Stuber's leveled up!
1
Podcast coming I hope?!
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"Where are you REALLY from?"
"Oh, you don't sound like an at all"
"You must like food"
Comments such as these, masking intentions, some benign, some malicious, usually have the same effect, to reinforce that you are the "other".
It's refreshing to see more of the "other" represented on screen, here's to wishing my children will be better accepted than I am.
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Not in the US as long as Trumpski reigns! But in other countries where intelligence prevails, it‘s entirely possible!
It's nice to see more stories of IMMIGRANT given a platform
we have been featuring the stories of Immigrants, refugees, their descendants and allies at our Storytelling show ( in Chicago, New York and other cities) for more than two years
http://www.nestorgomezstoryteller.com/immigration-stories.html
If anthologies of migrant stories are of interest, check out Dohra Ahmad's "Penguin Book of Migration Literature", release Fall 2019. Per the NYT's own review (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/books/review-penguin-book-migration-literature-dohra-ahmad.html), "The book doesn’t exist to benignly bear witness or give voice but to dislodge the lazy, pernicious — and dominant — conceptions of migration, to tell a more truthful and sophisticated version than the linear narrative of departure, arrival and assimilation. These stories and poems push back against the fallacies that migration is always elective; that migrants are always keen to leave their home countries; that migration is one-way, and necessarily leads to a better fate"
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Why isn't anyone, including Kumail, honest about what men in Hollywood do to transform their bodies?
@JPP To quote Kumail's Instagram post where he posted his pics: "I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have a full year with the best trainers and nutritionists paid for by the biggest studio in the world. I’m glad I look like this, but I also understand why I never did before. It would have been impossible without these resources and time." So I would say he has been completely honest.
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@JPP He's actually been really honest about it. If you see his instagram post, he wrote about what it takes (time, effort, trainers, chefs, a studio paying you for over a year to just work out, etc...).
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@JPP Did you read his Instagram post? He deliberately explains everything it took to get him in shape!
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That transformation is wild. Reads like every lanky/nerdy/oos SA kid's wish fulfillment...I got paid to get ripped and play a pretend-super-powered-swordsman!? (also getting ooh'd and aah'd over by the likes of Selma Hayek and A.J.). Kudos Kumail!
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Reality Check The Making Of Living in USA creative way showing if we choose amazing what we can not only become but what we can do together. Isnt that what freedom all about an american dreamers making better world for all our children an there future.
In my opinion, being optimistic about the U.S.A. shows poor judgement. However this does not limit the talented artist's ability to create optimistic-appearing fictional U.S. scenarios for television shows.
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@Peter Johnson Can you please explain your position? I am not intentionally being obtuse, but I am curious as to your specific opinion... especially with your location being in London.
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@Yuriko Oyama Thanks for the query which is appreciated. The reason for my pessimism is that I do not think that the USA can handle the immigration wave that has enveloped it in the last twenty years, and will experience a long, painful decline across a broad range of social metrics. I could be wrong, though, and the view is certainly not a popular one in the mainstream US press.
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@Peter Johnson So you live in the USA, and have seen first hand the experiences of immigrants across the country?? Perhaps you are limited by your current situation, living in London while going thru Brexit. Just as I have no idea what your life is like, since I don't live in London....how can you really have an honest opinion about life in the US for immigrants? It's not all doom & gloom.
It is not the same for immigrants living in a small town in the rural midwest - like say Iowa - as it is for immigrants living in the New York City metro area. Each immigrant is going to have their own personal experiences.
I'm married to an immigrant from an Asian country and we have a son. Yes, it has been challenging, and rewarding for all of us. Remarkably, some of my husband's experiences are not that different than what it was like for my grandparents who moved here from Europe in the early 1900's. Some of my own mother's experiences as a child of immigrants are similar to what it's been like for my son, too.
How nice! I’d feel optimistic too if I were in his advantaged position. For the rest of us, not so much.
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So pleased that the show is getting the good reviews I was hoping for (and expecting) when we were filming it last year. I was impressed that the producers did such a good job finding the right actors and directors for each story. They all brought unique and tangible ideas that helped the stories unfold. It was a joy to help bring it to the public.
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@Chris Swartout
Thanks for giving a platform to the stories of Immigrants. I have been sharing my own Immigration stories and helping others share the stories of Immigrants, refugees, their descendants and allies at our Storytelling show ( in Chicago, New York and other cities) for more than two years
http://www.nestorgomezstoryteller.com/immigration-stories.html
I heard Kumail is also talking about helming a reboot of the series “Franklin and Bash” that he appeared in years ago. That would be so cool!
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