Little Mosque on the Prairie

[Shek]

I'd be curious to hear your guys' thoughts on this show - I don't think I get CBC on my cable package:

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/little_mosque.html

[ZFBoxcar]

It premieres tonight. If I'm home I'll watch it and tell you how it is.

[Canmoore]

I read the review today in the Sun...

Basically just another crappy CBC show. They had so much promise with touching some pretty touchy topics, but its crippled by tired old lame jokes, and a boring script.

Has anyone watched Dragon Boys? ..wow

Its pretty good, CBC got it right finally lol. Now if they can start making more stuff like that, and less lame junk. Then there just might be life for the CBC after HNIC

[smilingassassin]

I read the review today in the Sun...

Basically just another crappy CBC show. They had so much promise with touching some pretty touchy topics, but its crippled by tired old lame jokes, and a boring script.

Has anyone watched Dragon Boys? ..wow

Its pretty good, CBC got it right finally lol. Now if they can start making more stuff like that, and less lame junk. Then there just might be life for the CBC after HNIC

I agree I don't remember the last time I even watched CBC for a sitcom/drama ect.

[ZFBoxcar]

Only thing on CBC I liked (and now its been bought by Showcase) was Kenny vs. Spenny

[ajtigger]

I disagree--I thought it was quite entertaining. Mind you, Im muslim myself, so I get some of the jokes better than another viewer would. Overall, however I am happy with what I saw.

I didn't consider it to be a "pure humour comedy" show, but it was certainly an intriguing sitcom with both serious and hilarious moments. Although my initial hope was that it would place muslims in a completely lighthearted light, I appreciate the producer's braveness with tackling some potentially touchy senarios.

[Canmoore]

Another thing I dont get is Corner Gas.

..So many people tell me they love that show. I watched it once, and I was bored out of my tree. There is nothing even remarkebly funny about the show, the jokes are so incredibly dry and lame. I dont know, but this is coming from a guy who loves the Trailer Park boys, so who knows.

[smilingassassin]

I disagree--I thought it was quite entertaining. Mind you, Im muslim myself, so I get some of the jokes better than another viewer would. Overall, however I am happy with what I saw.

I didn't consider it to be a "pure humour comedy" show, but it was certainly an intriguing sitcom with both serious and hilarious moments. Although my initial hope was that it would place muslims in a completely lighthearted light, I appreciate the producer's braveness with tackling some potentially touchy senarios.

Well this puts my mind somewhat at ease, when I heard about the idea behind the show I was concerned it might make a mockery of the Muslims here in Canada. The last thing we need to do is alienate Muslims like some European country!

[smilingassassin]

Another thing I dont get is Corner Gas.

..So many people tell me they love that show. I watched it once, and I was bored out of my tree. There is nothing even remarkebly funny about the show, the jokes are so incredibly dry and lame. I dont know, but this is coming from a guy who loves the Trailer Park boys, so who knows.

Hilarious show, some bits are just silly but overall a good show. My personal favorite, J-Rock.

[ZFBoxcar]

I can't stand Corner Gas. The only thing worse is the Comedy Network ads for it.

[Ironduke]

How 'bout "The Red and Green Show"? My dad's a big fan.

[Canmoore]

How 'bout "The Red and Green Show"? My dad's a big fan.

I can only handle red green in small doses, after a while I start to question my sanity.

[smilingassassin]

I can only handle red green in small doses, after a while I start to question my sanity.

Steve Smiths other show, can't remember the name. is equally odd. Kinda like mystery sci fi theatre 3000 where he redub's the movie diolog. Sometimes funny, sometimes makes you ill....

[ajtigger]

Well this puts my mind somewhat at ease, when I heard about the idea behind the show I was concerned it might make a mockery of the Muslims here in Canada. The last thing we need to do is alienate Muslims like some European country!

Its wonderful to see that Canadians are still all for social cohesion. I was worried about what things like 9/11 would have done to multiculturalism.

Yes, most muslims find it to be hilarious. Its kind of like how Borat particularly appealed to many Jewish people because of the way that it put them at the centre stage of pop-culture (I actually read about that in a North American Jewish periodical).

I know many of you are not big on Trudeau, but his work got rid of the horrible discrimination problems we had in the 70s, that my parents talk about, and how Trudeau transformed the scene. Its difficult to percieve such a thing when you are on the other end, but it certainly did happen.

I personally am not a big fan of a lot of what he did, but I'm sure that you understand how important the multiculturalism laws are to me. As I grew up, I didn't even have to think about my race difference at all--I felt as much Canadian as all the others, and I was accepted and treated as such. I didn't feel different at all. When I was very young, I would learn about multiculturalism and racism in school, and had trouble understanding a lot of what I was learning about, because I felt like it was all fake--people don't discriminate against each other because of their race!!!!

Americans in many states are very conscious of race, and discrimination appears quite often. Americans will often admit this to you themselves. Many people here feel that those laws "destroyed Canadian culture" and others say that it has turned us into the world's first post-nation, but I think that common values can be harvested to create a sense of civic nationalism. Assimilation amplifies racial tensions--the tossed salad approach keeps the peace. Trust me--I lived it, and have seen comparisons.

So, overall, Little Mosque on the Prairie was an excellent stride toward "putting muslims out there".

BUT:

In all honesty, however, many second-generation muslims in the West are pretty secular, unlike what is portrayed in the show--its a common stereotype. Even in the middle east, Ramadan ends up becoming a month of partying--sure you don't eat during the day, but you have a huge feast in the evening, and dance to and party all night long! Apparently work doesn't get done either, people stand around in the office and talk for the whole month! I was talking to a friend of mine who worked as a contractor in the gulf states, and that is definately true. I am not Arab, I am South Asian, so I am not really familiar with the way they do things, but that is a story I have heard from someone.

So ya, its not like our holidays don't become "materialized" in the places where Islam is the majority. The holidays stay pretty spiritual here because we are a minority religion, and are trying to keep traditions alive. Obviously, if you were to go to Bethlehem, Christians would be extremely devout and Christian wouldn't be very material, the same way if you were to go observe Islam in Mecca. There are many deep-rooted Canadians whose families have been secularized quite a bit since they came here, and most become agnostic, and their only connection to religion ends up being birth, death, and the occasional Christmas I guess.

Its the exact same thing with me. I'm 100% secular, and I probably am not more religious than those such people. I dodge going to mosque, the same way many Christians would dodge going to Church.

Now, people will remain pretty tied to their culture right now because the muslim immigrants are generally 1st generation and 2nd generation. Of course, with all religions you have the "church-boys" and the "church-goers", but its safe to say that 2nd generation Canadians that were born here were brought up in Canadian society and completely secularized and Canadianized. We are western, and we don't feel and act any less Western than anyone else. We just don't have European or British Isles roots, we have Eastern roots. It's the way things are.

[Canmoore]

no offence to atrigger or Officer.

(My step-father, the man who raised me, is Japanse Canadian. His mother came from Japan to Canada just before WW2 as a child, she was in a consentration camp untill she was 14)

But, Trudeau's Multiculturalism was and is a disaster for this country.

Firstly, there was no debate on it, we Canadians didnt even get a say in it. One day we woke up, and Trudeau decided that we were multicultural. Later in life, he confesed that what he did was causing more harm than good to the country.

What trudeau did, has never been done in any other country. He has enshrined the word mulitculturalism into the constitution.

What that did was strip naturalized Canadians of any culture. Now ALL cultures are equal, and no one culture can force itself onto anyothers (except for quebec of course).

Basically what it means, is that English Canadian culture wasnt good enough, so lets toss in every single other culture out there, and now, lets make no one culture more influencial than the other.

This begs the question, how can a country survive without a central culture? Name me one other country on earth, that does not have ONE culture that everyone can immediately recognize?

Before Trudeau, English Canada was the dominant culture, and they were proud ouf there accomplishments..Our English heritage, the war of 1812, building the near impossible railroad accross the some of the most unforgiving land in the world, our accomplishments during WW1, our accomplishments during WW2, the Avro Arrow... But all that was erased, now English Canadian culture can be no more influencial in this country than say a newly landed immigrant from Estonia.

Why do you think that after nearly 40 years, it took Harper to bring back the old ways of Canada, screw the Charter, If Canada wants to survive and move forward, we need a country united under one Culture, thats the old ways of English Canada, the true north strong and free.

Look at countries like England, Denmark, Australia...and even the Swiss. These countries, are beginning to realize that Multi-culturalism does not work. Denmark took the lead, in saying if you want to come to our country, you must accept and adopt OUR culture as your own, all immigrants are then shown a video clip of Danish culture, if an immigrant disagrees with any of it they are not allowed to come into the country.

Canada should adopt this, but unfortunately. Unlike those countries, Multi-culturalism is in our constitution. So to remove it, would mean re-opening the constitution, and with the socialist wackos NDP, and the blind Liberals that would never be accomplished. In time, we will have riots and ghettos of immigrants just like Europe has.

Dont get me wrong, Immigration is a good thing. This country was founded by immigrants, but the thing is that at one time, Immigrants came here to BECOME Canadian, they came here to find a new life and start over AS Canadians. They worked hard, and carved out a life for them and there families, and the country was betterd by them.

But now, you go to places like Toronto and Vancouver. Ask a random immigrant if they are Canadian, they will tell you NO. They are <insert country here>, they always talk about how things are done back HOME compared to here in Canada. SOME not all, dont work hard at all, one person may work at some part time job, while the rest of the family lives off welfare.

Another thing, is the fact that a newly landed immigrant doesnt even have to learn the Native Languages, Enlgish and French. There are so many television stations out there that cater to these immigrants, that they can live in Canada, but not really live here.

Officer, im sure that when you relatives came here, they were forced to learn english, there was no other way. But now people can come here, and basically still live in there home country, in there little ghetto in Toronto.

THAT is very disturbing to me.