In Epic Encounters, it is suggested that defining “the other” is often a substantial component to how we go about defining ourselves. Masculinity is constructed by its relationship to the feminine; what it means to be American is characterized by juxtaposition with depictions of the East. When identity is unclear, we establish a binary that gains meaning through comparison. I thought that the television series American Dad! shows examples of how this tactic can be used to subdue anxieties surrounding the definition of the self. American Dad! is a television show on FOX, created by the same person who created Family Guy, and employs similar styles of humor and satire. In the episode, “Stan of Arabia,” the father, a CIA Agent, is sent to Saudi Arabia as punishment for a mishap on the job. The whole family moves to Saudi Arabia, and the episode documents their exploration of the East, and therefore further explanation of what it means to be an American. There is a musical number that the wife sings about being a woman in America vs. Saudi Arabia, and the lyrics are posted below; it’s called “The Worst Place in the World.”
Stan: And I say Saudi Arabia is the greatest country in the world.
Francine: Greatest country in the world?
We packed our bags, we hoped a plane, we left our happy home.
Stan: Uh, Francine singing is kind of illegal here.
Francine: The culture seemed a bit insane, but you said “Hey, when in Rome?”
Stan: Seriously Francine, ix-nay on the inging-nay.
Francine: Maybe you’ve got no reason to complain, but I’ve got no Y chromosome.
So here’s what I don’t like about Saudi Arabia. Hit it!
You can’t go out unless you are escorted by a man,
And when you do, you come home with a butt crack full of sand.
No alcohol, no rum and cokes and no don perrione,
At least a girl can have a smoke.
Man: Not on Ramadan.
Francine: Oh, it’s a land of joy, if you are a boy,
But if you are a girl, it’s the worst place in the world.
Stan: Okay Francine we get it.
Francine: Oh, but I’m just getting started.
American girls we do pilates, starve ourselves until we’re hotties,
Why? Because we like our bodies, check me out you uptight Saudi’s.
Oh it’s so awfully grand.
Stan: Come on Francine stop singing.
Francine: If you are a man.
Stan: I’m only back up singing.
Francine: If you don’t take me home soon Stan, I think I’m gonna hurl.
It’s the worst place in the world.
Stan: I started this point system and she’s way behind.
Francine: I only want to see the world in exploring social lives,
But in this town I can’t so much as look at other guys,
‘Cause if I did, they’d call me harlot, whore, adulteress,
I bet my last re’al you fellas won’t approve of this.
Who wants a kiss?
It’s great if your from Mars, but not if your from Venus,
If you wanna drive a car, you better have a penis,
So if you’ve got a vagina.
Man: Ooh!
Francine: A vulva.
Man: Eee!
Francine: A clitoris.
Man: What is a clitoris? *Stan shrugs shoulders*
Francine: And a labia. *To the camera* You see where I’m going with this.
Stay the hell away from Saudi Arabia.
Man: WHORE! *Francine is thrown into a transportable jail cell*
Francine: STAN! *Stan looks on in silence, end scene.*
By defining Saudi Arabian men as the oppressors and women as the victims, they are established as one end of the spectrum. In response, Americans then define themselves as the opposite of that, as the free and liberated, as the culture that does not oppress its women. This polarization of ideals in media and popular culture, through race and gender representations, shifts the focus to “the other” and distracts from being critical of American culture. In the song, the Francine does poke fun at American constructions of femininity in the lines “American girls we do pilates, starve ourselves until we’re hotties,
Why? Because we like our bodies.” But in the rest of the episode, she shows us that it is almost entirely through the exploration of her notion of Saudi Arabian life that she comes to understand why she loves America so much. I thought this episode particularly pertinent because it mirrors a small-scale version of how we interact with the Arab world, through representations of “the other” in the Media, and thus establish a confident and positive self-image as an American. Being American, I think, is often a difficult thing to define without comparison.
Here is a link to the actual musical number clip:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1142/american-dad-worst-place-in-the-world
2 comments:
I agree with you that this clip does depict the Arab world as "the other" in this clip. I thought it was also troubling how they depicted Saudi Arabia in such a stereotypical way (the background look like something from the movie Aladdin). As a animated show for adults, we are still being fed the same stereotypical imagery as a kids movie like Aladdin.
I also decided to watch part of the episode and I came across another musical number that Stan sings while he is walking down the street in America. The song is called "I want a wife, not a partner". Here are some of the lyrics:
Stan: I don't want a partner I want a wife, Someone who's happy taking care of my life. Where's my Edith Bunker, Laura Petry, Wilma Flintstone, Edith: I would never let Archie go to a party alone.
I want to go back, to a simpler time, When men were men and women had no say. Attend to love, honor and obey. I want to be greeted with a massage and a martini, The way master was by his Genie.
I don't buy this independence and doing your own thing, I want a woman, to make me feel like a king.
So it seems like the writers criticize not only Saudi Arabia but also American culture as oppressing women. That said I still feel like it is a problem the way American Dad chooses to make fun of Saudi Arabia because as we discussed in class, most people in America will probably never actually go to the Middle East and these shows or 'encounters' are the only representation they have.
Um...it's a cartoon
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