Talk:Aliens in America

Untitled
Does every crappy TV show in the world need a wikipedia page? there's a pulitzer-winning play as well as an academic UFO-themed book by the same name that is surely more relevant than this show?
 * you seem to know about those two references, why not start the articles, that's the point of Wikipedia

Has anyone found any source-able articles on the unbelievably racist and anti-Muslim sentiment found in this show? I mean this quote from the wikipedia article is amazing. "When the student turns out to be a Muslim teenager from Pakistan, her plans go awry." So essentially, if the student had been the white, blond haired, blue eyed kid of Nordic roots then he would have been the perfect bestower of coolness for "Justin". Did the writers/executives from the CW consult the Aryan nation before they produced this pilot/show? Can we please add a "controversy" section to this article??? Eric Stoller 00:28, 11 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Whoa. Let's not assume a malicious intent at racism right away!  I haven't seen the show, and I'm pretty sure you haven't either.  I would first give the producers of Aliens in America the benefit of the doubt, and assume an inclusion of a very ethnocentric mother with closed views to be only a plot device.  A show that touches upon discrimination is not necessarily racist in of itself.  Of course, once the first episode airs, playing the race card is anyone's game. 70.253.203.156 01:40, 22 July 2007 (UTC)
 * And 75.61.113.37, please stop attaching your opinion of the show to a block quote from a TV critic website. This isn't the place for it. Eran of Arcadia 20:00, 27 July 2007 (UTC)
 * In fact, the whole point of the show is that many Americans' perceptions are themselves racist. It is like calling To Kill a Mockingbird a racist book because some of the characters are prejudiced against black people. Eran of Arcadia 20:02, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Go Eric Stoller! Eran, I am not sure if you know, but you can watch a fairly lengthy sneak preview of the show on the CW website. And I, being of South Asian descent, WAS offended- I don't need to wait until the show comes out to recognize that the entire premise is problematic. But my question is: Why do YOU feel so impassioned to defend this show???
 * Oddly enough, not for the sake of the show itself at all; I doubt very strongly that I will ever watch it. However, I don't like to see Wikipedia being used as a soapbox, and certainly not in a way that violates style. So whatever you think of anything, don't try to put your opinion in the article, smack in the middle of a quote from the show's creators. Eran of Arcadia 02:09, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

This show is racially offensive to the South Asian community and Muslims at large. It is problematic to represent the South Asian community as militant, fanatical, or as props that can serve as some  white nerd's toy to boost his popularity or provide him friendship. This sitcom is a modern day minstrel show, where the "comical" friendly "terrorist" can win the hearts of a white communtiy and an  American viewership —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.231.238.166 (talk • contribs)
 * I moved this comment to the bottom of the page as it belongs here. This is, again, absolutely nothing personal; this show may or may not prove to be the worst thing on TV. But new comments should go at the bottom, not the top, of Talk pages. Eran of Arcadia 02:14, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

This show is highly offensive to Muslims and Pakistanis. I sould know Esp. since I am a Pakistani Muslim Teenager. I am surprised at how low Western media has sunk to ridicule those who do not share thier religious views.Soapiswierd 19:51, 2 August 2007 (UTC)Soapiswierd

Just watched the preview. Gotta side with those who say it looks pretty racist.

Eran- I don't think your original issue was my "soapbox", but that you felt like my opinion was not "neutral" or was judging a show that isn't out yet. I think, however, a "neutral" description of this show is basically normalizing racism. Describing a show with a highly racist premise as "an upcoming American situation comedy" basically, just an addition to our weeknight family television viewing actually contributes to our acceptance of racist stereotypes and racial hierarchies. If this was a sitcom from the perspective of the KKK, or making light of the holocaust, would you have a "neutral" home-page?? Would you be telling offended African Americans or Jews to "give the producers... the benefit of the doubt"? I highly doubt that.
 * See WP:NPOV and WP:OR. I will have to see the preview now, but one person's racist might not be another's. As I said, it is not for Wikipedia to decide what is and isn't racist, but to reflect what others say. When other groups officially publish statements calling the show racist, we can put them in the article, but Wikipedia is not for saying what you think no matter how right you think you are. Eran of Arcadia 12:37, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Agreed, when seeing the sneak peeks on the CW during the commercial breaks, I was wondering how this ever got passed the producers, but when I saw the long trailer, I think of it more of a satire of "American views". Hopefully that's what it is and people can appreciate the humor when it's a satire, not when it actually is taking a race and kicking them down for the sake of humor. Catastrophese 22:39, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm quite sure that Raja will not become an antagonist in the show but the least they could do is get their facts straight. Pakistan is a South Asian nation, not Middle East, and though I am not Pakistani I'm quite sure they don't walk around in prayer garments as if it was casual cloths. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.184.166.170 (talk) 19:32, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

To the folks above, this show makes fun of stereotypes, and in order to do so it has to engage in some stereotyping first. I am also a Pakistani Muslim and didnt find Raja Musharraf's role to be stereotypical, except for the terrorist part. And yes many Pakistanis do wear the clothing that Raja is wearing 24/7, its called Shalwar Kameez.
 * I found some parts racist but mostly, it's a pretty funny comedy.Blaze7755 (talk) 16:20, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Dont forget that this is a "COMEDY", not a docu-drama on some rightwing station. Comment by Abbas Khan (A Pakistani). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.53.46.141 (talk) 16:11, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Sameer Asad Gardezi is the main writer of this show - added him to page. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.25.145.221 (talk) 05:15, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

It's just so sad that people often jump into conclusion without even watching the show. It's absolutely smart, funny and definitely in-your-face comedy that talks about racism and how people are so judgmental about other people's culture. Here is a GREAT show that not only shows what other people MAY think about other culture and how they are treated but; it also shows how much we are the same to them. It's funny reading everyones' comments as to how offensive it is but it absolutely isn't. Watch it and learn people. It's a great show that teaches that other culture are people too and should not be judged immediately based on what race they are. Lenin Antonio 18:05, 11 October 2007.

Someone is replacing the word "Pakistani" with "terrorist in training". Not cool. Changed it. [bz, Jan 14, 2008]

Original Research
I think most people involved need to take a step back and read WP:OR and WP:BLP. Especially this bit from Jimmy Wales: ''I can NOT emphasize this enough. There seems to be a terrible bias among some editors that some sort of random speculative 'I heard it somewhere' pseudo information is to be tagged with a 'needs a cite' tag. Wrong. It should be removed, aggressively, unless it can be sourced. This is true of all information, but it is particularly true of negative information about living persons.'' -- this is negative information, and is most likely insulting to living people (the writers, producers, actors, etc.). In addition, it could even qualify as WP:LIBEL. it is most definitely original research, and should not be included in the article without a WP:RS. --L-- 12:52, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

Location
I'm in Richmond, BC, Canada and I just saw them filming - it was quite a lengthy and boring process. Ironic that it's called Aliens in America. Trivia, perhaps. 24.87.23.220 03:54, 21 August 2007 (UTC)
 * We care, why? Blaze7755 (talk) 16:20, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
 * He is canadian so let him have his day ChesterTheWorm (talk) 03:47, 28 April 2008 (UTC) ChesterTheWorm
 * I am offended by your comment. I am also Canadian. A better comment would be, "He's from BC, let him have his say". :P -- Blaze7755 (talk) 17:20, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

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