Greetings, reader!
Well, it's a big week for genocide enthusiasts worldwide, as people from all over the world gather to watch Israel polish its international reputation by diverting media attention from starving children in Gaza to a fun dystopian music competition for the whole family! I'm guessing that the war crime apologists all have their weekend viewing all lined up, but if anyone who doesn't want to support genocide is wondering what to watch this Saturday, here are ten recommendations of TV shows with timely messages.
10. Surrounded By Enemies (2022-2022)
This Viaplay original documentary series takes a deep look at white supremacist groups in the Nordic countries. Learning about racism is critically important for us as a people, so that we can unlearn the racist patterns deeply ingrained into us by generations and generations of systemic racism. Maybe if we all watched shows like this, we as a society would one day learn to question how come Eurovision bans Russia for its illegal occupation of Ukraine (a predominantly white country), but "isn't political" when it comes to Israel illegally occupying Palestine (a predominantly non-white country).
9. Arcane (2021-2024)
This beautifully animated series explores themes of fascism and oppression, something that we all need to understand as long as we have fascist, oppressive societies (as well as fun, colorful bread-and-circuses song competitions who happily serve as PR cleansers for such countries when it suits them). If the people running EBU (or the Finnish broadcasting company Yle, for that matter) had a fraction of the courage displayed by this show's main heroes, we'd be much better off.
8. Band of Brothers (2001-2001)
The sentiment of "Never again" is strong in the best episode of the acclaimed WWII series Band of Brothers, as Easy Company uncovers a concentration camp to their absolute shock. Watching this would serve as a good reminder of what exactly "Never again" means - the absurdity of the same exact inhumane practices still being conducted, only against a different people this time, shows how little we've progressed.
And to think that the country currently committing an ongoing genocide, parallelling Nazi Germany from the mass graves and starvation tactics to the inhumane conditions in their prison camps and the "death penalty, but only for people of a certain ethnicity" laws, is being paraded and celebrated by Europe's big song competition...shameful.
7. Community (2009-2015)
One of the many reasons to be furious at Eurovision is that while they've helped Israel artwash its reputation in the last few years, the supposedly non-political organization has been working hard to actively censor Palestinian voices and proponents of the Palestinian cause. Statements about the Palestinian cause by artists have been discouraged at best and penalized at worst, and viewers who wanted to show their support weren't allowed to fly Palestinian flags at last year's Eurovision.
If you want to steer far away from this bullshit and instead lend your viewership to media that doesn't like to deny the existence of Palestinian people, you don't need to look any further than Community - the show's best character is second-generation Palestinian immigrant Abed Nadir, and the very second episode features protagonist Jeff Winger waving the Palestinian flag as a part of a bizarre Spanish presentation.
6. The Newsroom (2012-2014)
"Oh, but it's just a fun singing competition, it's not that deep, Eurovision is about music and not politics" - oh, if only that were true. If one follows the news surrounding Eurovision, it becomes abundantly clear how little the current situation has to do with music; Israel only sends artists who are 100% of supportive of their government's atrocities to represent them, and very clearly uses the competition as a venue to polish its reputation in the West, so that people would associate Israel with a fun singing competition and not Palestinian babies with bullet holes in their heads. The fact that people can't recognize this, not even when Israel pays millions for ads in favor of their Eurovision representative in every country participating in the event ahead of the finals, really points to the media literacy crisis we're currently in.
And hence, The Newsroom.
This amazing Aaron Sorkin series pinpoints everything wrong with modern western media, from the censorship by corporate sponsors and capitalist incentives against speaking certain truths all the way to the inherent cowardice in many major news organizations who should be holding our leaders accountable. Watching this series, and its portrayal of what journalism should look like, will pump you full of inspiration and help you realize how important it is to hold on to our critical thinking and media literacy skills, no matter how complacent the powers-that-be want you to remain.
5. Ramy (2019-)
We (as in privileged white people in the West) really need a much better understanding of the Arab world. There's a reason that a building full of civilians getting bombed in a Western country gets 24/7 media coverage, statements of condemnation from everyone with a platform and months of attention, while a building full of civilians getting bombed in an Arab country is quickly shrugged off as an inconvenience - and that reason is that no matter how much we pretend to have moral superiority, our society still is one defined by ignorance and racism. We are raised to care more about white victims than brown ones, and that needs to stop.
Obviously, a lot of work needs to be done, more than just watching a TV show. But educating yourself via a particularly informative TV show can definitely be one of the many pathways to self-improvement for anyone who wants to do their part to make the world better, and I can't think of a better TV series for that cause than Ramy Youssef's Ramy. The show shines a complex, genuine and eye-opening light on the Muslim experience, and could help many viewers understand the culture that our leaders insist on demonizing and dehumanizing on a daily basis.
4. Black Mirror (2011-)
Totally unrelated from this week's Eurovision and its political implications, I just really want to discuss this series and how it has many fascinating episodes. There's season 1's Fifteen Million Merits, where the ruling class tries to keep the working class distracted from the real issues by bombarding them with colorful bread-and-circuses TV competitions, and season 2's The Waldo Moment, where a cartoon character runs for office and does really well because the people care more about the mindless entertainment they see on TV than they do about the actual issues in the world, and season 3's Men Against Fire, where modern technology and media is used to seemingly take away the humanity of an entire culture because we're at war with them...the list goes on.
3. Andor (2022-2025)
The Star Wars prequel Andor, and its second season in particular, feels oddly relevant at the moment. On one hand, there's the stuff that parallels the shit we see on the news, like the storyline of the Ghorman people being massacred at the behest of the Empire.
And on the other hand, there's the stuff that painfully reminds us of what we don't see on the mainstream news, because they don't like showing it to us, like the machinations of the Empire manufacturing consent for the Ghorman genocide by painting the planet's natives as dangerous terrorists while leaving them without a voice. And then there's the stuff that reminds you of what you would wish to see on the news, like the scene where a powerful politician calls a genocide what it is instead of cozying up to the forces committing the atrocities.
2. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
I really like Major Kira's line "Nothing justifies genocide". And the whole storyline with the Cardassian Union's occupation of the planet Bajor, and how the violent colonizers are clearly portrayed and treated as the f**king bad guys while empathy is showed to those who just want to live in their homeworld. And how the Federation actually takes a goddamn stand against the Cardassians, at the risk of political fallout, and aids the liberation of Bajor, instead of simply sitting on their asses and inviting Cardassia to their singing competitions while Bajor burns.
Not to mention how I can't imagine a scenario where Starfleet would constantly be arming Cardassia with more and more bombs to slaughter Bajorans with - that would only happen in the Mirror Universe, so I'm pretty sure that that's the timeline we're in!
1. Mo (2022-2025)
Watching any given episode of Mohammed Amer's series Mo will make the very idea of wasting your time and attention on this year's Eurovision song contest feel bleak and absurd. Shining a light on the Palestinian refugee experience, this series pulls no punches and really underlines the grit of the Palestinian people after all they've had to endure.
I think a big part of why so many westerners don't give a shit about Israel's ongoing war crimes is that they don't see Palestinian civilians as fully human, but rather as mere numbers (or, worse, "the kids are just future terrorists" and other propaganda talking points) - and that's why watching shows like this one could be so beneficial. Following the experiences of one Palestinian and his family reminds you of the complexity and heart that goes into being a human - and then you remember that over seventy thousand of these humans have been killed in the past two and a half years, and the country doing the slaughtering is a staunch ally who our governments don't dare to criticize.
But, hey, who cares, because it's just a non-political song competition, right? Y'know, since art isn't inherently political or anything? Who cares about hospitals and refugee camps being bombed and children being systematically starved to death when you can just shut your critical thinking down and enjoy a carefree song competition, where the biggest sponsor just happens to be a company from the country committing these atrocities, and that isn't even in Europe, but gets to use this platform to parade performers who proudly stand by Netanyahu's genocide machine year after year, and spends millions to pinkwash its international reputation with stunts like this so that the west will stay complacent and send them more bombs?! No, that's not rhetorical, I'm legitimately asking - who cares? Because I'm hoping that many of us do. And boycotting this f**king joke of a genocide-apologist festival is the absolute least we can all do.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for a football-themed post, as I commemorate Mohamed Salah's career ahead of his imminent departure from Liverpool FC, by ranking the top 10 Mo Salah moments.
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