#anti skam italia

[livsnoora]

✧ skam (+ remakes) and people of colour ✧

(an updated post!)

sorry if i missed some, don’t hate me!!

[ree-duh]

The idea that Muslim girls have to patiently wait our turns is so funny like I just know there would be outrage if it was a different season being shifted around and I’m not saying those stories aren’t important too it’s just really interesting how time and time again Skam and it’s remakes have disrespected and discarded their Muslim characters of colour and the fan base are largely okay with that

[bowenandjohnson]

Hi Sarah 🙋‍♀️

Well, since you asked... 😉 Can you rate your favourite “Sanas”? & perhaps could you include both Imaan and Esra (🇳🇱) in the ranking? 👼 (since Esra was in a sense also a Sana and she’s soo precious! 😻)

Thanks in advance! 💐

Love,

anonacht 🌃

P.S. Yes, I’m everywhere! 😈 Only friendly fire though! ��

P.P.S. “nacht” = the Dutch word for night! 🤓 And it’s still a shame skamNL never moved beyond season 2! 😭

Hello, Twitter anon aka anonacht :) I love you too (also thanks for putting up with me on Twitter, because I am insufferable, at least to myself lol)

Thank you for indulging me, and requesting my Sana ranking. 

1. sana bakkoush - skam

It’s kind of sad that no other Sana season has been able to top the original, at least in my opinion. But Sana Bakkoush deserves this crown, because she is a character who redefined Muslim representation onscreen. Iman Meskini was such a force in her season, and everything Sana felt, she managed to make me feel like that too. When she cried, so did I. When she was angry, I was pissed, and so on. I love her and her Yousef so, so much. She is everything, honestly. I hope Sana is out there, being a doctor and revolutionizing medicine as we know it.

2. amira naybet - skam espana

Ooh, okay. I know a lot of people won’t agree with me on this one, and that’s fine! Amira Naybet means the world to me. Like literally, she is my comfort character. As I began this past fall semester as a junior in college during a freaking pandemic, she and Hajar Brown took my heart and ran with it. I personally love that she was also the Jonas in Cris’ season, as it gave her so much depth before her season aired. Ultimately, I agree that her season was flawed, and I definitely think that her season needed actual Muslim writers involved, and not just consultants. Her season production was also hindered by the pandemic too, which sucks, because I think a whole episode was cut from her season, and there was a lot of rewriting in the back half so they could meet COVID guidelines. But overall, I’m glad the writers tried to be different with their Sana and change some things up. I still love Amira, and I do love her relationship with Dani (although I will never understand that Al-Queda joke in his first clip, it feels like a misguided attempt at Spanish humor that did not translate well at all). And I’m glad Hajar felt safe and secure with this team and was happy with Amira’s story, given the circumstances. (ps: she deserved the full nine episodes, I don’t care what Movistar thinks.)

3. amira thalia mahmood - druck / zoya ali - skam austin

AMIRA THE SECOND. I love her too. I especially liked that she was technically the first Girl Squad member introduced in Hanna’s season, instead of Miss Mia. I liked that change. I also love the friendships she had with Matteo and David, and that Matteo was saved as “idiot” in her phone. She was truly a queen. Mohammed is also a king, one of my favorites. I also liked that Druck also tried to change some things and make their Sana season more relevant, with the Christchurch references and setting her season outside of Ramadan. But sadly, like Amira N.’s season, it failed to really delve into the racism that Amira had dealt with in the GS from Kiki. If Nadia was able to apologize well, I don’t understand why Kiki couldn’t have done the same thing. Again, I feel that her season needed Muslim writers to really delve into these issues. Also, the whole eight episodes thing? Dumb. They could have delved more into Mohammed’s immigrant experience and Amira reintroducing him to Islam, etc. Why can’t Amiras just get their full seasons for once? 

Onto Zoya, who sadly didn't get her season, but I feel like she was a great character, perhaps closest to the Sana from OG in terms of characterization. She was “no bullshit,” but also the fiercest, loyal friend out of the Austin GS, besides maybe Jo, who really had Kelsey’s back at the end of s2. I feel like we really missed out on seeing her story, as she was a Muslim teen living her high school experience under a Trump presidency and a Muslim travel ban (that’s now thankfully been repealed). I loved that she got Prom Queen in s2, but I hate that literally everyone dropped the ball when it came to supporting her. The GS basically ignored the locker graffiti aka a literal hate crime? *cough cough* hire POC and Muslim writers. She was a queen though, like all Sanas who came before her.

4. esra aydin & imaan elami - skam nl

Imaan was cool, I enjoyed her entrance in s1, which I rewatched just for this ranking. Her little car? The music? I love it! It sucks that she was absent for chunks of s1, but apparently the actress had personal issues, which is why she did not return for s2. Understandable. Long reign her entrance clip.

ESRA! I loved her! I’m so glad that after Imaan’s exit that they decided to cast another Muslim woman for Linn. I love her, I loved her relationship with Ralph and the other characters, and I have a feeling that Skam NL’s season 4 would have been about her. An Esra season would have been great because it would have given us an young adult main outside of high school, and probably further depth into the Esklid character. Again, pour one out for Skam NL :(

5. imane bakhellal - skam france

Imane seems cool. I haven’t watched much of Skam France outside of s3, parts of s6, and s7, which is currently airing. I’ve been wary to watch her season, because I’ve heard about her having to apologize to the GS, and things dealing with Ingrid and her brother... and Sofiane actually dating Manon???? Like, WHAT. IS. GOING. ON. Her Yousef seems cute but dumb. But otherwise, Assa is really pretty and really supportive of her fellow Sana counterparts on Insta, which has endeared her to me. And due to that fact, I will defend Imane to the ends of the earth, and I will watch her season eventually. I promise.

6. yasmina ait omar - wtfock

Yasmina is still a bit of a mystery to the audience, I think. But I do plan to watch her season, if only for Nora Dari, who is very pretty. Bel!Yousef, treat her right!

7. sana allegui - skam italia

No words needed.

[sauerland-2001]

On the one hand, I don’t want to be too harsh on people who don’t want to watch Skamit because they disagree with the casting. I stopped watching Skamesp because I can’t deal with arrogant exclusionists in the lgbtq+ community.  The difference though is that I don’t go around insulting everyone who watches Skamesp and I don’t feel the need to slander it after I stopped watching.  What’s the point?  I’m not an asshole (debatable, I know). 

Hate is a strong feeling to hold on to and if you’re not Muslim and still feel insulted by this casting decision, I have to ask if it’s just this particular casting that angers you?  Or are you mad that straight actors play queer characters in the Skam universe?  Or that Skam France white-cast Mahdi (and proudly admitted that in their season 5)?  Does the actor who plays Even have to have bipolar to be able to play the character?  Because you could argue that only someone who has gone through it knows how to portray it.

I mean...as a Muslim woc I get the absolute importance of casting Muslim actors as Muslim characters and the fact that an irl hijabi was cast to play og Sana was incredible. But at the end of the day, the respect comes from the writing.  And Skamit is the first version I felt respected Sana.  This was her season, about her struggles and beliefs.  What more can I ask for?? The versions I’ve seen so far disappointed me SO much.  What good did it do that they had cast Muslim actresses if that was the result?? Representation matters but not at all costs. 

Oh, and because I am indeed an asshole I’ll say it:  I think for a lot of you it’s not the Sana casting you’re upset about, but another casting choice.   I’ll leave it at that.  Good night. 

[wildefluorescent]

like. yall keep saying how good the season was and how much it focused on wana and yet i havent been able to find out anything about her storyline from going into the tag three separate times (apart from the fact that she took off her hijab) so either it wasnt that focused on wana or yall just dont actually care about her as much as you pretend to and use the fact that it was 'good to her' as an excuse to stan your played-by-30-yos-bland-gang. probably both 🤡

[sophia-becketts]

the fact that skam italia made absolutely no effort whatsoever to cast a poc muslim to play sana but wrote a whole season focused on the bigotry, racism and hatred poc muslims face in today’s europe is laughable, hypocritical and racist.

anyway.......bring back skam nl & skam austin

[megfloresprotectionsquad]

A list of good Sana remakes that respect Islam and the character decently

Literally all of them except Italia even tho France is always on thin ice but they at least didn't cast a white non-muslim

[wackpainterkid]

It’s so unfair that Netflix would pick up the worst remake but refuses to pick up the best 😤

[itsadifferenthope]

Ok, I really thought about posting or not this..thing. I don't even know what this is, but I just had to let it out. I mean, I have like 3 folks who read what I write, so 🤷🏻‍♀️

I just wanna say I'm Italian, I'm not Muslim but I'm Christian.

And I tried. I really tried to give a shot to the last season of skam italia. But, cmon. Some of the things they did are so so so so.. so wrong.

And I'm saying it cause I really think that if they tried a little more, it would've been a really good job (even better than some other remakes *cough*)

Of course first thing first, they should've cast a poc actress. I didn't even like Beatrice's acting skill in season 1, but here she genuinely seems to have improved her skill. But, cmon, it never was believeble. And no, you can't tell me that actors job is to act some role, cause one of the really cool thing about skam og was that they choose to cast real teenagers and not actor, so they could portrait teenagers really without filters. So skam italia can't make the excuse that they didn't find any good Muslim poc actress.

But ok, they found Beatrice and they fall in love with her, I accept that.. But dear God, it was so hard to just make her an Italian white Muslim? A converted or the daughter of converted. How cool could that be? So much better than make her pretend to be a poc.

Ok, let's talk about the Muslim adults representation. Sana has a father who seems more like her grandpa, and also super cringy (that scene where he smoke on the balcony?). Than we have the parents of one of sana's friend who kicked their daughter out just because she was seeing a not Muslim dude, than we have Luai's parents who send their son to have an exorcism just because he's gay... And than we have sana's mother (with a really nice actress, I have to admit) who, when her daughter asks her a question about Islam, answer only with 'that's what's written, so you have to accept it'. Really???????

Now let's talk about one of the biggest disappointment of this remake: Italian Chris. I never liked her, but they actually made her a bully? REALLY? Why? How? Chris would never do something like that, seriously.

I don't want to talk to much about the hijab mess, cause I'm not Muslim and apparently there are Muslim girls who didn't felt offended by that, but 1 first time we see Italian Jamilla and no one is wearing hijab, it was to much to have two hijabi in one scene? 2 she took off her hijab cause she was in front of two gays.. That make them less man? I find it insulting. 3 che fregna! Really? You're actually calling her beautiful for the first time exactly when she's without her hijab?

I found some nice things too, don't get me wrong. The mosque scene was a first on the skamverse, I liked balloon squad, I liked the soundtrack and I really (unexpectedly) liked Italian Elias (Rami). But, sana può partire se ci sto io a fa la guardia. What? Last scene of the season, and still Sana can go to vacation with her friends just because there's gonna be her brother to be her guard? I'm speachless.

And don't let me talk about the Fandom who say this is the best season four ever, when they clearly don't care about Sana or sana's story (I actually went a bunch of time in the tag, and out of 20 post, only 5 were about Sana, and out of 55 posts, I saw Malik's face once, ONCE)

This got longer than I thought, I'm so sorry, but all I want to say is: there was actually a potential there, and I appreciate that they tried cause this is the first time ever that Italy has a Muslim girl on screen, and God knows how much we need this. But not like this. It's like they tried to destroy every stereotypes for nine episodes just to confirm every single one of them at the end. And it's a shame. And I'm glad that there are people who felt represented, but I'm so so sorry for all those people who didn't.

[thesoftboyfriends]

skam italia b like

[kicking-names-taking-ass]

Lol if you watch or defend skamit in any way shape or form YOU’RE A RACIST! Here you are defending a show for backing their white actor saying the N word and hiring a white girl to take off her hijab for men... Skam Italia literally gets it all wrong and people still defend it... keep defending your right to be racist baby we see you.

[azaraeth]

on another note, skam italia isn't even in the format of the original skam or the other remakes now that it's on netflix and for that it loses even more of my nonexistant interest because the real-time form and transmedia aspects are what makes skam what it is. why would you be okay with taking away the most defining, original, and interesting aspects of the show lmao

[ree-duh]

So first we had the shit show with Skam italia then the unnecessary cheating plot in Skam France and now the circus that is wtfock season 4 like can the Skam remakes get any worse at this point like this isn’t even a joke lmao

[flodaya]

Didn't druck say the r word though

yes, and I think that is horrible and we definitely also don’t criticize that enough but if you had read my posts completely you would know that I didn’t say we weren’t allowed to like flawed media

also 1) I am quite sure it wasn’t scripted but was the actors (actually just one afaik) improvising - and while that still does not make it okay, at least none of the writers or cast ever defended it, 2) the n-word isn’t the only problem with skam italia, and I’ve mentioned more things in my post, and honestly the r-word isn’t the biggest problem with druck either, and 3) how does druck fucking up excuse skam italia being racist?

and lastly, while I am not trying to defend druck and please do correct me if I’m wrong but to my knowledge the history behind the n-word is still much worse than the r-word? I again want to emphasize that I don’t think either words should ever be said in a show, just to make this clear

[sauerland-2001]

Wouldnt it be easier and less time-consuming to just honestly say “I can’t stand Skamit and no matter how much they’ve done to write and create a respectful season for the Muslim character with the help of a lot of Italian Muslims, I will continue to hate it” instead of openly und proudly dismissing the voices of Muslims in the Skam fandom?  So basically doing what you’ve been accusing Skamit of for the past few years?? Just....asking 👀

[wildefluorescent]

I mean.. stay mad. At least Italia didn't get cancelled after 2 seasons (unlike two other remakes). And their currently #1 on Netflix Italy.

lmao ok! i will stay mad thank you :)

how i wish skam austin's cast was all white 30 year olds who cant act. its a shame we got a diverse cast of the right age and its a good remake on top of it all even with only two seasons. but youre right theyre not trending on netflix italy! thats very sad i wish they were more like skam italia 😔