Ramy Youssef reflects on his childhood experience as an Egyptian American when the September 11 attacks occurred, highlighting the confusion and pressure of being a Muslim in a climate of Islamophobia. His animated series, #1 Happy Family USA, portrays an Egyptian American family navigating life in New Jersey during that time. The series captures the complexities of growing up with both cultural pride and the fear of discrimination, emphasizing the challenges children face in balancing identity with societal pressures.
"It's incredibly confusing. It's incredibly disorienting," Youssef says. "And I think within my family, we were always proud of who we were and where we come from, and at the same time, you kind of don't want to rock the boat."
"The part that I always tend to hone in on is, well, what is the person doing to themselves amidst all that pressure?" Youssef says.
"It's very much, 'OK, is Courtney, the popular girl, talking about me behind my back, and are the phones tapped?'" Youssef says.
"And usually people just have to deal with the Courtney part, and now this kid has both of them, and that's where the series lives." Youssef explains.
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