The name is savvy and cool, but the show may be one of the most brilliantly different productions in the history of British television.
Keeping up with the Khans, a new television documentary on Channel 4, bravely challenges viewers and provokes discussions on mass immigration.
Since 1945, the United Kingdom has been a welfare state. State intervention is strong, and its core roles are to support and promote various economic, social and individual rights of U.K. citizens. Because of its unique socio-economic policies, the United Kingdom continues to attract immigrants from all over the world, including a significant amount of Pakistanis and South Asians.
Photo Credit: www.desiblitz.com
So producers hope to take viewers back to the 20th century. In the 1960s, Page Hall, Sheffield, was a relatively white British community with little to no ethnic minorities. It's now dominated by successful British Pakistanis who own properties and businesses in the area.
The documentary explores immigration in the United Kingdom and the direct impact it's having on communities such as Page Hall by challenging existing narratives. Immigration is a debate dominated by inherently negative stereotypes. People often avoid discussing immigration for the sake of political correctness and tolerance.
Photo Credit: www.desiblitz.com
However, despite this reticence, the ambitious producers of the four-series long documentary take a uniquely radical approach in exploring the widely debated topic of immigration. They present the lives of ambitious immigrants beginning to find new opportunities and new lives in the United Kingdom. — with humanity, realism and complexity. In an interconnected, globalized world, mass immigration is inevitable.
The idea of Keeping up with the Khans is to reveal real stories behind real people and how our anarchic international system can help immigrants from problematic backgrounds continue normal lives and become productive parts of global societies.
Photo Credit: www.desiblitz.com
As Nick Mirsky of Channel 4 states, “What we are doing with this series is showing audiences how complex the subject is, and reflecting the human stories behind the rhetoric and provocative headlines.”
Having shot and produced over a period of 15 months, the documentary's producers will ultimately follow Roma migrants, refugees, Pakistani communities and even white British Sheffield residents. Each episode will be an hour long and will investigate each group and their relationship to each other as they co-exist in the small community of Page Hall.
Photo Credit: www.desiblitz.com
The makers of Keeping up with the Khans previously produced the controversial documentary Benefits Street, which made worldwide headlines. They're not new to creating uniquely wide-ranging and thought-provoking content for public viewing. Their production company, Love Productions', work has been so impactful in the past that it has led to serious debates occurring in U.K. parliament.
With the topic of immigration among the top five "most important issues" in U.K. public policy, only time will tell the reaction of the British public toward another controversial documentary and its impact on well-established British Pakistani and South Asian communities.
Do you think these kinds of documentaries educate society, or do they promote more negative stereotypes in the name of entertainment? Comment below!
Main Image Photo Credit: www.radiotimes.com
Ramsha Khan
Author
Ramsha is a 21 year old British Pakistani writer, journalist and an undergraduate studying Politics and International Relations in England, U.K. Fiercely opinionated and fun at the same time, she openly strives to challenge cultural, social and political broad narratives; especially whilst livi...
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