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Back Story
What would you do if you were held at gunpoint by the Mexican police and asked to lift up your shirt? For Mohammed Amer, the answer was to point to his stomach and say, “muchos tacos.” That response may sound insane, but his humour managed to defuse tension, and he was let go. To Amer, humour in outrageous – and often traumatic — situations has always been the way. “That’s how I’ve always dealt with anything. It's a survival thing, really…you just laugh at it, in a pure [effort] to let the air out”, he says. Why take a deep breath when you can laugh?
Amer is most well-known for his hit show Mo. Mo is a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama detailing his experiences as a Palestinian and Kuwaiti refugee. He is the first person in America to write a show about a Palestinian family of refugees. Amer does a fantastic job of highlighting that although the war on Gaza only became known to many after the October 7 attack, people like Mo, his family and millions of others have lived through it their whole lives.
Amer’s family was displaced in the 1948 Nakba during the creation of Israel. They left for Kuwait, where Amer was born. Then, when Amer was 9, they fled again due to the Gulf War. Amer grew up in Houston, Texas, in the US, something Amer takes great pride in, as emphasised in his second Netflix special: Mo Amer: Mohammed in Texas. Amer’s journey through the comedy circuit is noteworthy not just because he is hilarious but because he was the first Arab-American to have a televised stand-up special, setting the stage for a new generation of Arab comedians.
Amer’s comedic styling began at the early age of 10 when he saw a Bill Cosby performance and knew that was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. His first performance would be in school, where his English teacher asked him to perform a Shakespearean monologue. This developed into regular comedy performances about his English lessons. His teacher then encouraged him to join the theatre productions and later stand-up. While working at a flag manufacturing company, he perfected his comedic styling at some local clubs. By the time he was 19, he was a finalist for Houston’s Funniest Person competition and was the first and only Arab American to perform for US troops overseas, but his success only grew. Amer is greatly influenced by growing up in Houston and recounts its unique characteristics of being a mixed, integrated, and diverse city.
To reiterate, the humour, mishaps and luck in Mo may seem surreal, but it's authentic. During this performance in Kuwait, instead of being escorted back to his plane, as is protocol when travelling with a refugee, he was allowed to stay behind to meet his aunt because the army officer accompanying him was called to assist Bradley Cooper, the actor, who had just landed in Kuwait. Amer’s life may be filled with strife due to his refugee background and having to cope with the death of his father at 14, but Amer keeps hope that things will work out. His optimism is something to admire. He says, “if you lose faith, then you have nothing,” and holds on to an “understanding and believing in something that is just way bigger than you."
Amer has a series of first achievements to be proud of. He first rose to prominence in 2006 when he joined the comedy trio Allah Made Me Funny, now the longest-running Muslim comedy collective. In 2015, he became the first Arab American to have a nationally televised stand-up special with Legally Homeless. He delves into the difficulties of not legally being American but also not being allowed to return to his Palestinian homeland. At the time, he began touring with Dave Chappelle. Later, he would become known as an actor in his role as Mo, a shopkeeper in Ramy, written by Rami Youssef. Youssef is also a co-creator of Amer’s most recent first with his Netflix show Mo.
Amer is the embryonic storyteller, writer, actor, and occasional director of Mo. His heart-wrenching yet hilarious storytelling is an incredible force for good, not just for entertainment but in its education of the Israeli occupation of Gaza. Amer took on the role of ‘rebranding’ Palestine through the obvious: Palestinians are real, relatable people. Mo’s annoyance and amusement at his mother’s desire to get married, his love for his brother and Amer’s grief for his father shine through each episode, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Amer’s relationship with his family grounds the show; he once called his mother a ‘gangster’ as she is the most inspirational person in his life for having the courage to go back to Kuwait and bring his father back from being tortured in the Gulf War in 1992. He calls the show a ‘love letter to Houston for raising [him], a love letter to [his] family, to [his] ancestors’. This show beautifully encapsulates both the uniqueness and beauty in Amer’s life and the gruesome realities of detention centres, the othering and loneliness of being stateless and the insurmountable pain of not being able to return to your homeland. In his 20+ year-long career, Amer has much experience with being someone’s first immigrant experience. Mo is an excellent watch for someone’s first experience of a Palestinian or if you are Palestinian yourself — hence its 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If that wasn’t enough, Mo has also been awarded a Peabody award for entertainment and Amer was awarded 2022 UAE GQ’s Man of the Year!
Amer’s storytelling has given the tale of Palestinian refugees mainstream exposure, which is new to the American audience. In his second Netflix special, Mo Amer: Mohammed in Texas, he emphasises how real the fictional Mo’s experiences are. Through his relatability, he has highlighted an authentic experience for many. He’s paved the way for new Arab and Muslim voices in comedy and is so grateful not to be so lonely in that sphere anymore. He also moderated for Doha Debates, bringing an entertaining voice to the world’s issues. While Amer’s story isn’t over, his legacy will last for his work in showing the depth of his reality, both harsh and fantastic.
In this post Srinetra highlights the arty refugee experience of Mohammed Amer . She is a citizen journalist on a placement with us organised by Oxford University Career Services. She also organised the micro game to make the journalistic experience interactive.
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