(New York) Eight episodes, and as many fragments of the United States through portraits of immigrants: the series LittleAmerica returns to Apple TV + on Friday for its second season, with the desire to question the “American dream”, explains to AFP one of its creators and producers, Sian Heder.
From the Song family and his workshop-hat boutique in Detroit, to Jibril, a Somali cook from Minneapolis — inspired by chef Jamal Hashi — and his delicious camel meat skewers, this “American dream” and his ideal imaginary of success in strength of work and perseverance still emerges in the slices of life that unfolds each episode in less than 40 minutes.
But the price to pay in terms of uprooting, material difficulties, family pressure to succeed and, sometimes, the simple disappointment of finding New York artificial and futile, appear over the episodes, inspired by true stories. Like the one where Zahir, an Afghan pianist who arrived in New York to flee the Taliban, ends up succeeding in enrolling in the conservatory, but far from his mother who remained in the country.
“One of the themes we really wanted to explore was ‘what happens when the American Dream doesn’t work out the way we expect?’ “Explains Sian Heder, one of the creators of the series, which notably plays the Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani.
” Pressure “
For the director of CODAAmerican version of The Aries familywhich triumphed at the 2022 Oscars, is about showing that “the very idea of America which consists of saying ‘roll up your sleeves’, capitalism, and ‘it’s up to you to make sure that it works”, it puts an incredible pressure on people”.
“It’s the land of opportunity, but there aren’t many safety nets in this country to catch you if you don’t succeed,” she adds.
After a first season released in early 2020, during Donald Trump’s tenure, where “we felt we had to be very optimistic and positive”, there is this time “probably more freedom to explore the nuances and (complexities) of this what does the American dream mean?
The series is adapted from the portraits of immigrants sketched by the magazine Epic Magazine. Some are not lacking in humor or lightness, like this episode where a Sri Lankan immigrant to Texas takes part in a ” car kissing “, where the one who stays the longest with his lips glued to the bodywork wins the car. Other episodes are available in a podcast.
“What we are looking for in our subjects, (these) are very ordinary people, in a certain way”, summarizes Sian Heder.
Neither heroes nor victims, all the characters do not meet the same success, but manage to find a place for themselves and add their stone to the diversity of the United States, “such a melting pot”.
This cultural mosaic is found in the dialogues of the actors, often in the original language, and in certain details such as the dishes on the dining table. Each episode ends with an epilogue where we discover the real character who inspired the story.
“I think through our commitment to trying to represent their real experience, you get a much more accurate portrayal of what it’s like to live here,” adds Sian Heder.