Navigating Identity: Assimilation and Cultural Duality in The Kominas' Music Video

[shumyle_shahid]

Okay, I have a lot to say so this is my attempt at gathering my scattered thoughts on the train back to Montreal

The Kominas' music video resonates deeply with many second-generation immigrants in North America, who have to balance the culture they learn at home with the experiences they encounter outside. They are basically tasked with making a home in a whitened space.
The references to Friends, the quick snippet of the “Lean On” music video (which, in my opinion, was a complete mockery of South Asian culture), and their calling themselves "four white guys" reflect how children of immigrants often perceive themselves. For example, I grew up in a small, predominantly white town in the GTA. I could never go to school and talk about a movie like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which my parents made me watch over the weekend, or expect to see my parents speak their native language with their friends or have a national holiday for Eid. But I could go to school and talk about the new iCarly episode that aired the night before, witness my parents struggle to grasp sarcastic jokes or pop culture references with their friends and request sick leave for religious holidays. This, to me, is assimilation—when immigrants move to an “inclusive” country that claims to have no official religion, yet are still forced to conform to the dominant culture, sacrificing their identity and everything that comes with it.
We had to learn about our own culture through an external lens: from what our parents told us, what our friends knew about us, and how the world saw us. This dynamic is depicted in the music video, particularly in the clips where they watch Bollywood films alongside the Major Lazer music video. These moments illustrate their limited connection to their culture, while still calling themselves "four white guys." The contradictions are endless.
The scene in the halal food store is especially significant. Growing up, that was the one place where I truly felt seen. The cashiers spoke my language, it smelled like Pakistan, and it sold all my favourite Pakistani snacks. But even there, in a place that felt so familiar, there would always be a corner in the back selling food like samosas, shawarmas, tikka masala, biryani—and pizza.