‘Hassan Hates Portland’ Tackles ‘Benevolent’ Racism

October 6, 2024

Filmmaker Mischa Webley’s web series attempts to tackle benevolent racism in Portland through satire.

“Hassan Hates Portland,” a web series written and directed by Black filmmaker Mischa Webley, satirizes the daily Black experience in Portland, Oregon. Through humor, Webley aims to highlight how well-meaning white people often impose their attempts at allyship on Black individuals as they navigate their everyday lives. The first episode premiered on Oct. 3.

As Webley told KUOW, “We’re sort of seeing Portland through [Hasaan’s] eyes, and he’s somewhat in the background, where he’s experiencing these things, but a lot of them are happening at him.”

According to the Williamette Week, Webley’s project, though fictional, is based on very real experiences.

“It really took a lifetime of experience,” Webley told the outlet, “and I’ve been trying for a while to make fun of it and satirize it and make it funny. It just seemed like it’s not a perspective that’s out there, especially about Portland. That was the big driving force of making it.”

Webley continued, “By focusing on the small scale, you sort of capture that these are things we all do every day…whether it’s taking a walk or getting coffee. And instead of that being a really simple transaction, sometimes that can turn into a whole thing that then lives rent-free in your mind for a long time.”

Webley also indicated that the series is also intended as a correction of sorts of a common narrative about the city. “There’s a story around [Portland] that it puts out about itself, that also gets put on it,” Webley told the outlet. “It just always felt incomplete to me, whether it’s ‘Portlandia’ or Fox News – they just seem to kind of be missing it, so I wanted to add to that. And I think Portland takes itself too seriously, and I wanted it to laugh at itself.”

Webley also told KUOW that the experiences depicted in the show come from personal experience. “You end up with this dynamic where [people of color] might have white folks — I’ve been in this experience — trying to explain racism to you. If you go to a place that’s really diverse…if you bring a certain kind of ignorance, you’re going to hear about it,” Webley added. “But people who live in an echo chamber don’t hear about it – it’s reinforced.”

Webley said that the show has received positive responses online, which has encouraged him that the show’s intention has shone through to its audience.

“It’s taken off online in the way I could only have hoped for. And I think it reaffirmed that we were speaking to something that people were waiting [for] to be said. And that’s kind of been a big note. I’ve heard back from a variety of different people online who’ve reached out just to say, ‘Thank you. I’m glad somebody said it,’” Webley told KUOW.

Although Webley hopes that the show is picked up by a streaming service or TV network, he is also okay if the web series ends with the run on YouTube.

“My biggest hope with the project is that this gives us enough traction and visibility to get the opportunity to do that,” Webley told Williamette Week. “At the same time, I’ve been in the business for a long time. Every project has to be its own reward, so if this is what it is, that’s fine. It’s already gotten really great attention. That makes me feel like we’re tapping into something.”

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