QUOTE OF THE WEEK 📜
"If I stayed in basically groups and classes that were predominately white, I don't know if I would have found my own voice."
-Isabel Kanaan, Actor, Comedian, Host, Co-Creator of: ABROAD @abroadcomedy TV streaming series. Her comment refers to being accepted into the NBC Universal Bob Curry Fellowship, a program for actors and improvisers of color.
SPOTLIGHT 💡🔦
Breaking Barriers: Isabel Kanaan’s Creative Path and ABROAD's Success
Spinning Forward spoke with Filipino-Canadian comedian and actor Isabel Kanaan, the star of ABROAD, the satirical sketch comedy streaming series. The show, in its third season, first aired on OMNI Television in 2022. It’s loosely based on Isabel’s experience immigrating to Canada as a teenager. It's a humorous take on how immigrants think about, deal with, and experience life in Canada. The hit show, co-created by Longhope Media Inc. and Kanaan, features six 30-minute episodes in English and Tagalog. Since airing in 2022, the sketch clips on TikTok and Instagram have gone viral globally with millions of views.OMNI says one reason for ABROAD's appeal is that:
"It challenges the misconception about immigrants from all walks of life, be it first or second generation. Emigrating to a new country can be challenging, but ABROAD is here to prove it can also be funny."
From Pandemic Boredom To TikTok Comedy To TV Show
When the pandemic shut things down, Kanaan turned to TikTok as a way to stay creative, and not get bored. She said:
“I'm not doing anything right now. Might as well just keep pumping out [content]. And it's that thing, right? When especially as a creative, when you're not doing anything, your mind is just going, and I needed an outlet, and TikTok was that for me.”
Kanaan didn't have contacts in TV and film but was contacted by the producers from Longhope Media, who saw her TikTok skits. As a TikToker, she didn't understand why the producers wanted to do a show around her and her TikTok videos about her Filipino immigrant journey in Canada.
”I didn't agree at first. I tried to make this show as much as possible an ensemble piece with other people.”
Kanaan and Longhope Media developed the show and pitched it to studios, who came to the same conclusion:
“They saw my TikToks, and it was clear to them what they saw and what the production [Longhope] team also saw in the very beginning was that I do well, I guess.”
How Being a New Immigrant, Culture Shock and Hiding Yourself Intersect
Kanaan, like most new immigrants, had culture shock after moving to Canada from the Philippines at the age of 16 with her family. She suppressed her interests and creative side, wanting to belong and fit in.
"I don't even think I did it intentionally, but I stopped doing my hobbies [and] being me. I was, okay, I'm in a new country now. What do they do here? Let me do that. And so talking about creativity, I didn't have an outlet like that coming in. I wasn't even thinking of anything like that. So, I just did the usual, which is go to university after high school."
Kanaan also concealed her Filipino heritage and culture after hearing about the discrimination her relatives faced when they moved to Canada. She says her relatives said,
"Just say you're mixed and stuff, which technically, to some degree, we are. But my culture is Filipino. I am born and bred in the Philippines. It felt disingenuous. As a [immigrant] kid, you're also thinking, Oh, okay, I guess this is what I need to do to survive in a new country. So, we hid our 'Filippinoness'. I wouldn't eat the Filipino food. I wouldn't speak the language when I was outside."
Like many immigrants, she was her natural self when she was with other Filipinos in Canada.
“When I was with Filipinos, it was such a relief. But when I wasn't, it was tough because I was putting on a mask that just wasn't me. And obviously, it's not like you just snap into waking up to that. It was just this underlying ongoing theme.”
Traditional versus Non-Tradition Career
After moving to Canada, Kanaan completed her last year of high school. She and her parents agreed that going to university and doing a traditional career was best. She says,
“The creative thing just wasn't even on the radar at that time. It literally was the path of least resistance. I was good in math. And so my parents are like, get into that. And I'm like, okay. So, I guess I'll be a math teacher.”
Halfway through her degree, she joined the Filipino Student Association at York University and met people from various programs. She was inspired talking to someone who studied acting at Seneca College:
"I met someone who graduated from the Acting for Camera and Voice program at Seneca. They were telling me about it and I said, 'Oh, My Gosh, and something clicked in my head. That's what I used to like to do. And I was like, that's the career I want."
Making the Case for Acting to her Parents
Kanaan chose not to finish her math degree, which upset her parents. She said acting, "was calling me now. So I went for it." She met with the program coordinator at Seneca who discussed the business aspects as well. Kanaan then wrote a detailed email to her parents, or as she calls it, the pitch document, and made the case for switching from teaching to acting.
"I had to write my thoughts down on paper, so they could see the points. And where the logic is because though it's a creative path to go into acting and the arts, there's still the business side. And so I wanted to showcase that I'm going to use my [teaching] skills with my creativity. A lot of people think acting is just about [one] skill. It is about you marketing yourself. You're going to learn all these different skills. That appealed to me because it was the business side [mixed] with the creative side."
Kanaan's parents, like many immigrants, were hesitant and took awhile to accept their daughter's choice. She remembers rebelling and saying, "I'm going to do this no matter what." Eventually, her parents accepted and supporter her after she was hired for various acting projects.
Representation and Diverse Voices On and Off Screen
Kanaan is passionate when she talks about representation and inclusion for diverse voices on and off screen, especially for Filipinos, immigrants, and people of color. Early in her career, she joined Second City’s Conservatory program as the only person of color. She found it challenging to express her voice as a person of color, and immigrant saying,
"I would pitch some stuff and it would not get on stage because it didn't fit the mold of everyone else's point of view. That was tough because I had to edit my comedic voice to "Canadian" comedy.”
Later, Second City introduced the NBC Universal Bob Curry Fellowship, a 15-week program for actors and improvisers of color. Kanaan won a fellowship in Toronto, which finally helped her see that her story mattered:
"I could be me. It was great because everything that we were pitching, everyone got it. ...We put up a show and it was all from different backgrounds, different points of view. I think that also opened Second City's eyes, because the audience that we brought was an audience they hadn't tapped into..... We had an amazing audience and everyone was laughing. That opened my eyes that I can be myself. There is an audience out there for me and my story. So, let's lean into that."
Kanaan says the fellowship opened her eyes because the instructors, guest speakers and students were people of color. It opened up a different type of comedy that sped up her career.
"If I stayed in basically groups and classes that were predominately white, I don't know if I would have found my own voice."
Crab Mentality, Jealousy and Pulling Others Down
Crab Theory (or Crab Mentality) is a term first coined in the Phillipines. It common across many cultures in many countries. It occurs when people from a similar group try to pull each other down if they see one of them succeeding. Kanaan says crab mentality is real, very sad and unfortunate. She believes the system is to blame because it promotes a scarcity mindset pitting people against each other:
"There can only be one Filipino show or one immigrant show. That's not fair. Some people are like, 'Why is it them and not me?' We need to change the system and we can't do that if we put each other down."
The opposite of crab mentality is a growth or abundance mindset. Kanaan as a co-creator and executive producer of ABROAD takes every opportunity to promote and amplify other people of color connected to the show. She's says,
If we're going to do a show about me, my life is full of people of color, Filipinos, and immigrants. We're going to put that on screen and off screen. Every season, we add a little bit more and that's really cool to see. I am going to keep bringing people in my community up with me and advocate for them as much as I can.
Know Your Why
Kanaan is so driven to succeed as a creative because of her why, which is based on not having role models when she was younger. She says,
I do like math but I got into this because there has to be something else tethering me to what I'm doing. It's about that why. When I moved to Canada, the reason why the creative job wasn't on my radar is because I didn't see anyone like me there. I didn't want another immigrant to go through that. And that's why I kept going down this path. That's why I'm still on this path because the why is so strong. It helps me say yes to certain things and no to other things.
What's your Message to Fans of ABROAD?
Kanaan is grateful to fans for helping ABROAD get to season 3:
The big theme here is appreciation. We made it to three seasons. Thanks to the support of the fans out there who are watching. The recurring characters that we put back [in the show is] because they were the ones that [fans] commented on most. So it's giving the people what they want, and being very appreciative of where we are with three seasons. Thank you so much!
QUICK HITS
Toronto Police under Constant Public Surveillance: The Toronto Sun reports, police officers in Toronto find themselves under relentless public scrutiny, where their every move and interactions are recorded and widely shared on social media platforms. 📱👀 This constant surveillance extends beyond serious situations, including routine tasks like getting coffee or guarding a scene. ☕🚔 The rise of social media has amplified the impact of recorded videos which can often lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations of police actions when taken out of context. 🎥🤔
Why it matters? Increased surveillance can lead to public distrust and a negative perception of law enforcement. 😟🚨 It raises concerns about the balance between accountability and the ability of law enforcement to effectively carry out their duties in a digital age. ⚖️💼
Nano Influencers Drive Better Results for Brands: In the September 2024 issue of Harvard Business Review, a recent study shows that nano influencers 📉, with fewer than 10,000 followers, are more effective at boosting sales 📈 than macro influencers. Researchers found that nano influencers who have genuine connections 🤝 with fewer than 10,000 followers yield a whopping average return of more than $1,000 💸 on a $50 investment 💰.
Why it matters? This change shows that brands can achieve better results 🎯 especially for direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing by working with relatable nano influencers instead of relying on celebrity influencers 🌟.
TikTok's New Storytelling Trend: 📱 The New York Times reports how Tareasa Johnson, known as @ReesaTeesa, has captivated millions on TikTok with her series “Who TF Did I Marry?!?”, showcasing her ex-partner’s lies. This trend of serialized storytelling has inspired other creators to share dramatic personal experiences in multiple parts to increase audience engagement. 🎭✨
Why it matters? Social media platforms like TikTok are reshaping narrative formats and influencing content creation strategies. Turning your personal stories into binge-worthy, serialized content that keeps viewers and algorithms in your corner. 🎬📈
WE ❤️ FEEDBACK 📋
What'd you think of today's issue? 👂
💫 You need to take it up a notch
Spinning Forward is an award-winning, trusted, local, independent media company that informs, engages, and uplifts aspiring content creators of color aged 16 to 34 in the Toronto region. Flavian DeLima (LinkedIn), the founder and publisher, launched Spinning Forward to help level the playing field in the online economy for creators of color.
TEAM
Flavian DeLima, Sharon Ye, Aaminah Abid Hussain, Taha Shaikh, Esraa Hamdy Hamada, Zainab Patel,Natasha Jogezai, & Michael Kim
If you like this issue, please share it with a few friends. To view all past issues on the Web, go here
If you want to be featured, have a comment or want to suggest a topic or creator, reply to this email or click here or the "Suggest a link" at the bottom of any issue.
For questions, comments or sponsorships, reply to this email or email info at spinningforward dot com.
COMMENT 💬
Greetings,
Did you notice the temperature has dropped this evening? The fall is coming. It's a reminder to take time to enjoy the final weeks of summer. For many, September is the start of the year and now is a good time to reflect and plan for what you want to achieve in the fall.
Spinning Forward has been busy. We were one of three pitch contest winners in Toronto, organized by Entrepreneurs Point. Meta blocked our content on Facebook and Instagram in response to the Liberal government's Online News Act. As recently reported, Meta's decision has been devastating for local news companies in Canada who share news on Facebook and Instagram that Canadian audiences can no longer see. If you want to see our content on Instagram, please follow my personal handle at @spinningforwardto. We also launched video shorts, which are less than one minute long on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. We plan to launch a podcast interview series soon.
In this issue, I interview comedian, actor, and creator Isabel Kanaan. She represents the best of how immigrants who initially struggle eventually find their voice in Canada and succeed through hard work and determination.
Kamala Harris, in her speech at the Democratic National Convention, mentioned a lesson her mother taught her and her sister growing up as immigrant children and people of color:
Isabel Kanaan knows who she is. She also knows her"why", which focusses on representation and helping people who look like her - immigrants and people of color - move up the ladder.
⌚Reading Time: 10 minutes
Flavian DeLima
Publisher & Editor, Spinning Forward