Original subtitles

[dramatic music]

MAYSA: [praying softly in Arabic]

♪ ♪

[knocking] MAYSA: Dena.

Here, put this on.

� What? MAYSA: Put it on.

You need to pray so that you can get your scholarship

for the law school.

� Mom...

� I just prayed six Rakaat sunnah for you

and ten for your brother.

� Why for Ramy?

� He needs it. He always needs it.

� Mm.

Mom, you never pray.

You only do it when something's wrong

or when you're trying to get something.

God knows me. We have a thing.

But he doesn't know you.

There's no connection. Nothing.

God goes, "Dena?"

� They're gonna tell us tomorrow,

and praying tonight isn't gonna affect anything.

The decision's been made.

MAYSA: No, Dena.

Allah makes the decision, right?

DENA: [sighs]

� You see, even if the system says no,

the right prayer tonight will make it a yes tomorrow.

� [sighs] MAYSA: Pray, please.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

DENA: [sighs]

FATIMA: Nothing, huh? � No.

� Making dua for you, girl. DENA: Thanks.

[phone chimes]

Oh.

[phone buzzes]

[gasps]

[sighs]

Hey, guys.

FAROUK: Hi. � Good night.

� Where were you so late?

� Uh, I was with friends.

They took me out as a congrats thing.

� I know because it's all over fucking Facebook.

� Maysa. DENA: What?

� Look. What's this?

You posted telling everyone about the scholarship.

It has 107 likes.

� Yeah, I just wanted to share it with my friends.

� What's wrong with you?

You're showing off something

that you haven't even gotten yet.

� Mom, no, I got�� MAYSA: You just got an email.

And you share it with friends before you share it with God.

You're better off just, like, post half�naked pictures.

FAROUK: Maysa. MAYSA: What?

She's always walking around naked

like Eryana Grande looking for attention.

DENA: Mom, stop.

I got the email and I'm happy. Why can't I share that?

� Astaghfirullah!

� Don't.

MAYSA: Your Uncle Naseem got it once.

It runs in the family.

I'm not gonna get the eye, Mom. It's Facebook.

It's not serious.

� Facebook is very serious, habibti.

You post something on it, and the next thing you know,

the entire world knows about it.

� Or just my friends.

FAROUK: You think they're your friends.

Like Uncle Okram when he posted about his new house on Facebook.

Now he's a homeless man.

� I can't believe this. Are you guys even happy for me?

Any time something good happens,

you want me to just hide it and act like it didn't happen.

� Of course we are happy for you.

We are even proud. � Oh, really?

We just want you to humble yourself

before God humbles you.

MAYSA: You need to pray so you don't lose everything.

� Okay, um, look.

I don't believe in this superstitious shit, so...

good night.

[door closes]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[exhales]

INSTRUCTOR: Back up into vajrasana,

palms up to receive,

as we set an intention to today.

Whatever you want right now, envision it.

Align it with the universe.

YOGI: Hey, congratulations on the scholarship.

� Thanks. � That's so huge.

� Thank you.

INSTRUCTOR: Shift into downward dog.

[eerie music]

♪ ♪

� [exhales]

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

� Hey Dena, habibti.

Uh, I thought you had classes today.

� Yeah, I just came home to�� to pick up some stuff.

� Uh, the internet was down at the office today.

They asked us to, uh, come and work from home.

[continues speaking Arabic]

� Hey, Dad, when did you start losing hair?

� Oh.

FAROUK: [laughs]

� [murmurs in Arabic]

[soft dramatic music]

♪ ♪

INSTRUCTOR: And for those who are ready,

let's enter into tree pose

and then hinge into warrior three.

Nice.

[sniffs]

Uh, class,

I know we like to wear some interesting oils

and scents

or, um, spices,

but let's try to wear something more neutral.

It can be, uh, distracting to the class.

Okay, and then gently release that leg back.

� [exhales]

DENA: I just noticed this bump.

Do you feel anything?

DOCTOR: I can feel something building up here.

� Is it, like��

I don't know. Like, what is it?

� I really can't say right now,

but I wouldn't jump to any conclusions,

and I think we ought to just take this step by step.

� Yeah.

� How else have you been feeling?

Do you have any other symptoms? Do you have a cold or a cough?

� Um, well,

I've been noticing my hair thinning just a little bit.

I don't know if that's related.

� Let's see.

Oh, wow. Yep.

I see the spot right here. The top of your head.

� Wait, what? There's a s��

there's a spot on the top of my head?

� I can refer you to a dermatologist.

She's very good.

[pen clicks]

[paper tears]

HEBA: Fuckin' Dena, man. A full ride?

A full fuckin' ride?

I'm so fucking jealous. FATIMA: Massive, Mashallah.

This is so big, Dena.

Why do we keep eating here, guys?

This place is fucking disgusting.

[ominous music]

♪ ♪

MAYSA: It has 107 likes.

[speaking Arabic]

HEBA: I'm so fuckin' jealous.

DOCTOR: I see the spot right here.

The top of your head.

FAROUK: The women in our family,

they all lost their hair.

[speaking Arabic]

All of them

lost their hair.

Like Uncle Okram when he posted

about his new house on Facebook.

Now he's a homeless man.

[echoing] Now he's a homeless man.

He's a homeless person.

[music intensifies]

DENA: Look, I really need to talk to you about something.

NASEEM: Wow!

[chuckles] I've seen this before.

Wild girl puts on the scarf.

She realizes she needs to connect spiritually.

You're looking back at all the events in your life,

and you realize that you need to apologize

to your Uncle Naseem

for all the vulgar language, the rudeness, the attitude.

� Yeah, look, um,

Mom said that you dealt with evil eye, hasad,

and I just need to know how to get rid of it.

NASEEM: [laughing] Come on, Dena!

I really thought you were smarter than this.

You know, with your fancy "education."

� Look, I'm going fucking crazy, Uncle Naseem.

Can you just help me for once?

I know you know all sorts of people,

and you've dealt with this.

You seem cursed.

Can you just help me, please?

� [exhales]

Are you feeling things you don't want to feel?

� Yeah.

� I know someone who can remove the hasad.

She's in South Jersey. Only takes cash.

You call her on your way, okay?

You tell her everything, and she will have it all ready for you.

Okay? � Okay.

Does it work?

� Mm. I was there once when I was feeling, uh, confused.

Look at me now. I'm great.

[eerie music]

READER: [speaks Arabic]

Mm.

� Farouk, Maysa, Ramy.

Sarah Jenkins,

Nancy Brookshire,

Steve Russo,

Nancy Highland,

Brandon Smith.

[speaking Arabic]

[muttering in Arabic]

� [coughing]

[phone buzzing]

� Hello? DOCTOR: Hi, Miss Hassan?

This is Dr. Chava calling with your test results.

Sorry for the late call. � Yeah, yeah, it's okay.

DR. CHAVA: It's fibroadenoma. Very common.

Nothing to be alarmed about.

Basically just some folded tissue in the breast.

It's not cancerous.

Nothing to do about it,

unless you want to do something elective.

� No, no, no, no, no. That's fine. Thank you.

DR. CHAVA: Call if you need anything.

� All right, thank you. Bye.

[exhales]

[engine turns over]

Alhamdulillah.

[car engine rattling]

[dashboard beeping]

[engine sputtering]

The fuck?

[engine grinds]

[high�pitched buzzing]

[engine grinding]

[exhales sharply]

� 47 minutes from the mechanic.

[laughs]

I mean, you're really all the way down here.

Lucky you, huh?

� Yeah.

� So what do you do?

� Uh, I'm a�� I'm a grad student.

I'm going into law school.

� That's cool.

A woman lawyer.

I'm sure that's a first for your family, yeah?

� I'd be the first person who's a lawyer in my family, yeah.

DRIVER: Nice. Nice.

And you get to drive, hmm? Very progressive.

� I think you're thinking about Saudi Arabia,

and women can drive there now.

DRIVER: No shit?

Congrats.

� Is there a problem?

DRIVER: Nah.

All I'm saying is, if you'd stayed back in your homeland,

you would have been too busy getting your clit sawed off

to do any of this law stuff, right?

[chuckles]

I'm just making conversation. I'm not blaming you.

But you know it's true.

Are you gonna act like they don't cut clits off where you're from?

� In Jersey? No, they don't.

I don't know about South Jersey, though.

You tell me.

� Look, I get it. I'm Mexican.

Half my people are trying to sneak into this country.

But I don't feel like I gotta defend them.

I waited ten years to become a citizen.

If you don't do it right, you gotta pay consequences.

Point is, we gotta try to belong here.

I'm not wearing a sombrero

walking around celebrating their criminal activity,

and you don't have to be wearing that thing.

It's a symbol of oppression.

� You don't know what you're talking about.

� What I'm saying is, you can be you.

We're in America.

It's��it's the melting pot, so fucking melt.

Come on. Why��why are you wearing that shit?

� I'm losing my hair.

� What? DENA: I'm fucking losing my hair.

I put this on because I wanted to pray

and then I just��I left it to hide my hair.

I don't know. I'm a fucking coward.

I don't know what I believe. � I mean, I��

� And I don't��I don't know why people cut clits off

or why this country enslaves people in jails

and puts kids in cages.

The world is fucked up.

[exhales]

� So are you, like, balding underneath?

� What?

Yeah, you know what? I'm bald.

I'm gonna look like my dad one day.

You wanna see it? � Oh, no, no. I'm good.

� No, no, no, let me show it to you!

Let me show it to you! I'm fucking cursed.

Here it is.

Here, since you're so obsessed with head scarves.

This is what's underneath.

� I mean, it's not�� you can barely see it.

DENA: No, just let me out!

Pull over and let me out!

Don't fuck with my car! Just drop it off!

[Maryam Saleh's "Nouh Al Hamam"]

MARYAM SALEH: [singing in Arabic]

♪ ♪