How life imitating art stopped the show
I’ve always assumed British immigration officials had better things to do with their time than watch American Dad. Even if they don't, I have no idea why they would enjoy a show about a cocky American CIA agent that was clearly targeted toward an American audience.
Boy, was I wrong.
This past weekend, I flew to London for a number of events, one of them being a Stream of Passion concert. For those not familiar with Stream of Passion, they are a gothic/progressive band consisting of Dutch, Mexican, and American members. One of the band's guitarists, Arjen Lucassen, has been my main influence as a musician, and I have been waiting for years to have the chance to see him perform and possibly get to meet him. Until now, I had not been able to make it to any of his shows. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled to finally have the chance.
I had barely been in London 24 hours when I found out the show had been cancelled. The reason? The Mexican members of the band could not get through immigration. Apparently, the officials on duty believed they were illegal immigrants using the band as a way to sneak into the U.K.
I am told the other band members and the band's management vouched for their band mates and tried their best to prove they really were part of the band. The officials didn't buy it. Evidently, even in this era of relatively easy international travel, there is still no way one band could possibly have Dutch, American, and Mexican members. Was there some sort of Dutch-Mexican war back in the 14th century that both parties are supposed to still be very bitter about our history teachers forgot to tell us about? Would that be why the officials would be so incredulous both nationalities could legitimately be in the same band?
Then, I suddenly understood. The Sunday before I left for London, Fox aired an episode of American Dad in which the main character harbors illegal Mexican immigrants in his home in order to have them work in a sweatshop to boost his fledgling business. He justifies their presence to the CIA by saying they are members of his son's band.
Sounds eerily similar to what the immigrations officials perceived Stream of Passion's situation to be. I can't help but wonder if perhaps these officials watched that same episode of American Dad, realized that a situation similar to the one in the show could easily play out in real life, and had that on their minds when Stream of Passion tried to enter the U.K.
Of course, this could all be a coincidence, but it still sounds very fishy to me. I guess in the end, I can't really say. All I know is that I spent 10 hours in a plane to see a band and I still lost my chance. The trip wasn't cheap, either, and I'm a student.
So all I can say right now is, American Dad, thanks a lot!
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum