Yusuf Al-Kaysani

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Character
Name: Yusuf al-Kaysani/Joe
Occupation: Mercenary, artist, merchant
Relationships: Joe/Nicky
Fandom: The Old Guard
Other:
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Yusuf al-Kaysani, primarily called Joe, is a character from The Old Guard. In the 2020 Netflix adaptation, he is played by Dutch-Tunisian actor Marwan Kenzari.

Canon Overview

Joe fought in the First Crusade, as an soldier in the Fatimid army. He first died during the Siege of Jerusalem in 1099. In modern-day combat, he is seen carrying a scimitar (saif) in addition to firearms.

He appears to be a skilled artist, being able to quickly sketch a likeness of Nile Freeman after dreaming about her.

A Netflix promotional poster from Thailand gives his birthdate as 1069, making him 33 years old when he gained immortality. A video featurette accompanying the release of the film states that prior to this, Joe was the scion of a merchant family from the Maghreb region of Africa.

Common Tropes

  • An Incurable Romantic - following the "He's Not My Boyfriend" speech in both the comics and film, many fans have speculated on other over-the-top declarations of love and feeling Joe has made over the years
  • The backwards baseball cap
  • In works focused on Yusuf's faith he is sometimes portrayed as a Shia Muslim, while others do not identify which branch of Islam Yusuf practises.

Pairings

The canon slash pairing of Nicky/Joe is largely the biggest component of works featuring Joe. Even those works focused primarily on him tend to feature the pairing in the background.

Fan Reactions

A significant amount of meta has been written within the fandom regarding Yusuf/Joe, with a great number of fans weighing in to help reconcile inconsistencies or contradictions from canon; explore his relationship to Nicky; and to avoid perpetuating harmful or racist tropes including those related to his race, ethnicity, and religion. The meta can be roughly categorized as discussing:

  • Details about and interpretations of Joe’s full name (Yusuf ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Kaysani) [1][2]
  • Joe as being from the Maghreb, and specific terminology surrounding ethnicity[3][4][5][6][7][8]
  • Medieval history about the Crusades and how Middle East / North Africa (MENA) cultures were affected[9]
  • Joe’s potential social role or backstory, especially around 1099 CE when he became immortal[10][11]
  • Expressions of emotion, and how they can be framed in light of the Old Guard’s position as warriors and fighters[12][13][14][15][16]
  • Arabic, and languages Joe may use in pre-canon or modern-era fics[17][18]
  • Religion and faith[19][20][21][22]
  • Homosexuality [23][24][25][26]
  • Avoidance of harmful stereotypes [27][28]
  • Joe’s love of, and skill with, creating art [29][30][31][32][33][34]

It is important to note that the legitimacy and accuracy of meta written by lgbtmazight, one of the meta writers referenced above, has been called into question following a post by anonymous Tumblr blog lgbtracefaker.

Overall, fan responses to Yusuf are overwhelmingly positive with many fans delighted by Marwan Kenzari’s nuanced portrayal of a gay Muslim man in a mainstream film.

Do you guys know how important Yusuf al Kaysani is to me? Do you? He’s one of the only canon Queer Muslim character I have ever seen. I cried after I watched tog for the first time because that’s the most represented I’ve ever felt in my entire existence. Yusuf is a gift[35]

Controversies

Fandom controversies have arisen on a couple of occasions between different participants in the fandom. One type of controversy is with respect to Joe’s portrayal in fanworks as angry, hotheaded, passionate, and violent in stereotypical or exaggerated ways, and when those portrayals become problematic. Early analysis appreciated the nuance with which the canon treated Joe as both a warrior and a deeply kind, empathetic man.[12][36][37] Some fans spoke out against early portrayals in fanworks that they felt ignored the softer parts of Joe’s personality or exaggerated his violence[38] .[39][40] One blog reminded users early that purity culture tactics should be avoided even while “don’t be a racist” should also apply.[41] A popular fandom blog that regularly hosts discussions between fans pointed out to an anon that many conversations taking place were specifically trying to defuse and prevent bad habits from being formed early while creating fanworks.[42] Additional fan commentary over time encouraged well-rounded portrayals of Joe that didn't ignore his anger, skill as a warrior, or need for growth.[27][43][44] Despite many of these nuanced discussions, the fandom has also had conversations on an ongoing basis disputing the validity of certain presentations of Joe, arguing over interpretations and different readings of canon, and trying to determine when a complex portrayal veers into a problematic or racist one.

Another extensive imbroglio, which some fans feel has devolved into fandom wank, is with respect to sexual positions. See Top!Joe (trope).

Notable Fanworks

Fanfiction

  • Kidnapping for Dummies by Amiril - Post-Canon. Summary: A group is hired to kidnap Joe. It doesn't turn out how they expected. - (based on the "you don't have him, he has you" meme.)

Fanart

Meta

Communities

Archives & Links

References

  1. ^ Yusuf ibn Ibrahim al-Tayyib al-Kaysani’s Ethnicity by historic-old-guard-lover, Archived version
  2. ^ Making “Al-Kaysani” make sense by lgbtmazight, Archived version
  3. ^ Yusuf ibn Ibrahim al-Tayyib al-Kaysani’s Ethnicity, Archived version
  4. ^ commentary on whether Joe would identify as Arab or not by lgbtmazight, Archived version
  5. ^ Meta thread between lgbtmazight and hottopicmonk on Joe’s likely birthplace of Tunisia, Archived version
  6. ^ Why berber should not be a term used to describe Yusuf by lgbtmazight, Archived version
  7. ^ Joe as a proud citizen of the Zirid Dynasty pt. 1 by hottopicmonk, Archived version
  8. ^ Joe as a proud citizen of the Zirid Dynasty pt. 2 by hottopicmonk, Archived version
  9. ^ A historical overview of the term Saracen and its implications: a primer for the TOG fandom by figure8/lgbtmazight
  10. ^ why was Yusuf at the Crusades? by sixth-light, Archived version
  11. ^ a brief history of North Africa as it might affect Joe’s backstory by hottopicmonk, Archived version
  12. ^ a b In order to settle this debate, I will attempt to break down all of the fight scenes that Joe participates in and analyse his role in all of them - gif analysis by lyrasbelacqua, Sept 2020, Archived version
  13. ^ Joe and Nicky personality balance by spinlyrightround, Archived version
  14. ^ Joe as instinctively protective by spooky-scary-nicolo, accessed 2020-11-03
  15. ^ empathy for Yusuf’s reaction in the lab scene, Archived version
  16. ^ I love joe's softness by meet-the-girl-who-can, Sept 2020, Archived version
  17. ^ Joe wouldn’t just speak Arabic in modern times by lgbtmazight, Archived version
  18. ^ I don’t think people get that there isn’t one version of Arabic by lucyclairedelune, Oct 30 2020, Archived version
  19. ^ Which branch of Islam? By lgbtmazight, Archived version
  20. ^ religion notes for TOG fic writers: a thread by indifferentpenguin, with additions by jesuisnilunnilautre and kiowagordon, Archived version
  21. ^ Islamic sects, Joe’s background, and modern AU by lucyclairedelune, Archived version
  22. ^ we don’t get explicit confirmation of Nicky and Joe’s faith, but… by avelera, Archived version
  23. ^ Answer to a Tumblr ask about sexuality in medieval ages by mrmarinelli, Archived version
  24. ^ Answer to a Tumblr ask about homophobia by fuckyeahisawthat, Archived version
  25. ^ on living as an openly gay Muslim by hottopicmonk, Archived version
  26. ^ Homosexuality in modern Muslim countries by lucyclairedelune, Archived version
  27. ^ a b orientalism and Joe as the unchanging other by gethporno, Archived version
  28. ^ Some Points about writing Joe from a Muslim/Arab by ElephantOfAfrica
  29. ^ 11th C. Art Joe: Everyday Objects by hottopicmonk, Archived version
  30. ^ 11th C. Art Joe: Architecture by hottopicmonk, Archived version
  31. ^ 11th C. Art Joe: Calligraphy, books, and illuminated manuscripts by hottopicmonk, Archived version
  32. ^ 11th C. Art Joe: Scripture, carving, calligraphy, and fonts by hottopicmonk, Archived version
  33. ^ 11th C. Art Joe: influences of 11th C. Tunisia by hottopickmonk, Archived version
  34. ^ how important are the rules about representative art? by lucyclairedelune, Archived version
  35. ^ Do you guys know how important Yusuf al Kaysani is to me? By volleyball-angelblade-knifeshoes, Archived version
  36. ^ ok while my brain is on lotr let’s talk about how yusuf al-kaysani is the walking talking personification of that one faramir quote by particolored-socks, Aug 20 2020, Archived version
  37. ^ thinking about how caught off guard i was by “you shot nicky. you shouldn’t have done that” when i watched the old guard the first time - commentary by campgender, Sept 2020, Archived version
  38. ^ The *Protect Yusuf al-Kaysani at all costs* train is pulling into the station. By themoonwheniamlost, Aug 19 2020, Archived version
  39. ^ Anonymous ask “i feel like the fandom is trying to force the whole “nicky being the violent/feral one”” - response by lyrasbelacqua, Sept 2020, Archived version
  40. ^ just want to scroll through the Joe x Nicky tag ONE FUCKING TIME and not have to see the latest cold and stale take about Joe being angry in some fucking way! By kill-your-authors, Sept 8 2020, Archived version
  41. ^ Just a reminder to all fellow joe x nicky shippers by avengersnewb, Aug 19 2020, Archived version
  42. ^ on observable trends in fandom spaces re: racism by of-scythia, Sept 1 2020, Archived version
  43. ^ I appreciate efforts to fight the racist trope that Joe as a man of colour is uncivilized, amoral, and wantonly violent and aggressive. But uh, people lose me at flat-out “Joe is not a violent man.” by with-my-murder-flute (Aug 20, 2020), Archived version
  44. ^ Post on positive discrimination by lucyclairedelune, Dec 9th, with additional comment by mynothingness, Archived version
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