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Hello pod! In tonight’s episode, we’re discussing the kind of representation we want to see and talking about the films, filmmakers, and production companies that are changing the way that we see Arabs portrayed on the big screen. If you haven’t already tuned into our previous episodes where we break down the film Reel Bad Arabs and the destructive stereotypes we’ve seen throughout Hollywood’s history as well as define a few terms that we’ve used throughout this series, we highly recommend that you go back and listen to those episodes.
If you haven’t already seen Reel Bad Arabs, we HIGHLY recommend that you watch. It’s less than an hour and you can watch it for FREE on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPxak6lFd-I
Here are suggested TV shows, movies, and streaming services from our guests:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animated series, Netflix)
- The Encampments (Watermelon+)
- A Sad and Beautiful World (Watermelon+)
- All That’s Left Of You (In Theatres & Watermelon+)
- Amreeka (Available to rent on Amazon Prime, Google, and Apple)
- Palestine 36 (In Theatres & Watermelon+)
- Salt of the Sea (Available to rent on Amazon Prime, Google, and Apple)
- Slingshot Hip Hop (Available to rent on Amazon Prime, Google, and Apple)
- Caramel (2007, Available to rent on Amazon Prime, Google, and Apple)
- I Am From Palestine (YouTube)
Follow these filmmakers and artists:
- Jackie Reem Salloum
- Cherein Dabis
- Suheir Hammad
- Annemarie Jacir
- Nadine Labaki
Our guests (and how you can support them) are listed below:
Amira Ferjani is a Tunisian American and Marketing and Communications Specialist uses her platform to educate others on anti-SWANA discrimination and the often-erased diversity of the South West Asia and North Africa region. She draws on her lived experience and cultural heritage to challenge the erasure and misrepresentation of SWANA peoples in media, policy, and everyday language. Subscribe to her Substack, Amira Out Loud here: http://amiraoutloud.substack.com. She’s also on most social media platforms as @amiraoutloud.
Muna Najib is a first-generation Palestinian social justice activist, writer, speaker and educator. She believes in fighting for full land back for all indigenous peoples which includes Palestine’s full liberation and sovereignty from the river to the sea. Reach out to her at mntaha@gmail.com. You can also follow her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mnnajib7.
Munir Atalla is the Head of Production & Acquisitions at Watermelon Pictures. Visit their website at https://www.watermelonpictures.com to learn more about the distribution and production company whose mission is to shift culture on a large scale by bringing Palestinian cinema, and other untold stories, to broad audiences in a way that entertains, inspires, and activates audiences. Subscribe to Watermelon Plus for $7.99/mo or $79.99/year at https://www.watermelonplus.com!
Ryan Shrime is of Lebanese and Palestinian descent and is an actor, voiceover artist, writer, and producer in Los Angeles. Since having been a producer for the Arab-American Comedy Festival in New York and the co-founder and producer of the Middle Eastern Comedy Festival in Los Angeles, Ryan has been using his platform to help combat stereotypes and misrepresentation of Arabs in Hollywood and the media at large. To support him, you can hire him as an actor (especially if you have any pirate roles in a period piece!), get him into the writer’s room, and rewatch episodes of Sam and Cat so that he can collect royalties. He’s on all social media platforms as @ryanshrime. We need to support our actors!
Saafa Tahboub is a Palestinian American in her third year at the University of Rochester studying Brain & Cognitive Science with a minor in Spanish.
Sarah Aljitawi is a Palestinian American and a senior majoring in public health and nursing.
Follow Students for Justice in Palestine on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/sjp.ur and donate to their group and efforts to helping the people of Palestine here: https://linktr.ee/UR.SJP
As promised here are some other resources:
Books – Orientalism by Edward Said; Reel Bad Arabs by Dr. Jack Shaheen
Articles - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1priV6Ew23wYz1Vm0tefsERqVCz-a4UCP77UdWWrAqbY/edit?usp=drive_link
Wherever you’re listening from, hit that subscribe button and if you liked tonight’s episode, please give us a 5-star rating, share this episode and leave a comment to let us know what you liked the most! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok & Threads.
Visit https://www.ourvoicesproject.com and sign up for our newsletter for more information about what we do. Again, if you haven’t listened to our previous episodes in this series, we highly recommend that you do so. Not only that, do yourselves a favor and go watch Reel Bad Arabs available for FREE on YouTube as well as the films and TV shows that our guests recommended tonight.
We’ll be taking 3 weeks off and we’ll be back on May 21st to dive back into films that center Black, Brown, and Indigenous voices and stories.
This has been Jackie McGriff, your host for tonight’s episode of Representation in Cinema. As always, thank you again for listening!
00:00 Intro
06:00 Diverse Voices in Arab Cinema
08:58 Understanding Authentic Representation
12:07 The Role of Storytelling in Representation
14:57 Cultural Narratives and Media Influence
21:05 Challenges in Representation
24:00 The Need for Diverse Narratives
33:16 Resistance and the Role of Encampments
39:07 Media Representation and Its Impact
48:50 Shifting Narratives in Film and Media
54:05 Emerging Projects and Representation
58:01 Solidarity Across Movements
01:00:51 The Future of Arab Representation in Media
01:18:30 Empowering Female Voices in Film
01:21:41 Encouragement for Emerging Filmmakers & Actors
01:33:58 How to Support Our Guests
Mentioned in this episode:
Our Voices Project - Land Acknowledgement
Joe Bean Roasters
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Dialed In: A Coffee Podcast
Get Dialed In to the world of coffee with Aaron and Wade! Tastings, coffee news and opinion and more! https://dialedincoffee.captivate.fm
