Riz Ahmed is calling out Hollywood following a new study with some alarming findings regarding the representation of Muslims in media. Initially known for his work in independent films, such as Four Lions and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Ahmed had two breakout performances in the movie Nightcrawler and the HBO limited series The Night Of. He’s also known for portraying Bodhi Rook in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. More recently, Ahmed earned critical acclaim for Sound of Metal, a role which earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Ahmed has lent his star power and name recognition to a study that looks into the depictions of Muslims in popular media. Previous inquiries into the subject have found that, in a large number of cases, Muslim characters were used as terrorist villains in feature films, with the depictions lacking nuance and often veering into racist caricature. New findings make clear that, while certain strides have been made with shows like Ramy and We Are Lady Parts, much more work needs to be done.
The report, titled “Missing & Maligned: The Reality of Muslims in Popular Global Movies," was released by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in partnership with the Ford Foundation and Pillars Fund. It examines a total of 8,965 speaking characters across 200 top-grossing movies between 2017 and 2019. The study looks at films from the U.S., U.K, Australia, and New Zealand, finding that just 1.6% of characters were Muslim. The study also notes that there were no Muslims in the 23 animated movies featured in the sample. Ahmed, who backed the study, addressed the issue in a video posted to social media.
More troublingly than even the raw numbers are the way that Muslims are often depicted when they do appear. Per IndieWire, Ahmed notes that "Over 30 percent of Muslim characters are perpetrators of violence. Over 50 percent are victims of violence." The actor also points out that this has real consequences. Unlike other areas of representation, it is the case that some audiences are more likely to see Muslims on the big screen than they are in their everyday life. If all that is shown of Muslims is cycles of violence, it leads to stereotyping and dismissing a racially and ethnically diverse community that accounts for almost 25% of the world’s population. This dismissal and stereotyping are aided by a news media which mostly ignores the Muslim until major conflicts erupt.
To combat these latest findings, the partners behind the study have launched “The Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion,” It calls for short, medium, and long-term goals for change. Pillars Fund, alongside Ahmed and his Left Handed Films, is also starting The Pillars Artist Fellowship. It will work to increase opportunities for Muslim storytellers.
Hopefully, these initiatives and blueprints will help grow Muslim representation beyond a small handful of examples. It's clear based on the findings of the study that Hollywood still has a long way to go, especially in popular movies. The industry is lucky to have someone like Riz Ahmed advocating for important and necessary change.
Source: USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, Riz Ahmed, IndieWire
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3cwChna
No comments: