“Right now, the game is mess up. Right now, the game is rigg “In a new interview with the news outlet Muslim, Ahmed stated. “Either Muslims aren’t depicte on TV at all, or they are, and they’re the evil people. Muslims are either invisible or we’re villainised-Riz Ahmed.
They’re either violent perpetrators or victims. Because the stories we tell about our community influence the laws that are passed, the people who are assault, and the people who are invaded, we’re either invisible or villainize.”
Riz Ahmed
These stats are crazy. When it comes to #MuslimsInFilm we are either invisible or villains. So we assembled the #MuslimAvengers to try fix this. Will the industry now step up? https://t.co/94ZotOHk0S
— Riz Ahmed (@rizwanahmed) June 10, 2021
Riz Ahmed, a Pakistani-British actor, has long outspoken about how Muslims are portray in Hollywood. Years later, The Night of star still shakes his head at the portrayal of Muslims onscreen.
The actor was responding to a scene from Clint Eastwood’s 2014 blockbuster American Sniper, in which Bradley Cooper shoots a Muslim child during the Iraq War. Ahmed shook his head as the scene onscreen played.
He exclaimed, “This is so f** up.” “It’s difficult not to be enrage while seeing this.” It’s insane to consider how many people had to say yes in order for this to be make. We probably don’t have enough time to thoroughly convey how f** awful the clip is on multiple levels. It’s just blatantly racist.”
You had me at this. Let’s go for it#MuslimsInFilm #MuslimAvengers https://t.co/gBRvA92ARh
— Shahir Hameed (He/Him) (@hameed_shahir) June 11, 2021
Muslims are either invisible or we’re villainised-Riz Ahmed
He pointed out that the majority of the Muslims depicted in the video were terrorists.
“We’re going to look back on that and cringe the same way we cringe when we see films with blackface in them. Or movies about cowboys and Indians, where the only nice Indian is a dead Indian, for example
“The Emmy-winning artist observed.
“That’s exactly what you’re saying: the only good Muslim is one who has died. This thing is extremely dangerous because it allows countries to be invade. It makes hate crimes possible. It allows for the passage of discriminatory and racist legislation.”
He called such a form of film “crazy,” “outdated,” and “racist,” adding that such irresponsibility “costs lives.”
The actor urged filmmakers to portray a more diversified Muslim population in terms of ethnicity, geography, gender, sexuality, and talents. Ahmed also co-wrote and featured in the new film Mogul Mowgli.
Pakistani-born British actor Riz Ahmed @rizwanahmed launches campaign against portrayal of Muslims in negative roles in Hollywood movies.
— 𝓘𝓼𝓻𝓪𝓻 𝓐𝓱𝓶𝓪𝓭 (@IsrarAhmadEngr1) June 11, 2021
Weldon Riz Ahmed 👍#MuslimAvengers #MuslimsInFilm#RizAhmedhttps://t.co/OMHEkzTt3r
which is about a British Pakistani rapper with a similar background to Ahmed’s.
The actor, who was born in the United Kingdom to a Pakistani family, was also a musician.) The character’s name is Zaheer, but he goes by Zed, which is a circumstance that the actor who played him is familiar with. Rizwan is Ahmed’s real first name.
“Zaheer has changed his name to Zed, and the question is whether this was a conscious decision or something he was compelled to do because people couldn’t pronounce his name,” Ahmed explained.
“That is a question I ask myself from time to time. I’ve redacted my whole name, and I’m starting to worry if it carries too much weight and has too much history.”
Ahmed had clearly made his mind up on the topic. “I’ll say one thing: after this film, I’m going to present myself as Rizwan,” he added.
“When it comes to #MuslimsInFilm we are either invisible or villains. So we assembled the #MuslimAvengers to try to fix this. Will the industry now step up?” https://t.co/AQAZ0tkfWo
— STAND League (@standleague) June 13, 2021
However, he believes that changing how we control our stories must be a team effort. “I’m not going to be able to solve this on my own,” Ahmed says. “It will need all of us working together.
It can be exhausting at times. I’d much prefer be talking about my creative process and artistic influences, but I feel compelled to speak up and open the door for others, allowing them to tell their own experiences.”
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