When I wished to find more graphic novel stories from those experiences and stories by myself, I found myself a lot excited, slashing my eyes on cartoonists and pinging out cartoonists pages. The Michigan native has a series of mini-comics recently published into graphic novels Huda F Are you and That Can Be Arranged: Muslim Love Story. There are three and yes, In This, which expose the sometimes awkward, sometimes mundane elements of being a Muslim Hijabi woman in the U.S. Recently one of Fahmy’s works was moved for a TV show, but she told readers it might take longer to develop because the company tried to become a Muslim showrunner because a company of her own struggled to develop with her on one of her requirements.
Do you want a rich history of Islam to succeed? I know I have something better for myself and for me, but still frustrated?
Huda Fahmy (@yesimhotinthis) December 14, 2022
If it sounds unheard of, it’s because this is the trap a lot of marginalized and underrepresented communities get into when they relegate to fields. The creators do their part to break the cycle by doing the work, but they can’t afford extensive experience, unless studios are willing to bet on them as well.
The journal books are called (Dial Books).
After a follow-up tweet one day, Fahmy added: They tried to talk to a few of the Muslim showrunners, and the one we heard back was too busy, but I connected to another and then they changed their minds and awaited them because they didn’t feel like being used to her mentor.
That’s depressing. I have said this before, so I can say it again. You need experienced showrunners from underrepresented communities, so you should turn things around. Mentoring is a very easy way to achieve this. Co-showrunning with someone with a more experience https://t.co/xjsthjrR6s.
Raisah Ahmed (@RaisahAhmed) December 15, 2022
The number of Muslim people in the media lags up in comparison to the rest of the country.
(Laura Radford/Peacock)
Despite making up 25% of the world’s population, a USC Annenberg study found that Muslims only represent 1% of the supervisable actors. Most of 1% are stereotypes and/or non-speaking roles. Inspired by other testing like the Bechdel-Wallace test, or the Kent Test, three Muslim cinephiles (Shaf Choudry, Isobel Ingham-Barrow and Sadia Habib) created the Riz Test. According to the recent report from the Reuters, the tests have changed the performance of Riz Ahmed after his 2017 speech to the House of Commons. There is no more risk of failure than a pass, or a score at a time, but a failure.
Most stories have disappeared recently, like We Are Lady Parts and Ms. Marvel. They are hardly available in the broader media realm from television to film. If their side characters like Ramy and/or are playing into harmful tropes like Halaeven, the fact she doesn’t play anything related to a terrorist makes this an upgrade still.
Dear Hollywood, When inclusion isn’t mindful of the community being represented, it’s just good ol’fashioned tokenism. The reason for me is almost that we never wanted to discuss these matters. But nah.
Huda Fahmy (@yesimhotinthis) October 7, 2020.
Making Fahmy a key candidate would be considered a Muslim. These stories speak honestly, humorously and humorously, of their experiences and other Hijabis. Hopefully a new studio will pick up the show, and soon we’ll see Fahmy’s slice-of-life approach to storytelling. Though I’m waiting, I definitely recommend taking her books, even if you don’t read YA or middle grade books.
(featured image: “Dial Books, Huda Fahmy”)
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