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THREAD: And now for some answers! What was the inspiration for the #ZARQA trailer? Hubby insists I tell everyone he hasn't run off with a white, hot yoga instructor. We are still married (more or less happily) & the trailer is fictional and not based on anyone's life.
Think-pieces by authors such as @amil, @TazzyStar & @nansequiturs inspired me. They critique the romantic comedy trope in @TheBigSickMovie & #MasterOfNone among others: brown men choosing white women as the highly desired trophy while brown women are disposable side characters.
Although @TheBigSickMovie was based on real life, the South Asian women in the film were portrayed as the undesirable, reductive stereotypes, especially when compared to @kumailn's cool white love interest @zoeinthecities. Even with a brown male lead, the film was white-centred.
I want to make a brown-centred rom com from a Muslim woman's POV. One that doesn't erase my identity. Diversity on television, for me, isn't diverse people practicing the same dominant culture. I want representation that represents my world view and not the world's view of me.
I crave stories about us that are not about the same sliver of the Muslim experience: terrorism, arranged marriage, the traditional immigrant/1st gen child conflict. I'm not saying these aren't real issues, but they are overrepresented in the media & lead to harmful stereotypes.
I also want to acknowledge that things are changing. Films like @aliwong's Always Be My Maybe where an Asian-American woman chooses #RandallPark over #KeanuReeves was remarkable as was @CrazyRichMovie for its depiction of Asian romantic leads.
@ramy had a black romantic lead, Zainab, played by the @MaameYaaBoafo. @kumailn has a new film #TheLovebirds with the amazing @IssaRae. And we can never forget @GetOutMovie's take on the white saviour trope. But films/series with a Muslim woman as lead are rare.
Hence the need for this show. A middle-aged woman - especially one who wears hijab - taking agency over her romantic life challenges stereotypes of Muslim women. We, too, lead nuanced lives and deal with complex issues such as divorce and remarriage.
In the #ZARQA trailer, a vindictive Muslim woman competes with her ex's white trophy 'Bethany, the yoga instructor' with her own white trophy, 'Brian, the brain surgeon.' It's a self-aware comedy about how internalized racism & fetishization of the "other" play out in love.
I love characters who r flawed, a little unlikeable and unconventional, especially when they're women. These roles are not typically given to us. My hope is to get this show into production & present a different slice of Muslim life.
Help us get #ZARQA into production by sharing the trailer widely: https://bit.ly/zarqa-trailer
Here are the articles that I referenced for this thread:
The Big Sick & Brown Romance In Pop Culture Narratives: http://theaerogram.com/big-sick-brown-romance/ @theaerogram
The Big Sick & Brown Romance In Pop Culture Narratives: http://theaerogram.com/big-sick-brown-romance/ @theaerogram
I Really Liked ‘The Big Sick’ But Please, Let Brown Women Live: https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/zmvmp3/i-really-liked-the-big-sick-but-please-let-brown-women-live @VICE
I’m Tired of Watching Brown Men Fall in Love With White Women Onscreen: https://themuse.jezebel.com/i-m-tired-of-watching-brown-men-fall-in-love-with-white-1796522590 @Jezebel
From the Perspective of Those Rejected Brown Women in ‘The Big Sick’: https://muslimgirl.com/why-are-brown-women-always-rejected-by-love-interests-on-television/ @muslimgirl
