By Brian Welk
“The representation of Muslims on screen feeds the policies that get enacted, the people that get killed, the countries that get invaded,” actor Riz Ahmed says
(THE WRAP) Muslim characters were present in less than 10% of 200 of the most recent popular films, a new study found, and when their characters are given rare speaking roles, they’re often depicted as foreigners, dangerous or in other stereotypical lights. The survey is the latest from USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which selected 200 popular films released between 2017 and 2019 in the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand and found that less than 2% of more than 8,500 speaking characters in these movies were Muslim.
The study is also getting a boost from actor and Oscar nominee for “Sound of Metal” Riz Ahmed, who in addition to the data is joining with the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative as part of a coalition called The Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion. And Ahmed will also sponsor a fellowship of $25,000 for Muslim artists in the U.S. and the U.K.
“The representation of Muslims on screen feeds the policies that get enacted, the people that get killed, the countries that get invaded,”
Ahmed said in a statement.
“The data doesn’t lie. This study shows us the scale of the problem in popular film, and its cost is measured in lost potential and lost lives.” The study also argues that of the representations of Muslim characters that are available, many are viewed as outsiders, as threatening or as subservient, particularly to white characters. One-third of the characters committed violence while half were victims or targets of violence in films. Characters are most likely to be shown with their articles of faith. Female Muslim characters are often secondary or presented only as romantic partners or family. And rarely do films depict Muslim characters in modern day or as people in English-speaking countries, with a majority only seen in the Middle East/North Africa, India, or Europe.
