The RizTest Podcast

Ramadan Mubarak! Ramadan Kareem! 🕋 We geek out and level up this week with the amazingly talented Osama Dorias and discuss the topic of representation of Muslims in Video Games🕹.  Osama is Lead Games Designer at Warner Brother Games Canada, authored the Independent Video Games programme at Dawson College (Qubec) , founded the Montreal Independent Games Awards and is President of the Muslim In Games Special Interest Group for the IGDA (International Games Developers Association). Osama is also a prolific public speaker talking about Muslim Representation in Video Games at conferences around the world, most notably at the Games Developer Conference presenting a “How to Guide to Muslim Representation in Video Games”. We discuss: Personal journey into the world of video games The ‘Good Muslim Vs Bad Muslim’ Trope Parallels between the Film & TV and Games Industry Well-Intentioned mistakes with representation and why being too afraid to try leads to poor representation Bad guys in games: Zombies, Muslims and Nazis Concept of 'Arabistan' Is representation better in Indie Games? or Big Studio Games? People of Colour in Play (organisation) Muslim Representation in Graphic Novels Osama’s Talk at the GDC “A How to Guide for Muslim Representation in Video Games” https://youtu.be/p4MHV15n-Lw Games covered: Little Big Planet (2008) Call of Duty Franchise (2007-) Counter Strike (2000) Terminator Salvation (2009) Super Street Fighter IV (2010) Tekken 7 (2015) Overwatch (2015) Deus Ex (2000) Assassins Creed Franchise (2007-) Spiderman (PS4 2018) Good Pizza Great Pizza (2018) MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries (2018) Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege: Year 5 Pass (2020) After HOURS (2018)

Hey hey Mary J ✊🏽 We’re back after a hiatus working on personal projects (both of us dabbling in a bit of writing on the forthcoming book, I Refuse To Condemn – edited by the talented Asim Qureshi) with a brand new episode. We’re chuffed to bits to be able to finally sit down (virtually) in this new socially isolated world with our guest Daniel York Loh. We discuss his start in the theatre, writing productions such as The Fu Manchu Complex which challenges the 'Yellow Peril' racist stereotype and talk through early years breaking into the film industry. We have an awesome wide ranging conversation that covers: The Hounslow Art Collective and Parv Bancil’s influence on his career The term ‘Ethnic Drag’, performing your ethnicity as opposed to acting ‘Chinese’ being a problematic term Pan Asian Identities The Oriental Stereotype and Orientalist white gaze Founding BEATS and The ‘Living with the Lams’ controversy Stereotypes of the ‘Model Minority’ Crazy Rich Asians being a significant yet problematic milestone The Rep Sweats And of course we end with the Question Time Guy You can follow Daniel on Twitter at @danielfyork

We’re back with Season 2!💥✊🏽 Did you miss us? We’re back with an amazing deep dive into Iranian cinema with the wonderful Dr. Zahra Khosroshahi, friend of the RizTest and scholar at the University of East Anglia. We talk about post revolutionary feminist representation in Iranian cinema, creativity with the backdrop of censorship and why Iranian Cinema is so much more than Persepolis. Intro trailer: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) Notes: Recommended feature films by Rakhshan Banietemad Nargess (1992) Blue Veiled (1995) The May Lady (1999) Under the Skin of the City (2001) The May Lady (2006) Tales (2014) Other Iranian directors mentioned by Zahra: Pouran Derakhshandeh Tahmineh Milani Asghar Farhadi Reza Dormishian Jafar Panahi Samiara Makhmalbaf Must watch Diaspora Iranian films: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014) Under the Shadow (Babak Anvari, 2016) Interview with Rakhshan Banietemad Kay Armatage, Zahra Khosroshahi Feminist Media Histories, Vol. 3 No. 1, Winter 2017; (pp. 140-155) DOI: 10.1525/fmh.2017.3.1.140 Iranian Film Festival (London) http://www.ukiff.org.uk/about A platform for watching Iranian films https://www.imvbox.com/ Other notes: Gholam (2017) is on Amazon to rent/buy Twitter: @zahrafkh If interested in blogs/content about sustainability, check out: https://livinglifenaturalblog.com/author/zahrak/ http://muslimgirl.com/45573/heres-modest-fashion-ethics-need-go-hand-hand/

TEN!✊🏽 Sadia and Shaf catch up on what has been going on in the world of representation, what we've been up to in the little break we've had and what we have planned in the coming weeks. Notes: Bradford Literature Festival Controversy Bradford in Our Own Words Event Hussein Kesvani's book Follow Me, Akhi Collaborations with Riz Ahmed at the CAA Amplify conference Youssef Kerkour and Channel 4 show, Home Francis Agnoli's write up on DC Universe animation, Young Justice Future Podcast Guests

Nine!✊🏽 We meet with long time supporter and ally of the RizTest, Nina Bhagwat to discuss the nuances and importance of Off Screen Diversity. Nina is an accomplished TV professional having established, commissioned and championed a host of diversity initiatives. Nina is how Head of Diversity and Inclusion at the Warner Music Group and Chair of the Steering Committee at the Creative Industries Alliance. We double down on Off Screen diversity and how this shapes the narrative of what we see on screen. Notes: Lenny Henry's speech on Milli Vanilli Diversity   Diamond UK Data Collection  Directors UK Reports: Who’s Calling the Shots? Adjusting the Colour Balance Being ‘Acceptably Brown’ in the industry Telling it like it is Vs earning cash to pay the bills The BAME drain  Creative Industries Alliance Legally Black Isn't BBC Bodyguard shocking?!

Eid Mubarak! 🌙🎉 We link up with the hilarious Tez Ilyas who is currently living his best life co-starring in the second season of Man Like Mobeen (recommissioned for a third - boom!) and smashing it on all fronts. We drink tea, eat fruit and discuss Tez’s origin story, current projects and exciting projects on the horizon.  Sadia and Shaf also catch up after Eid for a long overdue news round up, discuss the absolute state of the new live-action Aladdin movie, Museums engaging with wider communities and biases in Artificial Intelligence. Books mentioned: Algorithms of Opression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (Safiya Umoja Noble) Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms and Other Threats of Toxic Tech (Sara Wachter-boettch) Talk to Me: Amazon, Google, Apple and the Race for Voice-Controlled AI (James Vlahos) Friend of the show, Anisa Khalifa's write up of Aladdin: https://anisakhalifa.com/2019/05/27/film-review-the-new-aladdins-updated-casting-cant-resolve-its-flawed-foundations/ Show Notes: Tez’s childhood and education Moving to London and first forays into Comedy Man Like Mobeen and bromance with Guz Khan “Muslim Comedian is not a genre of comedy” Telling your story and staying true to your roots White Fragility (I know right?) How not to have a discussion about Brexit The Tez O Clock Show and what the future beckons

This Ep is *next* level 💯 We are huge super-fans of our guest, Professor Evelyn Alsultany who is an Associate Professor in the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  We speak to the good prof and delve deep into her experience researching Anti-Arab and Anti-Muslim representations in film and the media. Show notes: Professor Evelyn's background and childhood The representations of Muslims Pre and Post 9/11 The illusions of a post-race society Simplified complex representations, what this is and what it means We dissect the below tropes: - The Sympathetic Oppressed Muslim Woman - The Demonised Muslim Man - The Patriotic Arab/ Muslim Character - The Nominal Muslim (The Acceptable Muslim) The role of satire and comedy to highlight and magnify problematic themes Dr Jack Shaheen - his work, his insights and his legacy The Mena Arts Advocacy Group, Azita Ghanizada Our workshop at the University of East Anglia Books discussed: The Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11 (Critical Cultural Communication) - Professor Evelyn Alsultany Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World - Edward Said Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and U.S. Interests in the Middle East since1945 (American Crossroads) - Melani Mcalister Reel Bad Arabs - Dr Jack Shaheen Films & Shows discussed: 24 Sleeper Cell Homeland The Siege Three Kings BBC Bodyguard American Sniper London is Falling Argo Master of None The Big Sick Ramy Four Lions

It’s Ramadan 🌙 and this episode is ALL about the hit Hulu show Ramy, devised by and starring Ramy Youssef. 💥Spoiler Alert💥 Shaf and Sadia are honoured to be joined by Sahar Jahani, one of the writers from the show who shares amazing behind the scenes insights into what goes into writing a show like Ramy and representing authentic Muslim experiences. We discuss with Sahar: The reception of the Ramy show so far Who is the show for? (What the show is, and what it isn’t) Sahar's career to date The inner workings of the writer’s room and the process of how decisions are made and storylines are formed Ramy’s story arc The role of Muslim women in the show 🧕🏽 Telling authentic Muslim stories and tough storyline decisions Working with comedians and keeping it real halal We love hearing your feedback, so please get in touch on @theriztest or email in on [email protected] and leave us your thoughts!

This episode is sick. Sadia and Shaf kick off by catching up about holidaying in Bosnia, Aziz Ansari's new live show and the problematic Fatwa podcast on BBC Sounds. We are deeeelighted to introduce a Riz Test first - we have the honour of discussing film & #riztest pass Eaten by Lions with reviewer Rana (@rararana) but also writer/ director Jason Wingard (@jmbmedia) & star of the film Antonio Aakeel (@AntonioAakeel).  We discuss themes addressed in the film, the problems faced by actors when offered problematic roles & why representation should be easy. https://www.eatenbylions.com/ - Go see it! It's genuinely hilarious and it passes the Riz Test Get in touch on @theriztest or email in on [email protected] - we'd love to hear your feedback! 

New episode who dis? Sadia (@educ_research) and Shaf (@shaftag) are delighted to be joined by the super talented New York Times culture & NBA writer, hilarious Stand Up Comedian and former CBS journalist covering the Trump presidential campaign - Sopan Deb (@sopandeb).  This episode is all about representation of Muslims and minorities in comedy - we talk through Sopan's origin story, covering the Trump campaign, the intersection of politics and comedy, Brexit (I know, I know), his book, being authentic and telling your own story, how it's cool to be brown - and we talk through some of Sopan's biggest influences and inspirations.  We cover so much in this amazing chat, the shout outs are below: · Guz Khan (@GuzKhanOfficial) · Tez Ilyas (@tezilyas) · Paul Chowdry @paulchowdhry · Bilal Zafar (@Zafarcakes) · Omar Hamdi (@Omar_Hamdi_Com) · Hasan Minhaj (@hasanminhaj) · Aziz Ansari (@azizansari) · Russel Peters  · Ramy Yousef (@ramy) · Aasif mandvi (@aasif) · Dean Obeidallah (@DeanObeidallah) · Maysoon Zayid (@maysoonzayid)  · Dave Merheje (@DaveMerheje) · Mo amer (@realmoamer) · Riz Ahmed (@rizmc) · Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) Get in touch on @theriztest or email in on [email protected] - we'd love to hear your feedback! P.s. Intro Music? Hasan Minhaj's Netflix Special