We finally interview Palestinian comic writer Nadia Shammas on their incredible career!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 54: The Palestinian Ingenuity of Nadia Shammas”
We review Maryam Touzani’s beautiful film Cannes-award winning film Blue Caftan, coming to theaters soon in the U.S.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 50: ‘Blue Caftan,’ the Earthquake, and an Update on Palestine”
We review Darin J. Sallam’s searing and visceral film, Farha, which details the first horrific events of the Nakba.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 49: ‘Farha’ Review and the Resistance of Palestine”
With audiences left hanging on a drastic cliffhanger at the end of Season 1, Netflix has thankfully renewed Mo for a second and final season that will conclude the story of Mo Najjar (Mo Amer), his girlfriend Maria (Teresa Ruiz), and their family and friends.
Continue reading “Netflix’s ‘Mo’ Will Return for a Second and Final Season”
“The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change,” we’ve heard for weeks on end from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Did it really change that much with the release of Black Adam? Honestly? Yeah, kind of!
Continue reading “‘Black Adam’ is Less Than the Sum of its Parts but Still a Fun Time”
Tariq Raouf joins us once again to review the third season of Ramy, out on Hulu now!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 43: ‘Ramy’ Season 3 Review”
When we find the Hassan family at the start of Ramy Season 3, the son of the family has brought not only shame, but severe consequences for his family that threaten the life they’ve built in the States. Where do they go from here, and will they ever be able to pay back their debts? How will the Hassan family change through their experiences this season?
Continue reading “The Cast of ‘Ramy’ on What’s in Store for the Hassan Family in Season 3”
Ramy is never an easy show to watch. It’s compelling and funny, but it never shies away from showing the (many) faults of its title character, and occasionally those of his family and friends.
Slight setup spoilers for Ramy Season 3 follow:
Continue reading “‘Ramy’ Season 3 is As Funny and Engaging As Ever”
Ramy Hassan’s stated journey has been finding moral clarity on his life and what it means to be a good Muslim. Only problem is, he’s a constantly selfish screw-up. When we left him at the end of last season, he was at his lowest and most morally depraved, having completely humiliated his new (and immediately former) wife Zainab (MaameYaa Boafo), and rightfully enraging her father Sheikh Ali Malek (Mahershala Ali). Where does he go from here, and how will this inform his apparent crisis of faith in Islam?
Continue reading “‘Ramy’ Season 3 Teases a Spiritual Crisis for the Hassan Family”
We review the first season of Neflix’s first ever Palestinian original series, Mo! Co-created by Palestinian American actor and comedian Mo Amer and Ramy Youssef, this outstanding comedy-drama is a semi-autobiographical take on Amer’s own life in Houston.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 42: ‘Mo’ Review”
When Hulu’s Ramy premiered in 2019 on Hulu, it was heralded as a landmark for Egyptian, Arab, and Muslim representation in Western media. Representation for Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) people remains scant, even with the small gains made, but it’s been especially rare for Palestinians, who must constantly endure attempted erasure in their homeland in Palestine and abroad.
Continue reading “Mo Amer Brings the Palestinian Experience to the Screen with Netflix’s ‘Mo’”
Even though there’s not a lot to be merry about, we count our blessings and make it merry! We also discuss the wonderful 2020 film Gaza Mon Amour by director brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, which shows old love in the middle of Gaza, starring our fave Hiam Abbass. We also discuss the exciting news of We Are Lady Parts Season 2 renewal, Mena Massoud’s new Netflix rom-com coming out soon, and much more!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 33: ‘Gaza Mon Amour’ Review and Holiday Edition”
We obviously look forward to the holidays for the food. Whether it’s for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Passover, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Diwali, Día De Los Muertos, Seollal (Korean New Year), Nowruz (Persian New Year), or some other holiday, we always enjoy diving into a scrumptious feast with our loved ones to commemorate these occasions. But how exactly did some of these food traditions develop here in the United States, and what were the specific contributions of Immigrant and Indigenous communities?
Continue reading “Padma Lakshmi’s ‘Taste the Nation: Holiday Edition’ is Wonderful and Moving”
Palestinian historian and scholar N.A. Mansour joins us to discuss the situation in Palestine, where the situation stands now, how pop culture plays into the dehumanization of Palestinians, and what you can do to help and learn more about Palestinian people and their struggles. We also discuss all of Loki Season 1! What did we like about the series, and what themes resonated with us? Where could it have done better in areas? We also give our recommendations, and much more!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 28: Palestine in Pop Culture and ‘Loki’”
We are SO excited to discuss Nida Manzoor’s We Are Lady Parts, a British series featuring a punk rock band of all Muslim women of color, including MENA women, premiering today on Peacock TV! What did we love particularly about this series, and how well does it handle representation? We also discuss the news of the additional Sandman for Netflix, including the Lebanese Razane Jammal, American Eid debuting on Disney+, and much more!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 27: ‘We Are Lady Parts’ Review”
We discuss the most recent IDF and Israeli government brutalization and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and East Jerusalem and discuss what the world and the US need to do to help those affected and end the occupation. We discuss what the daily reality is like for Palestinians in the West Bank through Farah Nabulsi’s brilliant short film, The Present, which you can watch on Netflix. Please do what you can to help Palestinians in need.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 26: ‘The Present’ in Palestine”
In the latest installment of The Middle Geeks, we review Wajib by Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir. Mae and Swara talk about what we enjoyed about the film, and how we thought it offered a realistic portrayal of families dealing with generational oppression and how meaningful it is for Annemarie Jacir to tell an intimate story of her people. We also discuss the great news that the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+ will have an Iranian-British writer with Hossein Amini, how we’re looking forward to the Arrow spinoff starring the Canaries, and give our recommendations of what to watch.
(We start our Wajib discussion at the 21:12 mark.)
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 5: ‘Wajib’ and When We Get to Tell Our Stories”
Originally posted on Silva Culture
I finally saw X-Men: Days of Future Past at our local close-to-DVD-release cheap theater that we South Minneapolitans all love, The Riverview. I loved it. I knew a few of the main comics discrepancies beforehand, but they didn’t bother me. It was gripping, the effects were sick, and I for me personally, I’m not sure there’s a limit to great acting performances once Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender hit the screen in damn near everything they do. All of that said, once I was waiting for the credits and the usual Marvel post-flick teaser, I started thinking about something else: Ferguson, MO.
Now that San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, the geekosphere is slowly recovering from yet another event-filled summer week of blockbuster teasers, secret announcements, and surprise reveals. The biggest news of the weekend was probably Zack Snyder surprising Hall H with an exclusive first look at Gal Gadot in full Wonder Woman regalia. DC’s new cinematic trinity — Gadot, Ben Affleck, and Henry Cavill — even joined Snyder on stage to tease actual footage from the movie.
The move made Batman v Superman the buzziest movie presentation to emerge out of San Diego by far. And to be honest, I think Gadot looks fantastic as Wonder Woman. Yeah, the internet’s got jokes, but I think the costume successfully threads the needle between comic book accurate and live action practical. For me, though, the thing that I find disconcerting about Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman isn’t how she looks, but what she believes.
Continue reading “Wonder Woman on Gaza: What Would Diana Do?”
