Tag: The Middle Geeks

Podcasts, Star Wars

The Middle Geeks Episode 17: MENA in the Stars and Middle Earth

Swara Salih

We’re excited to have on TV writer, blogger, and Star Wars fan Arezou Amin on to discuss the long history of MENA people being excluded from Science Fiction and Fantasy media. Why are we constantly ousted from stories that were, in fact, inspired by works based on the Middle East and our culture? Where could we even find ourselves? We discuss Arezou’s project with Postcards from the Galaxy’s Edge featuring Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Star Wars fans, and what she and the podcast hoped to achieve with it. We also discuss various DCTV news, including the Legends of Tomorrow panel at DC FanDome and the future of Zari and Behrad Tarazi in Season 6, Supergirl ending with Season 6, and Caity Lotz’s bufoonish tweets, and the news that Alia Shawkat is creating and starring in a series based on her family’s Iraqi immigrant experience!

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Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 16: ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night’ Review and DC FanDome

Swara Salih

We’re starting spooky season a bit early this year with a review of Iranian-American film director Ana Lily Amirpour’s 2014 horror classic “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.” What makes this film so unique in its abstraction and commentary, and how effectively does it pull it off? But before that, we have a heavy news section discussing police violence and brutality in the US, the recent explosion in Lebanon that has exacerbated the country’s numerous problems, and, on a much lighter note, we discuss the plethora of entertainment news out of DC Comics’ online convention DC FanDome!

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Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 15: ‘The Old Guard’ Review and Cancel Culture

Swara Salih

We have a PACKED episode this month. After discussing some excellent and exciting MENA entertainment news, Mae and Swara review Netflix’s The Old Guard, which is directed by the incredible Gina Prince-Bythewood and stars one of our favorite MENA actors Marwan Kenzari! But before that, we have an open and frank discussion about “cancel culture,” why it scares powerful and privileged white people so much, and how if they just actually devoted themselves to be better people they wouldn’t have to worry about being “canceled.” Enjoy listening!

Spoilers for The Old Guard being around 1:12:00.

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Movies, Podcasts, Streaming, Television

The Middle Geeks Interview: Faly Rakotohavana of Disney’s ‘The Secret Society of Second Born Royals’

Swara Salih

In the first of our interview series, we’re joined by Faly Rakotohavana of the upcoming Disney+ film The Secret Society of Second Born Royals! Faly tells us how he first got into acting on Raven’s Home on Disney Channel, Black Lives Matter, and his role as Matteo in The Secret Society of Second Born Royals, which is to debut on Disney+ this September 25, 2020. Enjoy!

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Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 14: Addressing Anti-Black Racism in MENA Communities

Swara Salih

In this episode, we discuss systemic Anti-Black racism, how it crops up in MENA communities, and how we should address it. We discuss how we can start important and difficult conversations with friends and family, and how we should show solidarity with the Black community in the fight for racial justice.

We’re joined by Nawal Rajeh, a community organizer and activist who co-founded and runs the non-profit By Peaceful Means, which works with youth in East Baltimore, MD around issues of peace and justice. 

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Podcasts, Streaming, Television

The Middle Geeks Episode 13: ‘Ramy’ Season 2 Review

Swara Salih

In the latest episode of The Middle Geeks, we review Hulu’s Ramy Season 2, dropping on Hulu May 29! We were able to watch the season in full, and give a non-spoiler review followed by a full-length SPOILER review. We mark the timings for these discussions below, so be sure to watch the season first if you don’t want spoilers! How did this season of Ramy improve from Season 1? Why was Mahershala Ali’s character such a standout? How were the characters we were introduced to develop further this season, and how surprising were their stories? How did Ramy Youssef seek to make a messy and irreverent story about this Egyptian-American Muslim family, and how well do he and the show team do that? We also have a difficult discussion about the new show Stargirl and how specifically it relates to the lack of MENA and women of color headlined DCTV shows, give our recommendations, and much more!

Ramy Season 2 discussion beings at 15:48, with a full SPOILERS discussion 27:39-1:34:03.

Music credit: Music Laounga 79 by El Masreyen, the album “Horreia,” used as opening music for Ramy

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Movies, News, Podcasts

The Middle Geeks 12: The Perils and Implications of Excluding MENA People from ‘Dune’

Swara Salih

The internet was abuzz a few weeks ago when the first photos for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune 2020 adaptation came out, but where were all the MENA people who should have been cast in a work clearly informed by the Middle East and its people, down to blatantly using Arabic and Persian words? In our exasperation at this blatant exclusion, we have our friend and lifelong Dune fan Rocky on again to discuss why this is troubling and its overall implications for MENA representation in Hollywood. Why did Warner Brothers and Villeneuve not cast any MENA actors or We’re very tired. We also discuss the return of Legends of Tomorrow and what we thought of Tala Ashe’s mesmerizing performance, give our recommendations for our collective time in quarantine, and much more!

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News, Podcasts, Television3 Comments

The Middle Geeks Episode 11: Quarantine Edition

Swara Salih

This month on The Middle Geeks, we’re recording from home, per usual, but it feels different this time as we literally have no other choice of location to do so. It’s Quarantine Edition! In the midst of the craziness that is COVID-19, we discuss how the entertainment industry has been affected, with various movie and tv productions having been pushed back, why some celebrities aren’t taking this situation so well, and ultimately what is needed on a public policy level to alleviate this crisis. We’re keeping up that balance of fun and serious stuff as always! Enjoy!

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Podcasts, Television

The Middle Geeks Episode 10: Character Spotlight on Zari of ‘Legends of Tomorrow’

Swara Salih

This month on The Middle Geeks, we’re joined by our friend and fellow DCTV fan Andy Behbakht to discuss why we love the character Zari Tomaz/Tarazi on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow so much. This character brings such wonderful representation, for which we’re very grateful. What does Tala Ashe bring to the role in her excellent performance of the character? What do we make of Zari’s story over the seasons and how she is written? How does Zari, through her cultural background, story, and personality, represent us as Middle Eastern people? We also discuss the news that we may be getting an Aladdin (2019) sequel, whether we feel excited about it, give our recommendations, and much more!

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Movies, Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 9: ‘For Sama’ and the Human Cost of War

Swara Salih

This month on The Middle Geeks, we discuss Waad Al-Kateab’s stunning documentary For Sama, which provides visceral insight into the Syrian Civil War and the experiences of citizens under siege. The film has been nominated for numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In much lighter topics, we discuss the upcoming return of Zari (Tala Ashe) on Legends of Tomorrow, and the news that Iranian and other people of color will be leads in Middle Earth on Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings series!

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Podcasts, Star Wars

The Middle Geeks Episode 8: The State of MENA Representation in Hollywood and Star Wars

Swara Salih

It’s the most wonderful time of the year on The Middle Geeks! Star Wars time! But is it really though, with the latest release of The Rise of Skywalker? Swara and Mae discuss, getting into what they liked about the film, as well as the issues they had with it and the Sequel Trilogy as a whole. Note that this is a SPOILER discussion. But before that, we get into the month of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) representation highs and lows, from the high of having an Arab-American hero introduced to Marvel Comics to the low of Aladdin star Mena Massoud not getting a single audition due to Hollywood racism, even after his film made a billion dollars. We still have a long way to go!

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Animation, Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 7: The Prince of Egypt

Swara Salih

This month on  The Middle Geeks, we discuss Dreamworks’ 1998 masterpiece, The Prince of Egypt. Why does this film resonate so much with people, including and besides its religious aspects? We discuss the representation aspects of the film, how it did well at depicting the ancient Middle East, and how the rich character drama and design holds it up today. We also give the deets on the delicious food at our Middle Eastern households during Thanksgiving and give our recommendations! (We start our The Prince of Egypt discussion at the 7:10 mark.)

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Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 6: Under the Shadow, Spooky Season in Iran

Swara Salih

It’s still Spooky Season here on The Middle Geeks! In our slightly belated Halloween special, we have our first guest! Our friend Roxana joins us to discuss one of her favorite horror films, Babak Anvari‘s Under the Shadow, which is set during the Iran-Iraq war. Join us as we discuss what we enjoyed about this supernatural horror and drama film, and how Anvari masterfully uses the experience of being Iranian to drive the narrative. We also discuss our thoughts and concerns on what is happening in the Middle East region today and discuss the latest Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer.

(We start our Under the Shadow discussion at the 27:41 mark.)

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Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 5: ‘Wajib’ and When We Get to Tell Our Stories

Swara Salih

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.)

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Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 4: ‘Capernaum’ and Facing Hard Truths

Swara Salih

In the latest installment of The Middle Geeks, we review Nadine Labaki’s 2018 heartbreaking masterpiece, Capernaum. Mae and Swara reflect on the state of conflict in the region, how institutions fail children, immigrants, and the most vulnerable, and how generational trauma affects us as Middle Eastern-Americans. It’s a hard but necessary set of discussions to have. On much lighter topics, we discuss the slew of news from D23, and express our dismay at a change in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow‘s upcoming season.

(We start our Capernaum discussion at the 32:51 mark.)

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Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 3: ‘Ramy’ and Navigating Identity

Swara Salih

In the third episode of The Middle Geeks, we review Hulu’s Ramy, an incisive and groundbreaking new series on the Middle Eastern-American experience. Listen to Swara and Mae as we talk about what we loved about the series, how it made us feel about our own identities, and how we think it could have done better. We also break down all the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DCTV news from San Diego Comic-Con and talk about how we’re excited about what’s coming forward!

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Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 2: ‘Jinn’ and Teenagers Kissing, Oh My!

Swara Salih

In the second-ever episode of The Middle Geeks, we cover Netflix’s new original series Jinn, their first ever Arabic language series! Did we enjoy it? Did it present an authentic Middle Eastern experience? Should we be outraged by teenagers kissing as many in Jordan apparently are? Additionally, we talk about how we’ve been enjoying DCTV this season on the CW, what we think it could do better, and what we’re looking forward to. Enjoy!

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

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Podcasts2 Comments

Welcome to The Middle Geeks!

Swara Salih

Welcome to The Middle Geeks! In our very first episode, Mae and Swara introduce the podcast and discuss our feelings on Middle East and North African (MENA) representation in popular media. We also review the live action remakes of Aladdin, discussing what we think it did well, how it could have done better, and how the unfortunate Orientalism of the film conveys how Disney and the rest of Hollywood need to do better on Middle Eastern inclusion.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

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Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies

Hard NOC Life: A Whole New Podcast

Hard NOC Media

With Disney’s live action remake of Aladdin about to hit theaters worldwide, Keith is joined by Swara Salih and Mae Abdulbaki to discuss the film’s issues with representation and announce The Middle Geeks their new podcast on the Hard NOC Media network!

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