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Swara Salih

Swara Salih

Swara Salih

Swara is a writer and podcaster who has written for The Nerds of Color and But Why Tho?. He co-hosts The Middle Geeks podcast, which covers all things SWANA/MENA representation, and is a co-host of the Spider-Man/Spider-Verse podcast Into The Spider-Cast.

Actress May Calamawy’s role in Gladiator II was a brief, non-speaking part, raising questions about Hollywood’s treatment of Palestinian advocates

15 November, 2024

The DC Palestinian Film & Arts Festival highlighted Palestinian filmmakers and their stories, creating an important space for art and community solidarity

01 November, 2024

Book Club: Kurdistan+100 reimagines Kurdish state struggles through a prism of futurism, offering a space for freer Kurdish expressions and possibilities.

03 April, 2024

The Walt Disney Company's pro-Israel stance has drawn ire from the company's Muslim and Arab fanbase, leading to a major campaign to "pressure" Disney from BDS.

29 December, 2023

Film review: Marvel's short-lived successes have come to an abrupt end. Their latest feature, The Marvels has resoundingly failed to capitalise on the acclaim of Ms Marvel, falling into superficial stereotypes, overproduction and nonsensical dialogue

10 November, 2023

The Indiana Jones franchise is the cinematic archetype for Hollywood's outdated and orientalist projections of the SWANA region. Its latest instalment 'The Dial of Destiny' is no exception and continues to market dangerous tropes to mass audiences.

07 July, 2023

After a hiatus, the Indiana Jones franchise is back and problematic as ever. Typically reductive, the trailer for the new film, Dial of Destiny, slots back into regurgitating long-held tropes about the East as a dangerous and dastardly land.

31 March, 2023

Marvel has bucked its own trend of orientalist tropes with its latest film, Moon Knight, directed by Egyptian director Mohamed Diab. The New Arab traces the media franchise's depiction of the SWANA region, and why Moon Knight may be a turning point.

04 May, 2022