During our Skype session, Riz Ahmed said that, “We need to represent every type of Muslim.” This was my point of departure for the Muslim pop culture intervention assignment. I wanted to steer away from the Muslim subject as an explicitly and exclusively political subject and humanize it by zooming into mundane practices, in this case the lead-up to a party. Furthermore, I wanted to focus on the figure of the ‘brown male’ and humanize him as well especially vis-a-vis a ‘white male’. What was most fascinating to me about this exercise was the process, and the way in which it related to many of the subjects we have discussed in class, such as gender and politics of identity. As a female in a directorial position, I often found myself grappling with this role of power on two fronts. Firstly, how can I collaborate with two males, who own the song, while keeping true to my vision for the shoot? Secondly, how can I best intervene in many of the issues we’ve been discussing, specifically those of the politics of representation. Eventually, I framed the video within two shots of a bellydancer (the mainstream notion of Muslim/Arab entertainment) and juxtaposed it with contemporary party culture in which of course Muslim youth also engage. Usman and Sam frequent an alcohol shop, a small supermarket, hang out in city, walk past Qur’an selling bookstores, all in pursuit of a relaxed shisha-centered gathering at their homey apartment.

While we did not have much time for feedback, I was happy to hear that my notes on the process resonated with some of my female peers. I do wish that I had represented the difficulties of the process in the video, as well. Yet, for me, my self-reflexivity lay in my process and outside the scope of this specific video, as I was more interested in grappling with the subject matter of representing my two friends, Sam and Usman. Ultimately, the transnational collaborative process was an interesting and challenging one. Bringing competing and coexisting artistic visions is such an invaluable learning experience. In fact, I hope to sustain the relationship that I have built with both Sam and Usman to realize the potential that we may develop and learn from each other as a collective, building on and transcending our varying passports, skin colors, faiths and genders.