Representation in Cinema

Hey pod! We are back from taking a much-needed break! Tonight, we’re talking about Is God Is , which is a must-see from us. We HIGHLY recommend watching it in theaters before it leaves. Otherwise, it is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime. Is God Is is a southern gothic revenge thriller that follows twin sisters, Racine and Anaia, who set out on a cross-country mission to murder their abusive...

Hello pod! In tonight’s episode, we’re discussing the kind of representation we want to see and talking about the films, filmmakers, and production companies that are changing the way that we see Arabs portrayed on the big screen. If you haven’t already tuned into our previous episodes where we break down the film Reel Bad Arabs and the destructive stereotypes we’ve seen throughout Hollywood’s his...

Welcome to the third week of Arab American Heritage Month! I’m your host, Amira Ferjani taking over for Jackie McGriff. We’re continuing our conversation about Arab representation using the framework of the late Dr. Jack Shaheen’s, Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. If you missed the first 2 parts of our series talking about Orientalism and covering the first half of Reel Bad Arabs ,...

Tonight we’re breaking down the film Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People , a feature documentary where acclaimed author, the late Dr. Jack Shaheen, analyzes the ways in which Hollywood has depicted Arabs from the earliest days of silent film to the early 2000s looking at Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. If you haven’t already seen Reel Bad Arabs, we HIGHLY recommend that you watch. It...

Tonight starts a new series highlighting the representation and (mis)representation of Arabs in Western cinema, specifically in the US. We’re going to be breaking down the film Reel Bad Arabs , talking about the destructive stereotypes that writer and lecturer, the late Jack Shaheen, talks about both in the film and in the book of the same title, and about what authentic representation looks like....

Starting this Thursday, April 9, we’re going to be breaking down the film Reel Bad Arabs, talking about the destructive stereotypes that writer and lecturer, the late Jack Shaheen, talks about both in the film and in the book of the same title, and about what authentic representation looks like throughout Arab American Heritage Month. For so long our government has fed us these stereotypes repeate...

Tonight’s episode is about QUEEN Ava Duvernay, the director behind 13th , Selma , A Wrinkle in Time , and Origin as well as the founder of ARRAY, “a multi-platform arts and social impact collective dedicated to narrative change,” which is what we’re all about here on Our Voices Project. Joining us on the podcast is Dr. Katrina Overby aka DJ Spin Dr. KO, Dominique Alexandria Simmonds, and Kamesha B...

Borrowing the title of the satirical classic by LEGENDARY filmmaker, Robert Townsend, to break down how we watch more original films and support independent filmmakers! Now this episode is going to look a little different. We’re taking a short break between honoring Black directors for a second to talk about something that’s been on my mind for quite some time. Hollywood continues to play in our f...

Hello pod! We are midway into Women’s History Month or as I’m calling it, BLACK Women’s History Month! We’re continuing our series giving our flowers to Black Directors! Tonight’s episode is about Nia DaCosta, the director behind The Marvels , Hedda, the 2021 remake of the horror classic , Candyman, Little Woods , and a recent release, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple . Our guest tonight, from our...

The Oscars were last night and WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT! Some of the wins, the performances, and all of the moments in between! Our guests tonight are Cocoa Rae David, Brianna Milon, and Sandra and Ike Ntube of Two Beers Cinema Club. Cocoa Rae David, a New York-based visual artist, curator, photographer, filmmaker, and business owner of By Cocoa Rae LLC. You can visit her website here and follow h...

Tonight’s episode is about the legendary, movie pioneer, Robert Townsend, the actor, comedian, writer, and director behind Meteor Man, The Five Heartbeats, Hollywood Shuffle, Up Up and Away, B.A.P.S., The Mighty Quinn, and Little Richard (2000). Our guest is Aishat Oduola-Owoo, a Nigerian immigrant and lifelong lover of Black film and television. Growing up in a semi-strict household, family-frien...

Hello pod! It is Day 19 of Black History Month and we’re continuing our series giving our flowers to Black Directors! Tonight’s episode is about the documentary filmmaker, Sam Pollard, the director behind MLK/FBI , The League , Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power , Black Art: In the Absence of Light and the docuseries Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children . Our guest is Christop...

Hello pod! Today is Day 10 of Black History Month and we’re continuing our series giving our flowers to Black Directors. Tonight’s episode is about Peter Ramsey, the director behind Rise of the Guardians and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse . While awards and accolades are nice, we don’t center them as a reference to validate and instead look to filmmakers as the artists that they are, the deeper...

Happy Black History Month pod! Throughout February and March, we’re going to be talking about Black Directors who deserve their flowers. With all of the talk about the amount of snubs Ryan Coogler and Nia DaCosta are getting, which is pretty on brand for Hollywood if you ask us (but we digress), we wanted to spend time talking about the filmmakers who inspire us and are creating incredible films....

Y’all, the Oscar Nominations are OUT and we have a BUNCH of things that we want to cover—the nominees, the snubs, and everything else in between! You can follow along with the list of Oscar Nominations here: https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2026 . There’s a printable ballot here: https://www.thegoldknight.com/2026/01/oscars-2026-download-our-printable.html Joining me to talk about all of t...

It’s a NEW YEAR which means new movies and it’s January so that also means upcoming award shows. Oscar nominations are coming up next week and we’re going to be diving into that on our next episode so again make sure you’re following us to get updated on that because depending on how that goes, I’m going to have A LOT to say. If SINNERS is not up for Best Picture, we RIDE AT DAWN! ANYWAY— Tonight,...

On this Representation in Cinema podcast episode, we delve into the intricate relationship between horror films and social justice, featuring a discussion with Professor Kathy Simon, who has developed an online course entitled "Screams and Social Justice: Analyzing the Politics of Horror," that you can now enroll in. Central to our discourse is the assertion that horror serves not merely as entert...

On this podcast episode, we're talkin about the film "One of Them Days" and discussing intricacies of Black women's representation in cinema and the profound themes of sisterhood and community care that permeate the narrative. Our esteemed co-host, Dr. Katrina Overby, joins me, Jackie McGriff, to delve into the film's portrayal of two best friends, Dreux and Alyssa, as they navigate the precarious...

We're talking about the ¡Presente! Latin Film Fest at the George Eastman Museum, commencing on September 17th. As we delve into this crucial initiative, we engage with Jason Barber, whose extensive background in the arts and commitment to representation in cinema make him an invaluable contributor to this conversation. The series aims to illuminate the significant impact of Latino and Latinx artis...

It’s Jackie McGriff, your host on today’s Representation in Cinema episode for another deep dive into the film, Sinners ! That’s right this is PART TWO of our talk on Sinners, so if you didn’t listen to the first episode, we highly recommend listening to that one on our website at ourvoicesproject.com/podcast or any where you listen to your favorite podcasts - Spotify, Apple, all of them! We’re ca...

A film so good we had to make TWO PARTS! This is the first episode doing a deep dive into Sinners with co-hosts, Jackie McGriff and Courtney Shouse. Sinners is a horror/adventure film written and directed by Ryan Coogler starring Michael B Jordan playing twin brothers – Smoke and Stack – returning to their home in the Mississippi Delta in 1932 to start a Juke joint. In reuniting with family, frien...

Today, we're discussing the Oscar-Award winning documentary film, No Other Land, with First Generation Palestinian social justice activist, writer, speaker, and educator, Muna Najib. No Other Land is a documentary that centers Palestinian activist Basel Adra, who records the destruction of his hometown, Masafer Yatta in the Occupied West Bank, by Israeli forces aiming to turn the area into a milit...

Hello listeners – we are BACK in the studio after a bit of hiatus! It’s Jackie McGriff, your host on today’s podcast episode where we’re diving into the film, The Six Triple Eight ! In the studio today, we have Bryan and Tam Little. Bryan Little is a producer and founder of DREAMINCOLOR International Creator Sessions, a monthly virtual gathering that connects Black, Brown, and People of Color ente...

Hello listeners! It’s Jackie McGriff, your host on today’s podcast episode where we’re diving into our film, Being Black in America with more of our storytellers. Yes, this is PART TWO! If you haven’t already listened to Part 1, please go do so. You can catch that episode and all of our other podcast episodes anywhere that you get your podcasts. If this is your first time listening, two things – t...

On today’s podcast episode, we get into one of our very own films, Being Black in America . This is the first time we’re doing this on the podcast – the first of many episodes where we interview folks involved in our productions. Being Black in America is our latest short documentary film where we show an array of different thoughts and attitudes behind Blackness and what it means to everyone on a...