This is the first time I have seen and heard about this film on channel 4. I must admit speaking as an Iraqi Muslim myself, I liked this film. I was so surprised when I found out that the main writers and directors of the film were not Asian or Muslim. Usually whenever non-Muslims analyse and study Islam and Muslims they don't completely understand the true Islam as we see it, but this time I was quite surprised.
I think the good points of the film is that it is quite a balanced portrayal of the lives of Muslims living in British society. This film captures the dilemmas that second generation Muslims face trying to uphold their religion and values whilst also attempting to integrate into society. It is good in that it shows the positive and the negative of both sides, the Muslim and the English. This is quite realistic. It also distinguishes the different types of Muslims such as the more extremist ones who are less tolerant and interpret Islam inaccurately and the more moderate ones who carry the true Muslim message, such as Yasmin's father who believes in peace and harmony.
However this film still does not go far enough in challenging negative stereotypes about Islam and Muslims. Whilst it is true that there are British Muslims who do reject their religion and culture, just like among other religious groups, there are also a huge number of British Muslims who manage to successfully fulfill their religious and cultural demands whilst also integrating well into the wider society. For example I know many very successful and religious Pakistani and Iraqi people living in Britain who sympathise with Muslim countries but also oppose violence, extremism and terrorism.
I found the acting, directing and production was done very well. Although I found the ending too abrupt, there was no real resolution or conclusion to the film.
Overall I found it was quite an accurate representation that showed the grey areas rather than simplistic representations usually associated with Islam, but still didn't go far enough in challenging some negative attitudes. However still better than the awful representation of Muslims in 'East is East'.
I think the good points of the film is that it is quite a balanced portrayal of the lives of Muslims living in British society. This film captures the dilemmas that second generation Muslims face trying to uphold their religion and values whilst also attempting to integrate into society. It is good in that it shows the positive and the negative of both sides, the Muslim and the English. This is quite realistic. It also distinguishes the different types of Muslims such as the more extremist ones who are less tolerant and interpret Islam inaccurately and the more moderate ones who carry the true Muslim message, such as Yasmin's father who believes in peace and harmony.
However this film still does not go far enough in challenging negative stereotypes about Islam and Muslims. Whilst it is true that there are British Muslims who do reject their religion and culture, just like among other religious groups, there are also a huge number of British Muslims who manage to successfully fulfill their religious and cultural demands whilst also integrating well into the wider society. For example I know many very successful and religious Pakistani and Iraqi people living in Britain who sympathise with Muslim countries but also oppose violence, extremism and terrorism.
I found the acting, directing and production was done very well. Although I found the ending too abrupt, there was no real resolution or conclusion to the film.
Overall I found it was quite an accurate representation that showed the grey areas rather than simplistic representations usually associated with Islam, but still didn't go far enough in challenging some negative attitudes. However still better than the awful representation of Muslims in 'East is East'.