Runway Dreams - WinnerA Muslim girl named Kalila has dreams of becoming a model. While that might be her goal others think that she can't do the job. Will she be able to overcome these challenges? Or will she be persuaded into doing something else?
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Runway Dreams
Topic: Representation
Directed by Janeya V., Written by Amara C., Edited by Chase H.
Starring Fatma A., Dimaggio W., Ryan Y., Maziar E.
The general topic that we first decided to focus on was racial profiling. For our research we looked at the high rates of arrest made on African American people. Not only did we research about racial profiling in modeling towards Muslim women but racial profiling as a whole is portrayed in the media. When racial profiling is on the news they usually paint the innocent as the “bad guy” or they deserve what they get or what happens to them. For example after reading an article about a black man (Christian Cooper) explaining what happened to him he said “I watched the reaction of newscasters. It really underestimated the situation. It really didn’t give her the credit or due diligence for what she was doing,” he said. “It’s the tactic that has been used since 1619, the tactic of playing the victim, and knowing that the system would look at her like the innocent one.” The news outlets “underestimate” how bad the situation was or is when it could have easily escalated into something very big. Some people may think that racial profiling is just an inconvenience but its way more than that. People who have experienced racial profiling are effected mentally, emotionally, and physically. Many victims of racial profiling feel dehumanized and sometimes get long term health problems for example feeling constant stress or getting chronic diseases because of getting racially profiled.
The topic for our pitch then shifted to the inequalities in different work fields, like stem, farming, and modeling. We eventually settled on the modeling industry because of the lack of representation of any other races than white people. A statistic from a 2014 The Guardian article stated that 78% of models in America are white and only 8.3% were black. Then we looked at the first time that a woman who was Muslim modeled in America who was Halima Aden in 2019. This was troubling because the modeling industry has been around since the 1920s. In one article Halima Aden a black Muslim model goes into her experiences with modeling and how growing up Muslim women weren’t represented in the modeling industry. She also talks about how a lot of Muslim women feel like they don’t fit in the societies standard of beauty.
In our short film we wanted to talk about how these issues affects the youth and their dreams. In the film we see a teenage Muslim girl, Kalila, who wants to be a model. Everyone around Kalila says that she can’t model because of her hijab. Models typically have their hair styled somehow and her religion is the reason why her hair is covered. In the film she shares with her teacher, Mr. Adams, that she is going to write a career essay on modeling. Mr. Adams pulls her aside and asks her to write something more realistic. The teacher assumes that because of the styles some models wear that would go against her religion. Kalila wants to model, it has always been her dream, but would she be able to achieve that dream? We wanted to show that if you try to do something that others think you shouldn't be doing because of your race people will start to peer pressure you into giving up. They will make you doubt yourself and question if you should try to achieve your dreams. Some people decide to fight for what they want to do but are some barriers too large?
Source:
the guardian source
Fottrell, Quentin. “How America Perfected the 'Art of Demonizing Black Men'.” MarketWatch, MarketWatch, 28 June 2020, www.marketwatch.com/story/george-floyds-and-christian-coopers-are-all-around-you-just-the-latest-in-americas-long-history-of-demonizing-black-men-2020-06-04.
Yan, Holly. “This Is Why Everyday Racial Profiling Is so Dangerous.” CNN, Cable News Network, 11 May 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/05/11/us/everyday-racial-profiling-consequences-trnd/index.html.
Dixon, Emily. “Halima Aden Becomes First Model to Wear Hijab and Burkini in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.” CNN, Cable News Network, 29 Apr. 2019, www.cnn.com/style/article/halima-aden-sports-illustrated-hijab-burkini-style-scli-intl/index.html.
The topic for our pitch then shifted to the inequalities in different work fields, like stem, farming, and modeling. We eventually settled on the modeling industry because of the lack of representation of any other races than white people. A statistic from a 2014 The Guardian article stated that 78% of models in America are white and only 8.3% were black. Then we looked at the first time that a woman who was Muslim modeled in America who was Halima Aden in 2019. This was troubling because the modeling industry has been around since the 1920s. In one article Halima Aden a black Muslim model goes into her experiences with modeling and how growing up Muslim women weren’t represented in the modeling industry. She also talks about how a lot of Muslim women feel like they don’t fit in the societies standard of beauty.
In our short film we wanted to talk about how these issues affects the youth and their dreams. In the film we see a teenage Muslim girl, Kalila, who wants to be a model. Everyone around Kalila says that she can’t model because of her hijab. Models typically have their hair styled somehow and her religion is the reason why her hair is covered. In the film she shares with her teacher, Mr. Adams, that she is going to write a career essay on modeling. Mr. Adams pulls her aside and asks her to write something more realistic. The teacher assumes that because of the styles some models wear that would go against her religion. Kalila wants to model, it has always been her dream, but would she be able to achieve that dream? We wanted to show that if you try to do something that others think you shouldn't be doing because of your race people will start to peer pressure you into giving up. They will make you doubt yourself and question if you should try to achieve your dreams. Some people decide to fight for what they want to do but are some barriers too large?
Source:
the guardian source
Fottrell, Quentin. “How America Perfected the 'Art of Demonizing Black Men'.” MarketWatch, MarketWatch, 28 June 2020, www.marketwatch.com/story/george-floyds-and-christian-coopers-are-all-around-you-just-the-latest-in-americas-long-history-of-demonizing-black-men-2020-06-04.
Yan, Holly. “This Is Why Everyday Racial Profiling Is so Dangerous.” CNN, Cable News Network, 11 May 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/05/11/us/everyday-racial-profiling-consequences-trnd/index.html.
Dixon, Emily. “Halima Aden Becomes First Model to Wear Hijab and Burkini in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.” CNN, Cable News Network, 29 Apr. 2019, www.cnn.com/style/article/halima-aden-sports-illustrated-hijab-burkini-style-scli-intl/index.html.
