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.

Can Indiana Jones overcome its Orientalist past?

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's Moon Knight signals growth of SWANA region in film

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