Stand-Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age

(USA, 2007, 54 mins)

digital video

co-director: Omar Naim
director of photography: Neil Barrett
editor: Sam Green
music: Lenny Williams
executive producer: Sally Jo Fifer
producer: Glenn Baker
co-producer: Lauren Cardillo
associate producer: Sujata Thomas
cast: Ahmed Ahmed, Tissa Hami, Dean Obeidallah, Azhar Usman, Maysoon Zayid

• IMDB Film Info
• www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_standup.html
• Trailer

Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age explores the emergence of five comedians in the wake of 9/11, showing how they use humor to take on stereotypes about Muslims and terrorism. At a time when people of Middle Eastern origin were advised to lay low, they all chose to stand up and crack jokes. From false arrests to death threats, the comics face challenges from both majority America and within the Muslim community. Loaded with provocative performance footage, Stand Up provides an inspiring chronicle of these artists’ struggle to enter the American comic mainstream. Director Glenn Baker says: “Ranging from devout Muslims to secular provocateurs, these comics embody the diversity of America’s large Middle Eastern population. Following in the footsteps of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, George Lopez, and Margaret Cho, they are using stand-up comedy to make a case for their inclusion in the American public square. Their stories offer unique insights into an alternate take on the American Dream; but mostly they’ll make you laugh.”

Sponsored By:

UW Inside Islam Project

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