Cedar tells K'naan to hit the road! HBO show not allowed to film in the area

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Duchess

HRH Duchess of Puntland, The Viscount of Garoowe
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A controversial HBO series called “Mogadishu, Minnesota” will not be filmed at a Minneapolis public housing complex in the city’s Cedar-Riverside neighborhood after all.

Residents of the 1627 S. 6th St. building struck down a request to grant filmmakers access to their home, voting unanimously on Wednesday — 51 to 0.

http://www.startribune.com/public-h...ite-filming-of-mogadishu-minnesota/396095281/

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Gibiin-Udug

Crowned Queen of Puntland. Supporter of PuntExit
I'm sure it will. I'm sure they got squads of social justice warriors everywhere and they will meetup at their headquarters............... on Twitter. :ftw9nwa:
But they shut it down in less than 2 minutes, Twitter or not, They also took over the event. Mic and everything, K'naan ran like a little . :umad:
 

Duchess

HRH Duchess of Puntland, The Viscount of Garoowe
VIP
To address community concerns, K’naan met with several community members to answer questions about the series. About 15 of us huddled around a community room of a Saint Paul apartment complex to discuss the series. But instead of getting answers, many of us left the conversation with more questions and enduring concerns. Consider these contradictions:

  • On funding: K’naan offered a number answers to questions related to the series’ financing. He initially noted that HBO series are different from movies and network television shows, which rely on financers and advertisers – explaining that HBO does not. He then said that 100% of the series’ $50-$60M funding is coming from HBO. He subsequently noted that Kathryn Bigelow is executive producer of the series, and that this person’s role is to fundraise. When pressed on the question of influence again, he clarified that Bigelow was only responsible for securing funds and that she has no creative control over the series’ content whatsoever. As participants, we struggle to make sense of the contradictory information K’naan shared regarding funding, and our concern remains: we do not know who is funding the show and what agenda/perspective they may have on its production.
  • On roles: When we tried to get clarity on the various collaboratives involved in the series, K’naan said that Bigelow is the executive producer of the series and that he was the sole writer, director and producer. When asked about others in the “writers’ room,” he said it’d be easier to write the entire script himself rather than explain cultural/religious nuances to prospective non-Somali writers. Meanwhile, “The Minnesota Daily” said K’naan “co-wrote” the piece. “Variety” noted that “HBO Orders Drama Pilots from Kathryn Bigelow.” A basic understanding of how Hollywood operates leads us to think that HBO would not burden an emerging director/screenwriter with the task of exclusively writing for a series, or at the very least, they would not do so without the clout and power of a major directing force like Bigelow.
  • On the thematic focus: In an attempt to perhaps minimize the scope of “jihadi recruitment” in the series, K’naan shared various vignettes of the seemingly ordinary experiences of a Somali family. He noted on several occasions that recruitment played a statistically insignificant part of the series despite its initial title “The Recruiters.” Additionally, everything we have seen published in credible industry trade papers and media outlets suggest that “jihadi recruitment” is the common thread the weaves the series together, and is not merely a backdrop to a broader story about everyday life of Somali-Minnesotans. Moreover, it behooves a director to research the topic of his/her production. We are surprised that K’naan has not spent meaningful time in this community to know its people, or to adequately write a smart, nuanced series.

Sign the petition!

https://www.change.org/p/ask-hbo-to-pull-drama-stereotyping-somali-minnesotans
 
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