‘You only see Muslims on TV as terrorists’: RADA chief blames UK riots on lack of true diversity on screens

The TV industry must bear some responsibility for the race riots that erupted across the UK, the chair of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) has said.

Violent disorder and unrest spread across the UK this week with thousands of police officers deployed and hundreds of thugs arrested in scenes reminicent of far-right movements of the 1970s and 80s.

While many commentators have pointed the finger at far-right figures such as Tommy Robinson, or the divisive remarks made by anti-immigration politicians such as Nigel Farage and Priti Patel, RADA chief Marcus Ryder OBE has pointed to a cause even closer to home – the popular culture we consume in our everyday lives.

Mr Ryder, Chair RADA and CEO of the Film and TV charity said problematic representations of minority communities devoid of any depth and nuance are at least partially to blame for the “dehumanisation” that has led to the divisions that are playing out.

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“UK TV must bear some responsibility in how it has portrayed these communities,” he wrote in a viral thread on X/Twitter. “Instead for too long we have measured diversity and success by counting the racial identities of the ‘individuals’ on-screen and not realised that communities are just as important if not more so.”

The industry veteran who works for the Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity told The Independent, “If you want to walk a mile in somebody else’s shoes and truly understand their reality, you understand through drama, you don’t understand it through news and current affairs.

“It’s why the Mr Bates v the Post Office was so important, because people finally emotionally understood and engaged with the issue despite it being covered in news and current affairs programmes previously. It was only until the drama that they could connect.”

Unpacking the difference between the ways in which individuals are portrayed versus communities, Mr Ryder wrote, “The rioters are not ‘protesting’ or rioting against individuals, I am sure if you ask them many will say ‘they are not racist’ and ‘I have Muslim/Black friends’. THEY ARE RIOTING/PROTESTING AGAINST COMMUNITIES.”

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Giving the example of Netflix dramas about Muslims he explained, “The only time you see the Muslim community is when it was riddled with would-be terrorists. You see a glimpse into the community but it’s somehow akin to terrorism.

“The positive Muslim characters are not in their communities, the ones who are in their communities are negative and potential terrorists. The positive characters are normally outside of their communities and normally working with a white saviour. So, it’s problematic.”

The Desmond’s, he explained, is an example of a positive representation of a community, that allows communities to be “humanised” rather than “othered”.

“It was groundbreaking because it was just black people in the barber shop. The community itself is not problematic, there might be problems but the problems are not borne out of the community. They weren’t systemic. No guns, no violence, no drugs.”

Mr Ryder believes the solution lies in a diversity of decision-makers including executives, scriptwriters and senior commissioners and commended the BBC for commissioning a report on representations of Muslims in the media.

“I don’t know what it’s like to be an old person in Wales, so can I commission an accurate representation of Welsh people? It’s not because I’m a bad person. It’s not because they’re bad people but we need more Muslims and more diversity.”