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COVID-19 has been challenging for all of us, and we thank Allah (SWT) for giving us the courage and determination to carry on. Most of us are staying at home, spending time with our kids, and finding new ways to entertain them. Our youth has easy access to thousands of hours of online content. It's hard to monitor and control what they watch, and believe us, most of it is questionable. On the other hand, we have shows like Ertugrul and Usman that gives Muslims around the globe some hope. We have people of all ages glued to the screen watching Ertugrul and binging episodes. Most importantly, we see families coming together, learning about history, and taking pride in their Muslim identities. Now is the time to re-introduce BURAAQ. A superhero with a strong Muslim identity who is confident in his faith. An alternative for our youth-obsessed with the Marvel superhero universe that promotes values that in most cases contradicts Islamic values. Today, we are pleased to announce the 2021 schedule for BURAAQ animated series launching March 2021 in sha Allah. Our youth deserves to watch high-quality, clean, entertaining, engaging, inspiring content, which ultimately brings them closer to their deen. Subscribe to our youtube channel to get the latest updates on all upcoming episodes.   Iywallah Bey!It's been a long time coming. A show that is entertaining and counters the notion that any Islamic mainstream content is not commercially viable. Since I started watching "Ertugrul," I instantly got hooked. I finished the entire season, yes, all episodes (not in one sitting, of course). The characters, storyline, casting, and script really rejuvenates your Islamic heart by promoting the real essence and capturing the true spirit of Islam.
When growing up in Pakistan, we were never exposed to the history of the Ottoman empire. This series enlighted us with the region's glorious past and how they build their empire based on solid Islamic values. Even though the majority of it is fictional storytelling, but I love it. If we can watch Game of Thrones, why not Ertugrul. For us as Muslims, this is a huge success. Finally, we have a show that we can watch with our family and kids. With Ertugrul, we can get inspired, take pride in our Muslim identity, and counter Islamophobia by owning the narrative. They have proven this model by breaking records worldwide. It has given birth to new market opportunities for upcoming artists and content producers. Now, you can create entertaining, engaging, and inspiring content with confidence and make money without compromising your Islamic values. Hollywood is notorious for typecasting and stereotyping actors. We see Muslim actors/actresses struggle to land meaningful roles besides playing terrorist #3 or an Arab character in a negative role. I believe shows like Ertugrul will help break the perception that you have to rely on Hollywood to succeed in this industry. Muslim countries should invest in their entertainment industry, build institutions, animation studios, production houses, theatres, and art schools to promote and cultivate young talent. We hope with BURAAQ, we can achieve the same level of success in sha Allah. As our goal and mission are the same, to promote universal values of Islam through entertaining, engaging, and inspiring content. In the current world climate, the message of tolerance, justice, and the truth is overshadowed by hate and has given rise to Islamophobia. We need to collectively tackle this head-on. Great article in Tribune.pk on how Marvel superhero movies are influencing viewers around the world, especially in Pakistan. You have to be mindful when watching these movies, sure they are highly entertaining with amazing visual effects, strong storyline and interesting characters. But you have to be a little cautious and read between the lines. These movies project their way of life, thinking, culture and in many cases questionable hidden agenda. It is a must read! "One of the primary reasons why Pakistan is so susceptible to being influenced by the soft power of other countries such as India in terms of cinema is that our film industry does not provide a suitable alternative for audiences."  BURAAQ the new animated micro-series will provide that alternative in sha Allah!
Article: https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/78818/is-marvel-another-tool-for-the-us-to-project-its-power/ Trends are changing in Hollywood. Diversity and Inclusion are becoming driving forces for this change. Now more than ever, It is time for Hollywood to create more content that accurately represents people from all cultures, race, nationalities, and religions. It is the right thing to do, and makes business sense. BURAAQ micro-series hopes to set an example by introducing characters from different backgrounds, promote collaboration, increase awareness and connect with its diverse and growing fanbase.  We have finally started our new chapter, an animated web-series coming soon to our YouTube channel. We know many of you have been with us since the beginning, continuously being patient, and most of all, believing in our mission. It is a journey filled with challenges and learning experiences. We are committed to making this happen (In Sha Allah). After releasing our animated promo video a few years back, we needed to take a step back and reassess our strategy and execution plan. We had to look at the market place and analyze how the new generation of viewers consume online content. How on-demand content companies like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are catering to this audience and disrupting the entire entertainment industry. They are providing to the “instant gratification” generation. They know exactly what to watch and when to view their favorite TV shows, with the option to see them on their mobile devices, tablets or smart TV, anytime and anywhere. Those days are long gone when people use to wait patiently every week, at a particular time to watch their favorite TV show, welcome to the world of bingeing.
Based on this analysis, developing a web-series in a new format, also known as micro-series made a lot of sense. These clips will be short, impactful, full of action, engaging and entertaining. It will feel like you are watching the best parts of an action movie, without all the talking. When we were kids, we use to watch our favorite superhero movie almost every day and fast forward to the best actions scenes, and watch them over and over again. We want our viewers to have the same experience, and enjoy every second of it, then watch it over and over again!
We decided to go with YouTube as our choice for the launch because it is the best in class video platform, and is freely accessible globally to anyone who has an internet access. We will augment this series with our existing comic books, which are currently available to download for free. This will allow our viewers to connect with the main characters and understand the storyline better. The next time they watch our series, they will enjoy it even more. The series is under development, and we plan to release episode #1 in Summer of 2019. We will be posting update videos and sneak peeks soon, so do subscribe to our YouTube channel and do not forget to click on the bell icon. Thank you for following and believing in us. SplitMoonArts Team. Amazing animation! Sony pictures have redeemed themselves by partnering with Marvel closely. This fresh new comic-book style 3D animation raises the bar for competitors. It really feels like you are in the comic book, and not mention a great storyline with focus on "Miles" the main character. The environments are awesome, and the slinging action scenes..simply breath taking. They have blended 3D and 2D characters very well, and they do not shift focus from the main characters. I would give its 5 out 5 rating... a must see!  DC still struggles to produce impactful storyline with relatable characters. Aquaman is no different, this high budget action superhero movie fails to deliver on its promise. Don't get me wrong, your senses will be simulated by amazing CGI effects, action sequences and the attention to detail, but there is no emotional attachment to the characters. The script is weak, and the storyline predictable. The movie is further complicated by introducing too many underwater kingdoms, confusing characters, global locations, and ocean creatures. It seems like they were going for a Game of thrones and Lord of the Rings type epic feel, so over done. Jason Mamoa " Arthur/Aquaman" plays the character well, it matches his real life personality. The script is weak and felt rushed. The story was progressing to fast, without giving us a chance to relate to all the main characters. I wish they would have slowed it down a bit, and focused on just a few kingdoms with strong characters. Warner Bros as usual, is trying to use the same Hollywood formula to make money at the box office. For them, its all about the fireworks, effects, dazzle the audience and break the box office on the opening weekend. Marvel on the other hand, takes a strategic and thoughtful approach which makes them the leader. Aquaman is definitely a theatre movie, especially on IMAX. Keep your expectations low, and imagine you are going to a theme park to enjoy an underwater "Poseidon" ride, you will be entertained. I would give it 3 out 5 rating... We at splitmoonarts, are developing a short animated series "BURAAQ" that will be based on a single, yet strong superhero character. We will try our best to learn from movies like "Aquaman", and ensure that we do not repeat the same mistakes! Check is out at : www.splitmoonarts.com   From Hollywood to Bollywood, we have seen this over and over again. Muslim being typecast as villains and terrorist in movies and TV shows. This interesting article in GQ really reflects on the reality of Hollywood. Talented good Muslim actors and artist have no choice but to take roles that puts them in compromising situations. I have also read somewhere, that some Muslim actors were offered $30,000 fora couple of days shoot to be terrorist #5. A role with no name, but a line in a movie that says "Allah u Akbar" and the he shoots people. Then Mr. Chuck Norris comes and saves the day by killing the terrorist! We need to break this stereotype and start making our own movies, and tell our stories.
Mostly, i feel this is due to ignorance and not malice. This is were we come in, as a Muslim community we need to take responsibility and make the effort to educate the masses. That is the reason we are embarking on a journey to change that, by producing "BURAAQ - The Animated movie". More information at www.splitmoonarts.com http://www.gq.com/story/muslim-american-typecasting-hollywood If you like it or not, the popular medium of today’s entertainment world is TV, Movies, Internet and Music. You cannot avoid it, and if you think you can unplug from it, then you are isolating yourself from this generation and the next, might as well live in a cave. Few people have come up to us and said that what we’re trying to do with BURAAQ is “Haram”, and showing animated characters is not permissible in Islam. To them, I say good luck raising your children! These are the people who will stop you from doing it, but when Frozen 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, Zootopia, Good Dinosaur etc… comes out, they will be the first ones standing in line to take their kids to the theatre. You know why? Because their kids are growing up in this society, where reading less books and being glued to your smart devices is a reality. By 2020 there will be 6.1 Billion smartphones in the world, and you want to unplug? Good luck! The key is to find a balance, that is the prophetic way. Even our prophet PBUH had an expert poet at his side, because that was the medium of that time. Poetry was so powerful at that time, that Arabs use to go to war based on it. Today the battle is between the ears, and more than ever, we need leaders who are spiritually sound, and firm in their faith to lead the effort in these areas. Islam teaches us balance, there is good and bad in everything, and we still need to be careful with what our children watch and listen. When I was growing up in Pakistan, there were only 2 paths for our future, either a doctor or an engineer. If we talked about being a musicians or artists, the society would look down upon you and simply mark you as someone who doesn’t have a future. Now the times have changed. I would go further and say it’s the opposite. We don’t need more doctors and engineers. We need more Media representation, Artists, politicians and lawyers. These are the areas that are shaping our society, brainwashing the masses and taking over our narratives. It time for us as an Ummah (community) to counter it, and take back our narrative. We need to support our artists and individual who are on this spiritual journey. They are struggling to change the narrative. These are the people who are going against the mainstream current, and trying to save what’s pure and clean. Here is the list of 10 artists, personalities, producers, writers and musicians I admire and follow. They boost my Iman (faith) every day. I hope it benefits you too In sh Allah (God willing): 1- Sami Yusuf
2- Peter Gould
3- The Message
4- The Omar (RA) Series
5- Bilal The Movie
6- DEEN TV
7- Noor Kids
8- ILYAS and the DUCK
9- Nouman Ali Khan
10- Our Humble Effort - "BURAAQ"
 The days of real Clark Kent (Superman) are gone. A true gentleman who grew up in the farmland of United States where his beloved parents from planet Earth instilled good moral values, and taught him respect for neighbors, women, himself and humanity. Steve Rogers (Captain America) also has similar qualities, who being brought up during World War II has a solid character with old fashion moral values. Both of them are rare role models in the world of superheroes. Nowadays, this does not exist. On the flip side, It’s cool for superhero characters to be troubled, dark, rebellious, sexist, rude and resorting to alcohol and drugs to cope up with their painful life. As parents and adults, do we want to see these negative values being amplified on the big screen? Seems like young minds are being shaped to think that these qualities will make them cool? Latest research shows that kids age (2-13) mimic superheroes the most compared to other genres. This a real dilemma that is having a global impact. Every time we watch an action/superhero movie, the main character (male) is either getting drunk at a bar, womanizing, fighting needlessly, being a bad father, or just having a psychological break down. Why do we have to watch this? Isn’t real news from around the world negative, depressing and painful enough? We need an alternative, a superhero/action hero that has a strong moral compass deeply rooted in faith and optimism. A character that brings hope and enlightenment, where kids can be entertained and learn great values at the same time. Values which will them help them be better human beings and be prepared for the future.
 At SplitMoonArts, we developed a strong and positive character called Yusuf , also known as “BURAAQ”. A superhero who is upright, just and well-mannered. The story of BURAAQ – “The Awakening” is not all unicorns and butterflies, but comprises of real life struggles and his challenges as a son, student, friend, employee and a human. His determination, strong faith and support of his family gives him confidence to leverage his super powers to face the evil Xiorg (The Villain from another dimension). He uses his super powers for the good of mankind, and he does it all without compromising on his principles and values. Maybe is time to revive the essence of the real Clark Kent and Steve Rogers in the superhero genre, but this time through Yusuf Abdullah also known as “BURAAQ” To learn more go to www.splitmoonarts.com  |
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