Common Stereotypes In Film

Common stereotypes in films of Arabs are billionaires, bombers and belly dancers (BBB). In Sex and the City 2, we see billionaires, and belly dancers. At the club in Abu Dhabi we are introduced to belly dancers. Charlotte asks why they are able to show their bellies, and Miranda replies that there is a “night club loophole”. Carrie then says “all those clever religious men”. This leads on to other stereotypes which portray Arabs as being “…sleezy rapists, religious fanatics, oil-rich dimwits, and abusers of women”. This can be seen consistently through Sex and the City 2. The Idea of the oil-rich dimwit and, untrustworthy Arab who ‘cannot keep their promises’, is also displayed when Miranda receives a free trip from the Sheik, but once she

is arrested for her sexual nature, he ‘tricked’ her, as he makes them pay for all the expenses without notifying her. This reinforces the idea that Arabs are not to be trusted. As they enter the markets they are shown through the old style Arab souk.

A man tries to sell a ‘fake’ Rolex to Charlotte, and tries to charm her for a ‘good price’. When she doesn’t buy the watch, he gets angry at her, and curses in Arabic. The angry greedy Arab portrayal is shown as she doesn’t give him money, which displays the idea the Arabs are money-hungry, and will use western tourists for their ‘wealth’. Other stereotypes such as the ‘western saviour’, and ‘incapable Arab,’ are also shown through the film poster, which showcases a white strong American man with a gun around his back in the desert, holding a young frail Arab boy. This is implemented at the beginning of the film, with the subtle orientalist theme of the desert, and the American coming to ‘save’ the poor Arab. However, even though we are shown many stereotypes of Arabs and the Middle East, we are also shown stereotypes of the American girls, who are often seen as loud and obnoxious. The girls throughout the film abrupt the cultural way of life in Abu Dhabi with the underlying ideas of representing the liberty and freedom the world and Middle East need. Throughout the film, they refer Abu Dhabi as the ‘new middle east’, which they suggest is more western, liberal, and

glamourous. Miranda said that read out ‘dos’ and ‘donts’ in the Middle East. One of the don’ts she read was ‘men and women do not embrace in public in the middle east’, Samantha then replied but we are going to the ‘new middle east’. This again suggests the idea the to be ‘free and liberal’ it is only by becoming more westernised.

The Middle East has always had a preconceived view by westerners, that has changed and adapted, considerably since post-911.

This is exceedingly seen through women’s rights, and the widespread ideology that women are suppressed, and need to be liberated from many of the ‘barbaric’, Middle East regimes. The veil is an example that is often used to describe women as oppressed by the western world. However, it is the assumed knowledge that ‘west knows best’, which implies cultural imperialism. The stereotype of suppressed women in the Middle East is a reoccurring theme in the film. In the scene where the women are by the pool, they watch the two women wearing a niqab eat, and are fascinated in how it is done. Carrie talks about how the veil across the mouth “freaks her out” and says “it’s like they don’t want them to have a voice”. Another example is when the Taxi wouldn’t stop for them ‘as women’, but when she then lifts up dress to show her leg, the taxi to stops. The stereotype of the old-fashioned, and rareness of sexual expression, is reminded through these scenes. However, despite the negative connotations the film also reflects women’s issues in the US, which are different to the UAE. This includes, juggling work life and kids, and being disadvantaged in the workplace. The idea of Islam is also linked with male supremacy . This can be seen throughout the film where the Arab males dominate the screen, and the women are covered and hidden away unable to speak for

themselves. Samantha represents the pursuing force of the western world is trying to ‘liberate’ women from the Middle East. Suppression of sex is a constant theme throughout the film, especially through Samantha. Samantha’s sexual drive shows to be a conflicting factor to the conservative ‘Muslim’ world, as she gets arrested for having intercourse of the beach, when she claimed it was only kissing. She is outraged by this; however, the indecent act would be treated the same back in the US. As Edward Said says, there is a continued idea of Muslim women being an erotic mystery. Despite, some different interpretations by Muslims (mainly Wahabists), sexuality is actually encouraged through Islam, as opposed to Christianity. And Mohammad himself wished for it when living under the sexual suppression of Christianity. The idea of liberty, or freedom, is only shown through western standards for women in the film. This is shown through the scene where Arab women in niqabs take them away into a hidden room, and all revel themselves wearing their fashionable western clothes, as if they are lifting away their struggles, and liberated by the four American women. This gives viewers the impression that the Arab Muslim world is supressed, and must westernise in order to have freedom.