The film Reel Bad Arabs opens a discussion on the Western media representations of the Arab world. However, the film analyzes not only the social and cultural factors at work, but the history that helped established these stigmas and depictions of Arab culture. Edward Said delves into the historical forces that have allowed for such perceptions to develop, focusing heavily on the colonization of the East. There is also the notion of cultural purity and danger, as proposed by Mary Douglas that is
Turn on the news and you are bound to see something about Islamic terrorist, you watch a movie about war and you bound to see Arab blowing up anything in their path to bits then they curse the western world. This image is spread throughout our country and has made a group of people singled out to be victimized. Before the attacks of september 11, 2001 Arabs in most roles of tv shows and movies were portrayed as terrorist, to stupid to understand how much money they had, they were overly attracted
The film Reel bad Arabs reveal many stereotypes and racial prejudice throughout the film. these stereotypes are built on accepted truths which are then used to build a foundation for these racists beliefs and stereotypes. Image makers have constantly vilified Arabs, we see examples of this all throughout Hollywood and even in some of the today's biggest block busters. and there is a consistent pattern of Arab stereotypes. all aspects of the western culture portray Arabs as the bad guys. they have
It is no surprise that the Middle East has been present in American cultural rhetoric. Topics featuring Arabs and Muslims have appeared in various media format from news coverage, to discussions, to the accessible Hollywood fraternity. The earliest of American movies have portrayed Arabs and Middle Easterners in exotic ethnic terms. This has served as the perfect framework for movie productions in which they have played the villain opposite American ‘good guys’ and so created stereotypical image
cartoons on television. But back then I was only 5 or 6 years old, so obviously I didn’t realize the negative stereotyping of Arabs was so common throughout cartoons just for the sake of humor. It wasn’t until I was in my early thirties that I really noticed. At the time my children were watching their daily cartoon shows and they basically said: “Daddy, why are there bad Arabs on TV”. It’s quite sad actually, that is took me that long to notice the trend, but that just shows how harmful racial and
numerous people on a daily basis. I have examined the documentary “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies A People” on the basis of following types of racism: stereotypes, discrimination, dehumanization, prejudices, orientalism and ethnocentricism. The documentary “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies A People” embodies one of the most persistent problem
prevalent in western culture today and Reel Bad Arabs does an excellent job of shedding light on how we still spread these beliefs in modern times. To understand how these films started to be produced, one must first understand that Orientalism set the stage for all of these films to be created. Orientalism is the reason America has a biased opinion towards those from the middle east. Hollywood has produced many movies where “Arab Land” is involved. Arab Land is the fictional embodiment of all
to it. The Gulf War lasted six months (History.com). A year later, Aladdin, Disney’s first and only film with an Arab setting was released. Through the historical lens, this film deliberately mirrors the Gulf war conflict, shows Hollywood’s connection to politics, derides the Middle Eastern and Arab culture with Arab stereotypes, and also displays the dualism between the western and Arab cultures through the drawings of the characters. The Gulf war was mirrored through Aladdin, the film. One similarity
for centuries now. It has adopted the culture and color of everywhere it has been, but the final print of this reel project is black and white. Hollywood over the years, has continued to misrepresent the enriched Arab culture and the religion of Islam and it’s people with degrading stereotypes shown in movies which a tremendous amount of viewers watch, questioning the integrity of arabs and muslims. I have been researching this topic due to the complexity of power behind these images we see throughout
Hollywood can be seen not only as a major driving force behind cultural, political, and social change, but also as an enforcer of preconceived notions and an outlet of misrepresentation. Among the various groups of people illustrated on the silver screen, Arabs are perhaps one of the most misunderstood and stereotyped groups of Hollywood. This multi-billion dollar industry produces a wide range of movies that heavily influence the way we perceive this group, and most importantly, the way in
its culture. Authors Jack Shaheen, Richard Rodriguez, Peter Marin and Zora Neale Hurtson all shape American culture in a detrimental way. Jack Shaheen’s essay “The Media’s Image of Arabs” explains how the media has birthed false images of Arabs. The media continues to maintain stereotypes of Arabs. The majority of Arab characters shown on the television are rarely shown as victims or ordinary people (Shaheen 85). If America were a melting pot, it would show diversity in a positive way. There would
Alexander Porcina Sheila Hancock and James Prescott ENGL 1100 29 August 2014 No End in Sight: Hollywood and Racism In our society, some people say that racism is dead due to the fact that certain figures, such as Barack Obama, are in power. However, this isn’t necessarily true. Others say that movies can be used to understand a culture. In fact, “Hollywood is our great national entertainer and also the most effective teacher of our young. It is the authoritative creator of commonly shared attitudes
display Muslims as extremists, villains, thieves, and desert nomads. An example of a movie that has such a negative character role for Muslims in film is Disney’s cartoon Aladdin, depict... ... middle of paper ... ...b. 10 May 2011. Emery, James. "Arab culture and Muslim stereotypes." World and I May 2008. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 10 May 2011. "Hate-Crime Laws." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 5 Jan. 2001. Web. 10 May 2011.
Post- 9/11 Media Portrayal of Islam and the Middle East and its negative consequences on Muslims in the Western World Increasingly, I find that the media has begun to label religions as ‘good’ and ‘bad’, and their basis for these judgments is highly flawed. More often than not, Islam is at negative end these labels, but why is that? Is it because under the garb of religion, brainwashed terrorists hijacked airplanes and crashed them into buildings? If so, then the media need so to rethink their content
left the rest of the world in shock and dismay as well. The attack, not only initiated Americas involvement in the war against terrorism and affected its international relations, it also greatly affected its people, creating prejudices against the Arabs, Muslims and look-a-likes causing mass hatred, discrimination and racial profiling. The American media and popular culture has made this event the center of its attention innumerable times. At the same time, foreign-based media has provided its own
Arabian merchants. When the slaves entered the New World, they remained in this submissive role and were forced into labor. Any freewill was instantly compromised the moment a shackle was placed around the limb of an African. European, Spanish, and Arab slave traders did not particularly like the Africans who were "volunteered" into slavery. Their actions, which were considered ugly and unacceptable reinforced their submissive position under the Europeans. An example of this kind of thought is the