Reel Bad Arabs Analysis

Demonizing entire groups of people shouldn’t be easy, yet it has been done countless times before. From the Nazis causing Jewish people to be seen as monsters to American film industries making all Middle Easterners seem evil, the images, films, and propaganda we view everyday create stereotypes whether we realize it or not. Before I watched the video Reel Bad Arabs, I had hardly noticed how much Hollywood affected how I viewed different ethnic and religious groups, especially Arabs and Muslims. Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film’s narrator and expert, showed snippets from multiple movies to prove that Hollywood has vilified these people. By creating the characters of the evil, lustful, violent Arab men and the either scantily dressed or completely covered and …show more content…
It made me wonder, how are Americans any better than the Nazis when it comes to creating stereotypes through propaganda? We hardly noticed that through these images and movies we are being brainwashed into believing that all Arabs and Muslims are terrorists. This stereotyping won’t lead to peace between America and countries in the Middle East. If all we see is violence against these people groups, then that’s all we’ll know how to do. If these people are continuously being demonized, future leaders will not see them as humans that should be treated with respect, but as monsters that should be wiped out. Middle Easterners aren’t the only group that the media has stereotyped. For example Native Americans are often seen as alcoholics and Mexicans are frequently portrayed as illegal aliens or drug smugglers. To avoid stereotyping, the media should show how everyday citizens of different countries act. Movies should have characters from varied ethnic groups treating each other with respect. Instead of dehumanized people groups, we should look at people as individuals and take the time to get to know them for who they are, not who we assume they