Throughout history Hollywood has stereotyped different races, religions, and cultures. Often these stereotypes reflect the time period in which the movie was filmed. Currently one of the most common stereotypes in Hollywood is the portrayal of Arabs. In the film Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, Dr. Jack Shaheen shows us how the Arab populations had been stereotyped in many ways.
In Hollywood, stereotypes of Arabs range everywhere from violent to a joke for a cheap laugh. The best example of Arabs being portrayed as violent is in Rules of Engagement. In the movie you are led to believe that the Americans open-fired on the innocent people of Yemen, a Middle Eastern country south of Saudi Arabia. We later find out that the Yemenis …show more content…
This leads us to wonder where we obtained these violent stereotypes. The answer is the news. What we see portrayed in the news often reflects what we put into our movies. One example is how we begin to assume that all acts of terrorism were committed by Muslims. The movie described a bombing in Oklahoma City that occurred in 1995. Almost immediately, the media stated that this was clearly an act committed by a Muslim or Middle Eastern terrorist organization. It was later revealed that the bomber was Timothy McVeigh, a Christian American of Irish decent. The media was quick to assume this harsh stereotype without any evidence for the bomber being an Arab. Another example comes from the Palestine-Israeli conflict. Due to the United States support of Israel, the media has glorified Israelis while demeaning Palestinians. Exodus, Cast a Giant Shadow, Black Sunday, Delta Force, and True Lies all depict the violence of the Palestinians and some show the Israelis and victims of Palestinian aggression. The worst portrayal of Palestinians was in Death Before Dishonor. Dr. Jack Shaheen explains how in the movie, the Palestinians kill and torture multiple us citizens and slaughter an Israeli family. Next, they burn an American flag in front of the embassy and sent a suicide bomber into the embassy. This violent stereotype stems from the news. If the United States had supported Palestine instead of Israel, you would never find the
In Hollywood, stereotypes of Arabs range everywhere from violent to a joke for a cheap laugh. The best example of Arabs being portrayed as violent is in Rules of Engagement. In the movie you are led to believe that the Americans open-fired on the innocent people of Yemen, a Middle Eastern country south of Saudi Arabia. We later find out that the Yemenis …show more content…
This leads us to wonder where we obtained these violent stereotypes. The answer is the news. What we see portrayed in the news often reflects what we put into our movies. One example is how we begin to assume that all acts of terrorism were committed by Muslims. The movie described a bombing in Oklahoma City that occurred in 1995. Almost immediately, the media stated that this was clearly an act committed by a Muslim or Middle Eastern terrorist organization. It was later revealed that the bomber was Timothy McVeigh, a Christian American of Irish decent. The media was quick to assume this harsh stereotype without any evidence for the bomber being an Arab. Another example comes from the Palestine-Israeli conflict. Due to the United States support of Israel, the media has glorified Israelis while demeaning Palestinians. Exodus, Cast a Giant Shadow, Black Sunday, Delta Force, and True Lies all depict the violence of the Palestinians and some show the Israelis and victims of Palestinian aggression. The worst portrayal of Palestinians was in Death Before Dishonor. Dr. Jack Shaheen explains how in the movie, the Palestinians kill and torture multiple us citizens and slaughter an Israeli family. Next, they burn an American flag in front of the embassy and sent a suicide bomber into the embassy. This violent stereotype stems from the news. If the United States had supported Palestine instead of Israel, you would never find the