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

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

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