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Conflicts between the Middle East and the US
Us relations with the middle east
Us relations with the middle east
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I believe Hollywood purposely makes Arabs look bad because of a continual cooperation with the government to do so. If you look through history, the United States has constantly been involved in issues with the Middle East. The US Government would benefit from the American people being fed the idea that people from the Middle East are all bad, so that makes it easier for the federal government to go to war. What surprised me was the fact that Hollywood has been making Arabs look bad for decades before 9/11.
This makes us look bad to the rest of the Arab world. Sitting back and thinking about it, in most of the movies I've watched, Arabs are all generally people with plans of terrorism. Whether it's in a serious film such as "American Sniper", or a comedy such as "Don't Mess With the Zohan", an Arabian person is likely to be portrayed as a terrorist. Looking at that from their perspective, I would be very angry when I think about the United States. It would be particularly frustrating knowing I'm not part of groups such as ISIS, yet Americans still want to paint me with negative stereotypes.
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Some of my favorite movies in a list I found included Zero Dark Thirty, Captain Phillips, American Snipers, and the Hurt Locker. Being cooperative with the DoD involves a film producer trying to gain assets from the military, but the catch is they have to present the script to an entertainment office to be approved. If the DoD does not approve of anything within the film, the film producer must makes changes to accommodate, or the DoD won't help them make the film. I find it interesting that this is how it works through films. Watching all of these movies, the Middle Eastern people are all dehumanized, and it makes sense that this is in large part due to cooperation with the DoD that largely helps the film producers to make the movie possible to
The first thing that every person says when you mention stereotypes being mean or hurtful to people is that stereotypes don’t really affect anyone or the way that people act towards them and treat them. However, after 9/11, Muslims in America quite often felt that the people around them were constantly judging them. This however is true for in the story
Movies, one can argue, are one of America’s greatest pastimes. Unfortunately, after 9/11, films have become increasingly prejudiced against American Muslims. In movies Muslims are frequently portrayed negatively. According to James Emery, a professor of Anthropology, Hollywood profits off of “casting individuals associated with specific negative stereotypes”. This is due to the fact that viewers automatically link characters with their clichéd images (Emery). For Muslims, the clichéd image is of the violent fundamentalist, who carried out the terroristic attacks on 9/11. As a result, the main stereotypes involved in movies 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...
As the world progresses, developments occur that have a profound significance on the entire nature in which society functions. One such event is the growth of the film industry that has prompted restructuring of the way we view certain groups of people. 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
The moving caravan of overused stereotypes has been traveling behind the camera 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 movies. The question bounces around in my head and I have a hard time understanding why the same stereotypes are continuously used, over and over again. It’s proof that orientalism still exists in modern day, and it affects how people may see Arabs and muslims.
Hollywood not only struggles with representing minorities but often demonizes foreign cultures, particularly in war films. This can be observed in films such as American Sniper which portrays Navy seal snipers Chris Kyle and his experiences in Iraq. While the film is based on personal recounts from Chris Kyle the film fails to show Kyle's true opinions on his actions. In his book Kyle refers to people he has killed as “savages” and “only wishes he had killed more”, however this was completely excluded from the film. The film also fails to provide any sort of context into why American Soldiers are engaged in the conflicts being portrayed. This then leaves the viewer to believe that the enemy in the film has no true reason for shooting at the
When I was a little boy I would catch 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 ethnical stereotyping can be. The film and television industry has been doing this for so long, even back in the times of silent films; people have become accustomed to it.
The documentary “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies A People” embodies one of the most persistent problem
The knowledge of the audience is based on the images, symbols and narratives from sources of media such as television, film, music and other media (Brooks & Hebert, 297). During times of war, government campaigns and media systems have a strong influence in creating attitudes about a specific targeted group of people. This creates influential stereotypes into the minds of the audience. Islamophobia is defined as unfounded hostility towards Muslims (Defining Islamophobia). Islamophobes believe that Islam does not share the same teachings of other faiths, and Islam is a religion of violence which supports terrorism. The media produces images of Muslims and Islam as fundamentalists, terrorists, sexist, suicide bombers, militant and undemocratic (Defining Islamophobia). Race plays a major role in the public attitude toward Islam because in society, Muslims are viewed as Arabic. Hollywood has equated Islam and Arabs with violence and evil. Arabs ha...
The media has been known to portray or show many “Muslims” as terrorists, and several times they fail to show the peaceful Muslims. Furthermore, the media affects the perception of many Americans, and when they portray Muslims as scary and dangerous people, this causes many stereotypes to form. This in turn, makes it common for people to accept and believe in the various stereotypes of Muslims. Also, countless Muslims are ethnically profiled based on their religious appearance. To be more specific, numerous Muslims are stereotyped due to their long beards and cultural robes. Stereotypes, such as these, are affected by the descriptions of other notorious terrorists, such as Osama Bin Laden, who was well known for his long beard. Additionally, a number of people have become irrational and unreasonable when it comes to preventing Muslims to affect America, such as many protests “to ban Sharia law in any American court” (Azlan). Sharia is basically the law of an Islamic government, and the protest is illogical, since Sharia law has never been practiced in any American court and there is no indication, that there will be (Azlan). Many of these labels are unfair, and the media unjustly portrays and connects innocent American Muslims to terrorists which is
...and because of that the U.S. has never gotten over it, over the past years security has been amped up at densely packed areas, and The other Side of the Sky tells the life of a young Arab from Pakistan coming to America. Events in history, such as the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Patriot act, and the Iranian hostage crisis, have perpetuated a negative image for Arabs in America.
Many in the Arab community still suffer from discrimination and harassment in society, religious establishments and even the education system.
The Arab culture is one that traces far into religious and cultural roots. Family is considered the most influential, supportive, and important aspect in Arabic life. The value held on religion has had such a grave effect that even laws have been established following various religious guidelines. Basically, the Arab culture is not what most have come to understand. Stereotypes perpetuated by the media and press have had more subtle effects then outright violence. They shape a social climate in which all Arabs are treated as potential terrorists. Very few Americans actually view Arabs in a positive light. This barbaric reputation is primarily due to the one-sided depiction of Arabs that most Americans are so commonly blinded by. Images of Middle Eastern people are mostly violent and sinister. Every time I turn on a news brief of the peace process, or sanction updates particularly in Iraq, I always seem to come across destructive images. Men with guns, recently bombed buses, children throwing rocks across neighboring villages, and of course, war tanks trekking the streets of Baghdad are all typical of any American news broadcast concerning the Middle East. It appears as if the media has nothing more to offer but negative, stereotypical, and humiliating illustrations of Arabic people. However, I have found that the Internet is a prime source of explaining Arab stereotypes and resolving truths. The Internet is one of the few sources of the media that actually gives insight into Arab life and not just Arab warfare. The Internet allows for a much wider range of Arab representation then any other source of the media.
“I 've pretty much learned I can let that [being black] hinder me if I want to ... or I can fight for different kinds of roles.” This is a quote from one of the most well-known African American actresses in the film industry, Halle Berry (Halle Berry Quotes, Sucessstories.com). Most people aren’t aware of the rut African-Americans in the film and television are in when it comes to the roles they play. Have you noticed that most are placed as comedic or oppressed characters? There should be more diverse acting parts for African-American characters.
Stereotypes In the Media Stereotypes play an important role in today's society and particularly in propaganda. According to the Webster's Dictionary, stereotyping is defined as a fixed conventional notion or conception of an individual or group of people, held by a number of people. Stereotypes can be basic or complex generalizations which people apply to individuals or groups based on their appearance, behaviour and beliefs. Stereotypes are found everywhere in the world. Though our world seems to be improving in many ways, it seems almost impossible to liberate it from stereotypes.
After the terrorist attack of 9/11, there was an immediate shift into almost hatred of any person of Arabic descent...