How Hollywood Portrays Arabs free essay sample

Case Study- How Hollywood portrays Arabs An Overview of the portrayal Introduction Hollywood has for several decades, set an agenda as well played a propagandist role in showcasing the Arab world and the Middle East in general. This depiction has been greatly impacted by several major political events from the last few decades to a century. Political events such as the creation of the State of Israel, the revolution of the Islamic State of Iran, and the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in the United States have gone a long way to influence Hollywood’s portrayal of Arabs, very often in stereotypical and negative facets. Issues concerning the Middle East have been omnipresent in American society for several decades. There is daily news coverage of Arabs and the Middle East in all forms of media in the United States, including on television and in movies. Hollywood, for many years has depicted Arabs in stereotypical images, villain roles opposite American heroes who tend to save the day. We will write a custom essay sample on How Hollywood Portrays Arabs or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Since the early days of Hollywood, Arabs and Muslims have been depicted overwhelmingly as villains, barbaric, inept, sinister, and incompetent and cowards. How and Why have Arabs been vilified in Hollywood? Ronald Adler and Russell Proctor II, assert that stereotyping can have a harmful effect on interracial communication, hindering professional and personal relationships (86). They also explain that â€Å"stereotyping does not always arise from bad intentions†¦in some cases, careless generalizations can grow from good intentions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (87). However, Dr. Jack Shaheen, a world renowned author, media critic and university professor, describes Arabs, as â€Å"the most maligned group in the history of Hollywood, they are portrayed as sub human†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (21). In his much acclaimed book, Reel Bad Arabs (2001), and film by the same name, Shaheen breaks down the Arab stereotypes as depicted in close to 1,000 movies. In his extensive projects of both the book and the movie, Shaneen explores the American cinematic landscape from the early days of Hollywood to 2001, and shows a grim stereotyping of Arabs. Shaheen’s work provides a similarity to a few other seemingly racist depictions through past history. His work featured Hollywood’s portrayal of Arabs as a dangerous epidemic and writes that, â€Å"Muslims and Arabs continue to surface as the threatening culture†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (23). Shaheen asserts that Hollywood’s depiction of Arabs varies with the climate of current world politics. He documents that Arabs and Muslims are consistently depicted as, â€Å"bearded Mullahs, billionaire sheiks, terrorist bombers, black Bedouins, and noisy bargainers†¦women surface as gun tooters or bumbling subservient, or belly dancers bouncing voluptuously in palaces and erotically oscillating in slave markets. More recently, image-makers are offering other caricatures of Muslim women: covered in black from head to toe, they appear as uneducated, unattractive and enslaved beings, slowly attending to men, as they follow behind abusive sheiks† (23). Some of the movies explored in Reel Bad Arabs include: The Black Stallion (1979)- Movie begins with Arabs mistreating a horse aboard a ship, then attacking a boy with a knife and stealing his life jacket. Cannonball Run 2(1981)- Showcasing the buffoonery of rich and stupid Arabs not knowing the worth of money. Never say never again (1983) Showcasing dirty and sleazy Arabs salivating over a blond American girl. Jewel of the Nile (1985) Showcasing ominous Arabs songs, sleazy and inept men outsmarted by Americans. Black Sunday (1977) Showcasing concerns about Arab terrorists planning to bomb an American stadium. Back to the future (1985) Antagonists in the film are referred to as inept and incompetent Libyan nationalists Iron Eagle (1986) American teenager bombs an Arab country after learning to fly a fighter jet overnight. Wanted: Dead or Alive (1987) Arab terrorists plan to bomb Los Angeles, killing millions. Delta Force (1986) American special forces save Jews from Palestinian terrorists. Navy Seals (1990) Showcasing inept, dangerous, and incompetent Arab terrorists wiped out by a handful of US special forces. Rules of engagement (2000) A movie that justifies US Marines killing Arab women and children in Yemen. Executive Decision (1996) Showcasing Arab terrorists hijacking an American plane and US special forces saving the day. Gladiator (2000) Showcasing barbaric Arab slave traders in a movie with no Middle East connection. True Lies (1994) Showcasing inept, dangerous, and incompetent Arab terrorist and suicide bombers in Washington DC. The Kingdom (2005) Showcasing a small unit of FBI agents who track down and kill Arab terrorists in Saudi Arabia. These movies represent just a handful from the past 3 decades alone which depict and stereotype Arabs. Hollywood images are closely related to matters in politics and do operate side by side. It is an image, which has been shaped in large part by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict raging for the past several decades, in which the United States has overwhelmingly supported Israel. Other events which influenced the portrayal include, the Islamic Revolution of Iran, which incensed Arab-American relations when radical Iranian students took American diplomats hostage for over a year. Washington’s connection to Hollywood if further intensified by the fact that several movies featuring US Armed Forces, were made in cooperation with the Defense Department; with movies such as Iron Eagle, The Delta Force, and Rules of Engagement, which was written and produced by former Secretary of the Navy and current Virginia Senator, Jim Webb. I certainly believe that the solutions for this problem are right at the finger tips of Hollywood directors, producers and movie writers, many of whom are Jewish and sometimes may hold personal biases towards the input of these movies. It is quite a challenge, in my view to find a TV show or movie; at least here in the United States that shows Arabs and Muslims in a positive light. In the same way that many movie stereotypes have progressed from others, such as â€Å"the job stealing and illegal Mexicans† and the â€Å"liquor store robbing Black† movies to more current positive images of some minorities, so do I advocate for more positive and humanizing images on the small and big screens alike for Arabs in this respect. It also greatly falls on us, as viewers and consumers to demand it because it is clear that not all Muslims and Arabs are terrorists and need not be portrayed as that. In conclusion, It is poignant now, that the United States is currently involved in two wars, and countless other conflicts against Arab and Muslim opposition in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan and persistent threats of more from places such as Iran. Our various wars, may have come after the tragic terrorist attacks on 9/11, when 19 Arabs, mostly from Saudi Arabia attacked the United States. However, mentally and visually Hollywood had already introduced us, the United States to wars in the Middle East by persistently vilifying everything about the Arab and Muslim world in their movies. Hollywood’s portrayal of Arabs, albeit often based on historical and political events has not been useful to building and improving the relationship between the Western world and the Arab world, but it does now provide.

Troy Film Essay Essays

Troy Film Essay Essays Troy Film Essay Paper Troy Film Essay Paper Essay Topic: Equus A movie that is based on the on the narrative of love and war. Paris the Prince of Troy played by Orlando Bloom. was fell in love with the Queen of Sparta who is Helen ( Diane Kruger ) who happens to be the married woman of King Menelaus that has been convinced by his brother Agamemnon to assail Troy. To win the war he recruits Achilles the greatest warrior of all clip. to contend with the Greeks and they neer been defeated until Achilles died. All of us who have read the work’s of Homer would be more aroused to see what is look like of Helen and the brilliant work of the wooden Equus caballus of the Trojans. The Trojan Horse in the movie was non plenty to warrant what we have read from the narrative. it was supposed to be one of the major events. From my point of position the film shapers will do you experience nescient because they may believe that you are non cognizant of Grecian mythology. I’ve seen besides that the histrions tare non really good suited for there characters. like Achilles could be more like a hero to this film. or Paris could had been more persuasive than to be diffident because he must is acquiring Helen’s attending. retrieve she is the most beautiful adult female in this narrative. Possibly some of the scenery in this movie is good but some are non. The scenes of the collapsible shelters. the barbarian ways of the people. and the costumes in this movie was acceptable. When it comes to artistically plan of the movie as describes from the book it is non good presented as a whole. They have forgotten that the war lasted long. it could hold should that other people would be aging by that clip. This movie lacks from luring the audience to watch it until the terminal. I think if person is non knowing to this movie they will take to pick one of the histrions like Brad Pitt to wait for an exciting minutes of the scene. Worst some of us possibly caught kiping for the it didn’t truly made an impact to the people who had a great outlook to this movie. What I like to this movie is that the bravery of doing this film. because nowadays most of the immature 1s are non familiar or good informed to this sort of heroic narrative. They have got my ballot for being one of our reminders to larn more things from our antediluvian narratives. what the great authors of the universe have contributed to feed the universe about civilizations and tradition. Like for illustration in this narrative they have implicated to pay regard for the dead. the war had stopped for 12 yearss because of Hector’s funeral. This lone shows that in even in the conflict. there are somethings that will go forth us follow traditions and regard for each other remains. The good thing is what great creative persons from the yesteryear. has provided us a long permanent work of art. We know really good that up to now we benefit from this because creative persons today are still utilizing it. I believe that whatever civilizations or histories in the past that we have. will ever impact our present lives. though we may non be cognizant. If you will truly look at it. this things truly helps us to get by in this universe together with our yesteryear. Work Cited Victor. Smith. â€Å"Troy. † 2007. starpulse. com. December 12. 2007. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. starpulse. com/Movies/Troy/

Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Islam - Essay Example Sufis are not an ethnic or religious group. Sufism is a mystical movement in the Islamic world. The group was formed to counterweigh the increasing worldliness in the Muslim empire. The group was important in fighting rigid legalism in the orthodox religious leadership. Sufism searches for the direct mystical knowledge of divine love and knowledge. The group seeks to progress beyond mere intellectual knowledge into mystical experiences. Sufism has an important role in the formation of Muslim societies through educating masses and channeling their emotions. They are also important in that they have converted new regions into Islam. There are five pillar of Islam. The first pillar of Islam is the profession of faith. Muslims recite the creed as a way of bearing witness in the union of the faith. The creed is the profound statement that expresses a Muslim’s acceptance and absolute commitment to the Islamic faith. Prayer is the second pillar of Islam. The faith insists that the in dividual must have direct relationship with God. Salah can be performed alone. However, it is considered meritorious to perform Salah with a group. It is also permissible to pray at home and work. It is preferable to perform the Salah in a mosque. Zakat The third arm is almsgiving. The social responsibility is viewed as a divine duty in the Islamic service. Zakat prescribes the payment of the fixed proportions of the possessions of Muslims for the welfare of the less fortunate and the entire community (Ibrahim, 1997). The equivalent of 2.5 percent of a Muslim’s net worth should fall under this pillar in terms of commitment to the faith. This excludes family expenses and obligations. Sawm Fasting in the month of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam. The fast is ordained in the Holy Quran. During the fast, Muslims seek a deeper perception of divine issues and personal worship. The fast is an act of self-control and heightened sensitivity to the needy. After the fast, Eid ul-Fi tr festival is held to celebrate the end of the fast. Hajj This is the pilgrimage to Makkah. This is the most significant manifestation of Islamic faith. Hajj is a once in a lifetime duty which is considered to be the peak of the religious faith (Ibrahim, 1997). In performing Hajj, pilgrims follow the orders of the ritual from Prophet Muhammad as performed in the last pilgrimage. 3. Contrast contemporary Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Shia and Sunni are two branches in the Islamic faith. The differences between the groups is said to have stemmed from political struggles which emerged after the death of Prophet Muhammad. Shin is said to have originated from Egypt and Morocco while Sunnis are said to have emerged from Saudi Arabia. While the Shiites are about 120 million in number, Sunnis are estimated to have a population of about 1.2 billion. Shiites have Imams, Ayatollah ul uzma, Allama and Mujtahid as part of their clergy (BBC, 2009). The Sunnis have Mullahs and Caliphs only. Shiites b elieve that their teachings originated from the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and they hold that his son-in-law, Ali, became his successor. Unlike the Shiites, the Sunnis believe that that prophet Muhammad was succeeded by his close friend Abu Bakr. Shiites believe