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| Source: guardian.co.uk |
Frequently, Arabs
are depicted as the bad guys in American films. The fact that Sacha
Baron Cohen’s ‘The dictator’ have emerged the Arab-American is inevitable. Many
biased films making jokes of Arab-American as terrorist, thieves and
perpetrators of crimes leading to more script writers condemning the
Arab-Americans.
From my point of view, this negative stereotyping ridiculing
of Arab Americans should be stopped by the relevant authorities in the country
concern, in order to project a genuine perspective of the Arab-American, such
stereotyping in films should be banned and ensure that some dignity is restored
to the Arab-American. Besides that, this case is also similar to case of film production of 'Innocence of Muslim'. According to The Guardian news report (2012) it is reported
that Karzai further underlined that the production would fan tension, and
called for the film to be banned. He also said that:
"This
offensive act has stoked inter-faith enmity and confrontation and badly
impacted the peaceful coexistence between human beings,"
(Karzai,
2012)
On the other hand, since
the acknowledgement of Sacha Baron Cohen’s seemingly joking film award, many
film makers the harmful effects of such film depicting the stereotyping of
Arab-American should not be done in its entirety especially since the 9/11
incident in American. Similarly, according
to Shaheen (2001), he also stated that after the 9/11
tragedy, media gurus and self-proclaimed experts attempt to influence the naive American public
that terrorism resides in the very nature of Muslim and Arab cultures. Reel Bad Arabs testifies to the fact that the fertile soil for such hateful seeds
has been plowed by Hollywood’s negative Arab images.
In conclusion, filmmakers should stop making films that are
stereotype towards the Arab-American but to explore more on the culture of the
Arab Americans as this would give rise to story-telling and image-making that
broadens horizons, promotes understanding, and creates harmony within cultural
diversity.
References
Shaheen, J., 2001 ‘Reel Bad
Arabs: How Hollywood vilifies a people’ [online] available at: http://i-epistemology.net/attachments/691_Ajiss19-4%20-%20Book%20Reviews%20-%20Reel%20Bad%20Arabs%20-%20How%20Hollywood%20Vilifies%20a%20People.pdf
Viewed: 8th November 2012
Guardian.co.uk, 2012, ‘Afghan leader condemns film ridiculing Muhammad as
insult to all Muslims’ [online] available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/12/afghan-karzai-film-ridiculing-muhammad
Viewed: 8th November 2012
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