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Stereotypes In Hollywood Film Analysis

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“Arabs are the most malignant group in the history of Hollywood. They’re portrayed basically as sub humans.” (Shaheen, 1984) In an analysis of Hollywood films, Jack Shaheen has composed three fundamental myths pertaining to Arab stereotypes. "They are all fabulously wealthy, they are sex maniacs, and they revel in acts of terrorism." Shaheen intends to demonstrate and open our eyes to the loathsome stereotypes that not only demean us, present Arabs, but also undignifies our ancestors and the generations to come. The first stereotype that I would like to address is the portrayal of obsessive men and the highly sexualized belly dancer image which Hollywood portrays. Not without my daughter is a movie about a couples’ visit to …show more content…

Nowadays, Arabs are seen as terrorists and extremists due to how the media depicts them. Journalists use key words such as extremists, terrorists and fanatics to describe Arabs. According to Shaheen (1984), "The present day Arab stereotype parallels the image of Jews in pre-Nazi Germany, where Jews were painted as dark, shifty-eyed, venal and threateningly different people." These misrepresentations have generated a feeling of hatred and terror towards Arabs. In a research conducted by L. John Martin (1985), results showed that "terrorism" was used by the media in describing horrific incidents caused by Arabs. Yet, when representing similar events by individuals who are not Arabs, the media was careful to appear equitable and unbiased. Oklahoma City bombing is a perfect example to further support this claim, “the blast was set off by anti-government militant Timothy McVeigh”, the media were careful not to call him a terrorist and put the blame on one man rather than blaming an entire religion for his actions. The media lead Americans to blame 911 on Muslims although our religion clearly opposes terrorism. “Those who go to extremes are doomed”. So why is it that the western media insists on smearing Arabs’ image? Is it to increase islamophobia? For almost a century, Israeli filmmakers have conspired with their companions in Hollywood to produce films with a typical theme: Arabs attack the U.S., Terrorists storm in, imprison and slaughter innocent citizens. Former president of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti, stated that “Washington and Hollywood spring from the same

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