Vilification of Arabs in biased Hollywood films
BEIRUT: In a hypothetical interview, Jack Shaheen, author of Reel Bad Arabs — How Hollywood Vilifies a People, sums up from a personal perspective the image of Arabs and Muslims in his present environment. He offers this imaginary dialogue between himself and a fictitious “average American” to illustrate Hollywood role in shaping people’s prejudices and politics.
John Q. Public: Even before Sept 11 and this war with Iraq you cited in your book nearly 1000 Hollywood movies over the past century which stereotype Arab Muslims as the enemy-dirty, thieving, lecherous, terrorist scum: How do you account for such relentless prejudice?
Jack Shaheen: The “P” factor: politics, prejudice, profit and lack of presence.
Politics: The Arab-Israeli conflict infiltrates the movie making creative process. The nearly 1,000 films I have documented reveal that those producers and writers who support and sympathize with Israel, consciously or subconsciously use movies to convey their anti-Arab feelings. If Arabs and Jews were at peace, Hollywood would release films that united Semites instead of films which repeatedly vilify Arabs as sub-human and Islam as a violent religion. The historic dehumanization of Arab Muslims impacts the political landscape, making it much easier for the American public to accept current conflict, the invasion and the deaths of innocents.
Prejudice: The large majority of producers and writers who despise Arabs grew up watching movies that projected detestable Arabs exclusively. The knowledge of Arabs and the Arab world comes mostly from these films, not from history books or personal experiences with fellow Americans of Arab descent. Also, there a built-in anti-Arab bias that no one talks about — at least not openly. But several producers have told me — in confidence — that they and their colleagues don’t like Arabs. Even though Americans of Arab descent are as American as apple pie, these same producers also told me they do not particularly care for Arab-Americans or American Muslims, either.
Profit: Nearly all movies biased against Arabs focus on the Arab lunatic fringe — a minority of a minority — such biased films make money, lots of money, here and abroad, in 150 world markets. Male youngsters especially flock to box offices to see action-packed scenarios that show Western heroes exterminating Arabs. Films such as True Lies, Iron Eagle, Rules of Engagement and too many others just like them, practice the sins of omission and commission. Instead of focusing on the vast majority of peace-loving people, these films continually show the same lunatic fringe. These movies project vibrant colours of destruction. Red blood of Arabs, orange flames that engulf Arab villains and black explosions that blow up Arab heavies.
Presence: The gentleman’s agreement on studio back lots is designed to keep Americans of Arab heritage and American Muslims invisible. On the basis of ethnic bias, Arab-Americans have never been, nor are they now, a part of the creative process. Nearly every other American of whichever creed, colour or culture, except American-Arabs and American-Muslims enjoy the opportunity to produce and project images of themselves and their heritage. Hollywood’s century-long practice of excluding such fellow Americans from the creative process damages us all including the industry itself. This bias is past overdue for change.
Q. You do mention some films, albeit too few, that represent fair play. Why do you think Hollywood and Israeli film-makers don’t produce films with at least some good Arabs and Muslims?
A. Two reasons. The main one is politics. As long as our country embraces an exclusively pro-Israeli policy, we will continue to obliterate Arab movies. As Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America says: “Washington and Hollywood share the same DNA”.
The other reason is, for the most part, when these abusive films are released, Arab-American and American-Muslim organizations fail to make their voices heard. They and other memberships have not even set up a lobbying office in Hollywood. So they have yet to bring to the Hollywood table a much-needed dialogue. They still do not apply enough pressure on the industry to achieve fair play with a better mix of balanced bad-guy, good- guy images.
Q. Why don’t more Arabs and Muslim try to carve out careers in the motion picture industry and maybe restore some of the balance?
A. Inclusion is the best, perhaps the only way to bring about change. But even though I and others are encouraging young Arab-American to become film-makers and not lawyers or physicians they are reluctant. Why? Because, at least for now most think that even if they possess more than ample talent and training, because of their heritage they find that Hollywood will not open its doors. In the past, when other groups were excluded, Hollywood reached out, actively recruited and brought into the creative process those people who were once denied admission — American blacks, Latinos, Asians and others. Now would be a good time for the industry to expand its own horizons. The hour is at hand for Hollywood to begin seeking out and providing on-the-job internships for young Arab and Muslim- American women and men.
Q. By asking for more Arabs and Muslims as good guys in film aren’t you tackling a lost cause? After all, America is at war with Iraq and also fighting ‘terrorism’.
A. The cause is just. To win the peace we must humanize the Arab-Muslim. All I ask from the industry is fairness and balance. Unfortunately what Hollywood has done and continues to do is to project only images of the radical few.
Can you imagine how we in the United States would react if Arab cinema were to repeatedly project worldwide only images of America’s radicals? Where are Hollywood’s images of the Arab Muslim? More than 1.3 billion Muslims inhabit our planet, including 250 million Arabs and nearly 10 million Arab Christians. Ninety-nine percent of these folks are normal human beings, they seek from life what we all seek peace, good healthcare, good food, education for their children and freedom, especially freedom from cruel disasters and freedom of religion.
Q. Are you saying Arab-Americans and Muslims should be trusted just because they’re citizens, when Saddam Hussein posed a threat, Arab terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers and bombed the Marine barracks in Beirut, the USS Cole, etc?
A. Not only “trusted” — embraced. In this fight against terrorism we are our nation’s greatest natural resources. To crush the enemy, our government needs to seek out and enlist our expertise as it did during World War II with Japanese-Americans and Native Americans.
Q. Why do you feel so strongly about movies as compared with other means of entertainment and education?
A. American feature films reach billions not just today but everyday and everywhere in 150 world markets. Unlike books they last forever. Daily, scores of decades-old movies surface on cable and TV systems.