Reel Bad Arabs - Conclusion
This is my final and concluding post in my 13 part series in the category Muslim Stereotypes debunking the assertion made in author Jack Shaheen's book Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People [Paperback] that Hollywood portrays Arabs and Muslims unfairly in film.
The fact is, Hollywood is quite fair, accurate and truthful when it portrays Arab and Muslim terrorists as vicious, inhumane, evil, and vile creatures.
I wrote articles on the following 13 films demonstrating that Shaheen's problem is not that Hollywood is portraying Arabs and Muslims incorrectly, but that Hollywood is depicting them correctly.
Here's my recap:
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Reel Bad Arabs - The Rules of Engagement 2000 - accurately and truthfully portrays Arabs and Muslims and life in Yemen.
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Reel Bad Arabs - True Lies 1994 - accurately and truthfully recreates a plot similar to Ramzi Yousef and his 1993 World Trade Center bombing attack. -
Reel Bad Arabs - Back to the Future 1985 - the depiction of Libyan terrorists in the film is accurate, correct and truthful.
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Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies A People - we see that Arab and Muslim stereotypes are age-old views and Hollywood had nothing to do with their creation. -
Reel Bad Arabs - The Hitman - The Iranian mob boss is treated the same as the Italian and French mob bosses. There is no favoritism. In addition, portraying Iranians being involved in the drug business is on the money.
Reel Bad Arabs - The Jewel of the Nile 1985 - This film was not depicting an Arab ruler acting in any way other than how genuine Arab rulers themselves act in the real world.
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Reel Bad Arabs - Exodus 1960 - in its portrayal of Jews and Arabs, is arguably the most evenhanded film in history. I doubt the idiots who compiled Planet of The Arabs actually viewed this film.
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Reel Bad Arabs - Bulletproof 1988 - It is quite disingenuous to pick a scene from a film that accurately and truthfully presents Arab terrorists and then complain that the film maligns all Arabs. No, the film only maligns terrorist Arabs.
Reel Bad Arabs - The Delta Force 1986 - based on a true story. This wasn't a movie with negative images of Arabs and Muslims, this was simply a compilation of news headlines, of real events simply presented in a dramatized manner.
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Reel Bad Arabs - Hollywood`s Most Maligned Group? - Arabs are not the most maligned group in the history of Hollywood. That distinction falls upon the rich white man.
Reel Bad Arabs - The Taking of Flight 847 1988 - a true story - simply portraying Arabs and Muslims as they acted in real life.
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Reel Bad Germans - Der Fuehrer`s Face - although not directly related to Planet of The Arabs, I discuss the fact that Hollywood has been portraying Nazi stereotypes for 80 years. No German is asking Hollywood to stop their stereotypical portrayal of Nazis, yet we have many Arabs and Muslims who want Hollywood to stop portraying Arabs and Muslims as they really are. -
Reel Bad Arabs - Deterrence 2000 - this film does not demean Arabs, it demeans Americans. We are portrayed as typical homophobic, xenophobic, racist, bigoted buffoons.
In conclusion: Hollywood's fault is that it is too accurate, too realistic and too truthful in how it depicts Arabs and Muslims. It reminds me of reading that many Arabs and Muslims complain when newspapers and TV shows label Muslims who commit terrorist acts as "Muslim Terrorists." These whiners are addressing the wrong audience. They should not be complaining to those who report the news, they should complaining to those who make the news.
