Its ironic how many Americans are naive and uneducated about the Middle East however it’s Hollywood that portrays Middle Easterners as the incompetent ones. Hollywood is constantly depicting Arabs as the "villain". To many Americans, they're either invisible or terrorists. The main reason that these images are imprinted on us is due to the media's persuasion through film. However we can't blame the media completely because "Hollywood and Washington stem from the same DNA" like mentioned in the short film, Reel Bad Arabs. There are too many Americans that know absolutely nothing about the Middle East. I was never truly educated on their culture, even after 9/11. To expand of this thought, let’s focus on the women of the Middle East. When I picture an Arabian woman, I imagine either a belly dancer or a woman covered head to toe in cloth. From a young age this image has been imprinted on me. Take
the movie Aladdin for instance.
When Jasmine is in the comfort of her palace, she is dressed is a short top that some could say is a bra and loose pants. Her stomach is completely exposed. However what she ventures to the village, she is draped in cloth with only her face exposed. And to find all of this in a children’s movie! It seems as if Hollywood finds Middle Eastern women to be locked in the past when in reality, they are advancing. I found it interesting that the film Reel Bad Arabs showed multiple clips of Middle Eastern women as “the bad guys”. Is that how Hollywood thinks women of the Middle East are advancing? Where do we get these images from? It was mentioned in the film that we inherited these images from Europeans. But how can you inherit an image? More importantly, how can you believe something to such an intense extent when you haven’t seen it first hand? I know very little about the Middle East yet from what I have seen, I have been able to create an elaborate image of what I imagine it to be like. Maybe it’s only a matter of time until change. Yet maybe this cycle is too advanced for change.
the movie Aladdin for instance. When Jasmine is in the comfort of her palace, she is dressed is a short top that some could say is a bra and loose pants. Her stomach is completely exposed. However what she ventures to the village, she is draped in cloth with only her face exposed. And to find all of this in a children’s movie! It seems as if Hollywood finds Middle Eastern women to be locked in the past when in reality, they are advancing. I found it interesting that the film Reel Bad Arabs showed multiple clips of Middle Eastern women as “the bad guys”. Is that how Hollywood thinks women of the Middle East are advancing? Where do we get these images from? It was mentioned in the film that we inherited these images from Europeans. But how can you inherit an image? More importantly, how can you believe something to such an intense extent when you haven’t seen it first hand? I know very little about the Middle East yet from what I have seen, I have been able to create an elaborate image of what I imagine it to be like. Maybe it’s only a matter of time until change. Yet maybe this cycle is too advanced for change.
I love this question, "how do you inherit an image?" That will be something for us to keep thinking about. I also think you point about the portrayal of Jasmine is so interesting. What about a paper for our class comparing Jasmine to the representation of Arabic women in a contemporary literary text?
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