Media portrayals do have a large influence on the American population so it was interested to see it traced through so many films. There are many who say Hollywood and the government are in some kind of collaboration, and it's true. People use movies for their own agenda. Sometimes it can be positive to raise morale our as an escape, but unfortunately most often it perpetuates stereotypes and instill fear.
But of course, like the documentarian said, it is not a new phenomenon. African-Americans were depicted very poorly in film, stage plays, and elsewhere. Now these things are not accepted, but I do believe it's been replaced now with a lack of representation which is a whole other evil. I believe a similar trend will occur with Arabs and Muslims.
I liked the film because it was something I expected. In the past few years a I began to recognize how much the media can control by simply depicting someone in a negative fashion culturally. The films the narrator brought up proved that the idea of dehumanizing arabs is not a new one, but one that has been built up on over decades of propaganda. As a black man in america, I can empathize with how many of the people who are indirectly affected may feel because the same thing is done to me. The documentary can clearly show how arab-blackface effects the world now and who politicians even are using the media vehicle as means for destruction. One thing about the media that i feel like a lot of people dont understand is that if the images are thrown at you again and again then you would eventually believe them because that is the only perspective one would see. The damage caused by this is not in light because the same people who could benefit off of the negative portrayal of a group of people would not want that power to leave them.
The film "Reel Bad Arabs" depicts how Arabs are dehumanized in Hollywood and how they are only shown one side of the story. The film really surprised me because I have never really paid that much attention to how pretty much all films that have something or another to do with Arabs, shows only a negative light on them. I was really surprised when he showed the movies about how the Palestinian Israeli conflict was viewed in the media and how it was depicted in Hollywood. Also the part of the documentary that shows the beginning scene of the popular Disney movie "Aladdin", we hear the opening song that says "If we don't like you face, we will cut your ear off, but that’s home". That really surprised me that they would put such a gory lyric on a children's movie. Having friends that are Arabs and spending a lot of time with them has really given me a true look at the issue from both sides and I value those experiences and wish to go on and spread the word so we can stop demoralizing Arabs and get rid of all the stereotypes that exist.
The Documentary Reel Bad Arabs really opened my eyes to the terrible stereotypes that Hollywood forces on Arab and Muslim characters. I didn't even realize how badly stereotyped some movies were until it was pointed out to me during the film. For example, Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies, and I have watched it countless times. However, I never noticed the horrible and harsh depiction of Arabs in the movie. My blindness to it just goes to show that this stereotype of bad Arabs is so normal that we don't even realize it in media anymore. We have normalized a hateful view of a group of people, and this needs to stop. Media has to do a better job or representing minorities including Arab people. Bad stereotypes should not be the only representation of a group of people in the media. There should be stories about different kinds of people from that minority group that highlights their humanity instead of dehumanizing them.
The documentary film "Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People" reveals how Hollywood consistently portrays Arabs in a negative manner. According to the film, Arabs are (and have been since Hollywood's inception) typically portrayed as lecherous, greedy, or dim-witted terrorists. Such stereotypes even show up in children's films such as Aladdin, or movies which have nothing to do with the Middle East, such as Back to the Future.
Prior to watching the documentary, I had not thought very much about this subject, since, as the film notes, stereotypes which are so common tend to become invisible simply due to their pervasiveness.
The film does point to some more recent (within the past decade or so) films like Kingdom of Heaven, which feature more positive or at least balanced portrayals of Arabs and Muslims. Hopefully, we will see more positive depictions in the future.
The documentary Reel Bad Arabs that we watched in class was completely eye opening. Prior to watching this film I had never even thought of how Arabs were being portrayed on the silver screen, but now after watching it I don't see how anyone could miss it. Even major blockbusters like Indiana Jones cant stay away from degrading an entire people. The stereotypes that hollywood puts into its movies, especially those aimed towards children, are completely unnecessary. These are things that we should not be teaching our children. I do however think the film does a great job of showing the change that is coming, and that not all films portray Arabs as evil, or vile creatures. I feel as the future holds great potential for better, more accurate representations of the Arab world, but that has to start with us.
Jordan Walker 900793231 The Film "The Reel Bad Arabs" I found it disturbing how the Hollywood film industry portrayed the Arab world as a community based on radicalism and hate. Its only justified because they aren't all violent people and shouldn't be seen in this way. Many movies and even one of my favorite child hood Films "Aladdin" was seen as a stereotypical movie Even the opening song about how harsh the Arab world in the film was seen as racists because "it talked about how you'll get your ear cut for people not liking your face" or how you'll get your hand cut off for stealing, I didn't think about this as being racists at all only entertaining. Until the more films that came out in opposition to the Arabic community or good Arabs, the more Americans became preconditioned to hating pr feeling animosity towards all Arabs. It was interesting how they described the Arab community as being a established race, but people still have dissolved their feelings or opinions about them. Americans see as the enemy after the terrorists ensued on the public, and the more that time and events passed by the more anger and hostility the Arabs received. The war on racism has to start with the film industry the people of america cannot proceed all stereotypes to all Arabs or non Muslims because the Arab community is still a proud and rich race. A better representation of the Arabs are starting to become a popular practice, in hopes to help drop the stereotypes placed on modern day Arabs.
David Cooke Arab 1001 The documentary helped me learn how Arabs were portrayed as evil beings on the silver screen. They were looked as radical extremist who only believed that blowing up and killing was the only way to get what they felt was right. As a kid Aladdin was a childhood favorite. i never really payed any attention to the opening song, but when it was played and i actually listened to the lyrics. It opened my eyes to how even the child friendly company Disney portrayed Arabs in a bad manner
Adriana Pulley
ReplyDeleteMedia portrayals do have a large influence on the American population so it was interested to see it traced through so many films. There are many who say Hollywood and the government are in some kind of collaboration, and it's true. People use movies for their own agenda. Sometimes it can be positive to raise morale our as an escape, but unfortunately most often it perpetuates stereotypes and instill fear.
But of course, like the documentarian said, it is not a new phenomenon. African-Americans were depicted very poorly in film, stage plays, and elsewhere. Now these things are not accepted, but I do believe it's been replaced now with a lack of representation which is a whole other evil. I believe a similar trend will occur with Arabs and Muslims.
Nardja Owens
ReplyDeleteI liked the film because it was something I expected. In the past few years a I began to recognize how much the media can control by simply depicting someone in a negative fashion culturally. The films the narrator brought up proved that the idea of dehumanizing arabs is not a new one, but one that has been built up on over decades of propaganda. As a black man in america, I can empathize with how many of the people who are indirectly affected may feel because the same thing is done to me. The documentary can clearly show how arab-blackface effects the world now and who politicians even are using the media vehicle as means for destruction. One thing about the media that i feel like a lot of people dont understand is that if the images are thrown at you again and again then you would eventually believe them because that is the only perspective one would see. The damage caused by this is not in light because the same people who could benefit off of the negative portrayal of a group of people would not want that power to leave them.
The film "Reel Bad Arabs" depicts how Arabs are dehumanized in Hollywood and how they are only shown one side of the story. The film really surprised me because I have never really paid that much attention to how pretty much all films that have something or another to do with Arabs, shows only a negative light on them. I was really surprised when he showed the movies about how the Palestinian Israeli conflict was viewed in the media and how it was depicted in Hollywood. Also the part of the documentary that shows the beginning scene of the popular Disney movie "Aladdin", we hear the opening song that says "If we don't like you face, we will cut your ear off, but that’s home". That really surprised me that they would put such a gory lyric on a children's movie. Having friends that are Arabs and spending a lot of time with them has really given me a true look at the issue from both sides and I value those experiences and wish to go on and spread the word so we can stop demoralizing Arabs and get rid of all the stereotypes that exist.
ReplyDeleteCarmen Gray
ReplyDeleteThe Documentary Reel Bad Arabs really opened my eyes to the terrible stereotypes that Hollywood forces on Arab and Muslim characters. I didn't even realize how badly stereotyped some movies were until it was pointed out to me during the film. For example, Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies, and I have watched it countless times. However, I never noticed the horrible and harsh depiction of Arabs in the movie. My blindness to it just goes to show that this stereotype of bad Arabs is so normal that we don't even realize it in media anymore. We have normalized a hateful view of a group of people, and this needs to stop. Media has to do a better job or representing minorities including Arab people. Bad stereotypes should not be the only representation of a group of people in the media. There should be stories about different kinds of people from that minority group that highlights their humanity instead of dehumanizing them.
William Randle
ReplyDeleteARAB 1001
MWF 9:05-9:55
The documentary film "Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People" reveals how Hollywood consistently portrays Arabs in a negative manner. According to the film, Arabs are (and have been since Hollywood's inception) typically portrayed as lecherous, greedy, or dim-witted terrorists. Such stereotypes even show up in children's films such as Aladdin, or movies which have nothing to do with the Middle East, such as Back to the Future.
Prior to watching the documentary, I had not thought very much about this subject, since, as the film notes, stereotypes which are so common tend to become invisible simply due to their pervasiveness.
The film does point to some more recent (within the past decade or so) films like Kingdom of Heaven, which feature more positive or at least balanced portrayals of Arabs and Muslims. Hopefully, we will see more positive depictions in the future.
Heather Yeomans
ReplyDeleteThe documentary Reel Bad Arabs that we watched in class was completely eye opening. Prior to watching this film I had never even thought of how Arabs were being portrayed on the silver screen, but now after watching it I don't see how anyone could miss it. Even major blockbusters like Indiana Jones cant stay away from degrading an entire people. The stereotypes that hollywood puts into its movies, especially those aimed towards children, are completely unnecessary. These are things that we should not be teaching our children.
I do however think the film does a great job of showing the change that is coming, and that not all films portray Arabs as evil, or vile creatures. I feel as the future holds great potential for better, more accurate representations of the Arab world, but that has to start with us.
Jordan Walker
ReplyDelete900793231
The Film "The Reel Bad Arabs"
I found it disturbing how the Hollywood film industry portrayed the Arab world as a community based on radicalism and hate. Its only justified because they aren't all violent people and shouldn't be seen in this way. Many movies and even one of my favorite child hood Films "Aladdin" was seen as a stereotypical movie Even the opening song about how harsh the Arab world in the film was seen as racists because "it talked about how you'll get your ear cut for people not liking your face" or how you'll get your hand cut off for stealing, I didn't think about this as being racists at all only entertaining. Until the more films that came out in opposition to the Arabic community or good Arabs, the more Americans became preconditioned to hating pr feeling animosity towards all Arabs. It was interesting how they described the Arab community as being a established race, but people still have dissolved their feelings or opinions about them. Americans see as the enemy after the terrorists ensued on the public, and the more that time and events passed by the more anger and hostility the Arabs received. The war on racism has to start with the film industry the people of america cannot proceed all stereotypes to all Arabs or non Muslims because the Arab community is still a proud and rich race. A better representation of the Arabs are starting to become a popular practice, in hopes to help drop the stereotypes placed on modern day Arabs.
David Cooke
ReplyDeleteArab 1001
The documentary helped me learn how Arabs were portrayed as evil beings on the silver screen. They were looked as radical extremist who only believed that blowing up and killing was the only way to get what they felt was right. As a kid Aladdin was a childhood favorite. i never really payed any attention to the opening song, but when it was played and i actually listened to the lyrics. It opened my eyes to how even the child friendly company Disney portrayed Arabs in a bad manner