REEL BAD ARABS
|
James Cameron, Director of True Lies |
|
|
|
Nihad Awad
Executive Director of CAIR |
|
|
|
Step 5:
Read the five brief points below excerpted from PBS'
Global Connections about the perceptions of the United States and
Americans widely held in the Middle East (and elsewhere). |
Perceptions about the United States
People in other countries, Muslim and non-Muslim
alike, often have misperceptions about life in America. Ironically, they get
their images of the United States from American movies, popular music, and
television shows. And where the national media is run by a foreign government,
particularly one that doesn't agree with U.S. foreign policies, it may choose
to reinforce negative stereotypes of the U.S.
Consider
the following common perceptions about Americans and how they have developed:
1. Perception: All Americans
are rich.
While it is true that most Americans enjoy a higher
standard of living than most people in the Middle East, many in the Middle East
assume that all Americans live the lifestyle of the rich and famous reflected
in popular TV series like Beverly Hills 90210 and in movies. This
perception does not take into account the many socioeconomic levels at which
Americans live.
2. Perception:
Americans have no family values.
Just as there is a vast diversity in ethnicities, religions,
cultures, and language groups in the United States, there are also broad
differences in the definition of family values here. For some outside America,
the high U.S. divorce rate and the practice of putting older relatives in
nursing homes rather than caring for them in the family home are used as
evidence that the American family structure has broken down completely.
3. Perception: Americans have no morals; all American
women are promiscuous.
America is sometimes seen as a sexually permissive society, where casual sexual
activity, near nudity, teenage pregnancy, single motherhood, HIV/AIDS, and drug
use are common. The reality, however, is that none of these characterizations
is the norm.
4. Perception: Women are oppressed in the U.S.
While some Americans would agree with this
statement, pointing to something like the difference in wages paid to male and
female workers as evidence, many Americans would not agree with the view held
by some foreign societies that America's casual attitude toward sex, fashions
that bare women's bodies, and commercial exploitation of images of women harm
women's dignity and expose them to sexual danger. Nor would many in the U.S.
agree that the American ideal of equality&mdashmen and women taking on the same
roles in the work force&mdash denigrates the role of mothers in society.
5. Perception:
America is hypocritical.
America's values
of democracy, freedom, and economic opportunity are sometimes seen as being
only for Americans, despite what American leaders may say publicly. It is
thought that the United States is willing to defend these values abroad only when
this defense is compatible with strategic interests. Some believe that America
is the new world imperial power, supporting Israel and corrupt, oppressive
governments in the Middle East and around the world for its own gain and to the
detriment of the Arab people and Muslims. Furthermore, it is sometimes said
that to make a profit, the U.S. harms local cultures by exporting its
commercialized cultural products around the world.
|
Step 5
(cont'd): Choose one of these brief
writing assignments (please indicate clearly which question you are
responding to): 1. You are a Public Relations consultant
hired by the companies that produced True Lies and Rules of
Engagement. Write a one-page statement defending those films (in separate
paragraphs if you prefer) against criticisms regarding their portrayal of
Arabs. 2. Write a
one-page letter to the directors of True Lies (James Cameron) and Rules
of Engagement (William Friedkin)
(in separate paragraphs if you prefer) explaining why you find their films
offensive and racist due to their portrayal of Arabs. 3. Rewrite a scene from either True Lies
or Rules of Engagement (and/or the premise of one of those two films)
by reversing the roles, i.e. with the Americans in the role of villains and
the Arabs in the role of heroes.
4. Review the Porky Pig cartoon
(optional) one last time and then rewrite the cartoon with the roles
reversed, i.e. with Porky Pig as an Arab playing the hero and with
Europeans/Americans as villains. |