“You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” is a comedy released in 2008, directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Adam Sandler, who also stars as the main character, Zohan. Zohan is an Israeli counter-terrorist fighter, having superhuman fighting abilities, who secretly dreams to quit the Israel army for pursuing his passion and becoming a hairdresser in United States. He fakes his own death, at the hands of the Phantom (a Palestinian “terrorist”), and runs to United States, where after several unsuccessful attempts he finds employment at Dalia’s hairstyle saloon, an attractive Palestinian woman, helping her develop her business because of the way he satisfies Dalia’s customers (both in terms of hairstyle and sexually). The movie depicts stereotypes, actually is all about stereotyping, elaborating on Israeli, Palestinian and American prejudices.
The Israeli are presented in the movie as the no – landers, who decided to make Palestine their home after hundreds of years of running around the world. Therefore, when a Palestinian asks Zohan where have the Jews been in the last hundreds of years, Zohan smacks him, telling him that he will “keep that in mind” (Dugan, 2008), suggesting the ongoing conflict between the Israelites and the Palestinians, describing the fact that the Israelis are permanently waiting for a spark in order to attack Palestine. The Israeli stereotyping is further explored in the movie as it deploys the victimization of the Israelis, a population that suffered heavily in the past, because of the Holocaust, and since is looking for its justice, but at the expense of Palestinians, as the Israelis want to take their land. Moreover, a standardization of the Israelis is perpetuated in the movie, gravitating around the “humus”, a specific Arabic product (popular both in Israeli and in Palestine), being the secret ingredient used by Zohan to prepare a revolutionary hair treatment.
The Palestinians are associated with “terrorists”, perpetuating the idea postulated by the media, especially through the involvement of United States, that in the conflict between the Israeli and Palestine the Palestinians are the bad guys, looking for troubles. They are prejudicially presented in the movie as ugly, dirty, having sexual relationships with their animals (as the Palestinian cab driver Salim gives children to his goat) and cold hearted terrorists, seeking to kill and harm the Israelis. While the Israelis are put in a good light, since Zohan is loveable, sexy, having superhuman powers, and a good heart, the Palestinians are just the opposite, determining the audiences to sympathize with Zohan and what he embodies (the Israeli people) and to approve for the Israelis attacks on Palestine. The stereotyping contradiction persists is the movie, for other scenes make clear references to the fact that while the Israelis are Americans’ fellows, treated as their counterparts, the Palestinians are still referred to as “terrorists”, being associated with all the Arab terrorist moves such as Hezbollah or Hamas, perpetuating the negative image that Arabs received after 911 event.
The movie also stereotypes the Americans, as they are the real mean people who, because of their corporatist and commercial interests are intentionally supporting the Israeli – Palestinian conflicts, encouraging them to fight each other for taking advantage of their resources. In the movie, this situation is represented by the interests of Walbridge, who instigates inter-ethnic conflicts in order to determine both the Israelis and Palestinians to destroy each other businesses allowing him to take over their ruined businesses and build a shopping mall.
The main fact that the Israelis and the Palestinians are sharing a street, separated by a road is symbolic description of the actual situation between Israel and Palestine, who constantly fight for Gaza. The movie is encouraging the Arab discriminations in United States and all over the world, putting Palestinians in a bad light, while favoring the Israelis. Like this, this media program is intending to justify the Israelis’ intentions of fighting with Palestinians, determining people around the world to despise and hate Palestinians and sympathize with Israelis and their intentions. This media program also advances the stereotype United States is the superpower that supposedly fights for peace, when actually is pursuing its own interest.
References
Dugan, D. (2008) You don’t mess with the Zohan. Columbia Pictures.
