Free Essay On Reel Bad Arabs

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported an increase in hate crimes against the Arab Americans after the September 11, 2001 attacks. They faced hate and prejudice from the community. Arabs, Muslims and Middle easterners have since then faced religious and racial animosity, and this left them with fear of potential hatred form people for different cultures in America. However, it is presumed that the Arabs and Muslims were discriminated even before the attacks. This paper gives a reflection on the film documentary released by Hollywood to illustrate the image, identity and representation of the Arabs in America.
Hollywood released the film documentary, “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a people” to analyze the image of the Arabs in America. In his book, Jack Shaheen analyzes several American movie scenes he has studied to present Arabs as terrorist and nomadic race in the US. Hollywood has a great influence on the western culture and the Arab images shown in the movies present negative images on the Muslim culture.
In popular culture today, people are treated differently because of their religion and skin color. This raises many questions. Worth of note, also, is the reality that the stigmatization of Arabs is just but a notable example. Identity has been one of the factors for social prejudice in many parts of the world. Racism is not a new concept. Looking at it critically, racism has its roots in identity. Racial profiling – one of the primary reasons why there are racist tendencies as was seen in the Zimmerman case, for instance – is a function of identity. A person from a minority race may feel out of place in a place dominated by a different race. Some researchers argue that race is not skin deep. Instead, they say, race is just but a physical attribute, especially in a country like the United States, which is considered a boiling pot of culture. For instance, one would not understand how different an African American child in the US, is different from a white child born in the same country. They both grow to learn the same culture, but race splits them at some points. The same applies to religious affiliations and other factors. A Christian living in Saudi Arabia today, for example, will not lead a life as smooth as a Christian in South America – a region prominently associated with the Catholic Church. In conclusion, it is clear that identity is the most prominent cause of prejudice and stereotypical thinking.