An Arab (Arabic: عرب ; translit: ʻarab) is a member of a Semitic-speaking people originally from the Arabian peninsula and surrounding territories, who speak Arabic and who inhabit much of the Middle East and northern Africa.[4] However, Arabs are not a homogeneous ethnic group, and many varying views of the definition have been offered.
For those wondering, Iranians are not Arabs. They are Persians. They are primarily Muslim, though.
Also, not all Arabs are Muslims. There are many Christians as well as a small minority of others.
And of course, there are Muslims who are not Arabs.
So, all that having been said, what has TV and the movies told us about Arabs?
When I think about it, there are many groups represented on TV.
Whites: both good and bad.
Blacks: both good and bad.
Asians: both good and bad.
South/Central Americans: both good and bad.
Pacific Islanders: both good and bad.
Arabs: I am having trouble coming up with any examples of movies or TV shows that show a good Arab. The best I can come up with is Aladdin, though I don't know if he is Arabic or Persian. Hmm...There was one episode of CSI or NCIS or something like that, which showed a good Iraqi refugee and 3 bad ones (i.e. intent on blowing up Americans). Maybe some of the older movies of the 1940s showed good Arabs, or at least neutral ones - I'm thinking of Sindbad the Sailor, who was an Arab from a Persian story.
The fact that there is so little positive representation of Arabs in American entertainment makes it much easier to demonize them. It's hard for Americans as a community to feel sympathy for the Iraqi population when they have only ever been portrayed as the enemy. I think that this is part of the reason why our government was able to be so cavalier about the whole invasion and much of the populace is so willing to pull out without ensuring some sort of order in the country.
Of course, the Afghans (who aren't Arab either) have it even worse. At least the Iraqis had publicity under Saddam, so they are on the American radar. Afghanistan is a country that was only in my consciousness before it sounded the same as the word "afghan" for a knit blanket, which apparently had its roots in a wrap from the Afghan region.
Despite what the media may tell us, most of the Arabs/Muslims who I've met have been good people, or at least no worse than the average American (however one might define average).
3 comments:
The character Sayid on the popular show "Lost" is a very positive portrayal of an Arab, if Iraqis are indeed Arabs. His back story is that he fought in Saddam's Republican Guard during the first Gulf war.
Another 'good' example might be the portrayal of the Arab fighters in Laurence of Arabia with Peter O’Toole. Not completely flattering, but then again the story doesn’t really treat the British Army very nicely either. (Who would?)
On the other hand, Asian (Japanese and Chinese) portrayals have been almost utterly negative or nonexistent up until a few years ago. That only changed some time around the time Karate Kid came out. (Perhaps because some large Japanese companies bought stocks in the American entertainment industry in the 1980’s and corrected the viewpoints?… Nah)
You see something similar with black (*ahem* - African Americans even if they are born somewhere else). Historically, the image was either nonexistent, comical or negative. That image only started to change in the late 1960’s.
And then there are the Asian as in India, not South or Southeast Asia. There was the recent brouhaha about the Bollywood starlet in the Britsh Celebrity Big Brother. That kind of Asian is completely missing in television broadcasting in Germany. I suspect Pakistani- and Indian-Americans are more likely to be cast as cabdrivers and fast-food sales clerks than physics professors in the US.
And yes, people are usually simply people. It’s the politicians and pundits, regardless of color, who are the problem.
Though he was a comical character, I thought Samir Nainanajad from Office Space was, if not exactly positive (none of the characters were exactly positive) he wasn't there to be a stereotypical.
Trees
Post a Comment