Early on, even Plato recognized the power of fictional narratives, asserting that “Those who tell the stories also rule society.” George Gerbner also recognizes the power of mediated stories, using them as the basis for much of his Cultivation Theory. Cultivation theory in its most basic form, suggests that television is responsible for shaping, or ‘cultivating’ viewers’ conceptions of social reality. The combined effect of massive television exposure by viewers over time subtly shapes the perception of social reality for individuals and, ultimately, for our culture as a whole. Gerbner argues that the mass media cultivate attitudes and values which are already present in a culture: the media maintain and propagate these values amongst members of a culture, thus binding it together. He has argued that television tends to
cultivate middle-of-the-road political perspectives. This was called
"mainstreaming."
Even Hollywood today recognizes the ubiquitiousness of the Arab stereotype. Actor F. Murray Abraham refuses to use his first name (Farid) because he believes it would doom him to minor roles as villains.
And actor Sam Keen affirms that, in the movies, Arabs are ripe for bashing:
“You can hit an Arab free; they’r e free enemies, free villains – where you couldn’t do it to a Jew or you can’t do it to a black anymore,” explained Dr Jack Saheen, who has long studied Arab stereotyping in the media.
This week I will watch the film, "The Sum of All Fears," and content analyze it for Arab stereotypes.
During the movie, I will conduct a formal content analysis using categories such as dehumanization, villain, terrorist, bestial, eroticized women, swarthy, ignorant, amoral, and make note of any slurs made against Arabs.
After movie review:
Wow, is all I can say. I intentionally picked a movie for this assignment I had not seen, so I could have a "fresh" perspective and be entertained at the same time. And fresh is what I got! In this film, I was shocked (not by the fact that Ben Affleck makes a horrendous Jack Ryan, but that's a different blog!) that I had preconceived notion of who the "bad guy" was going to be just based on reading the assignment! I read the word "Arab" and correlated a movie about nuclear warfare to propose them as the villains. I thought it was going to be obvious, ha! Even the synopsis on http://www.imdb.com/ states,
"CIA analyst Jack Ryan must thwart the plans of a terrorist faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's newly elected president by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore."
As a society, it is obvious that we been cultivated to believe that in this post-9/11 era every "terrorist faction" is Arab. According to author of the article, "Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People," Jack G. Shaheen states, "For more than a century Hollywood, too, has used repetition as a teaching tool,tutoring movie audiences by repeating over and over, in film after film, insidious images of the Arab people."
According to the text, there are several ways Arabmen have been stereotyped over the years.
Of the 96 cast members only 6 were depicted as Middle Eastern men.Of the six Arab men in the movie, two were classified as bedouins, one was a doctor, and three were portrayed as some type of soldier.
They are seen far less often than Arab men on U.S. TV and in U.S. movies, but, when they are seen at all, it is usually as oppressed victims or in highly stereotyped roles such as that of a belly dancer or a member of a harem. According to Shaheen, "The reality about harems is that they were never common and today are nonexistent in Arab countries. In the movie, "The Sum of all Fears," of the seven female characters, zero were Arab.
“We’re not stereotyping,” they object. “Just look at your television set. Those are real Arabs.”
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| F. Murray Abraham |
And actor Sam Keen affirms that, in the movies, Arabs are ripe for bashing:
“You can hit an Arab free; they’r e free enemies, free villains – where you couldn’t do it to a Jew or you can’t do it to a black anymore,” explained Dr Jack Saheen, who has long studied Arab stereotyping in the media.
This week I will watch the film, "The Sum of All Fears," and content analyze it for Arab stereotypes. During the movie, I will conduct a formal content analysis using categories such as dehumanization, villain, terrorist, bestial, eroticized women, swarthy, ignorant, amoral, and make note of any slurs made against Arabs.
After movie review:
Wow, is all I can say. I intentionally picked a movie for this assignment I had not seen, so I could have a "fresh" perspective and be entertained at the same time. And fresh is what I got! In this film, I was shocked (not by the fact that Ben Affleck makes a horrendous Jack Ryan, but that's a different blog!) that I had preconceived notion of who the "bad guy" was going to be just based on reading the assignment! I read the word "Arab" and correlated a movie about nuclear warfare to propose them as the villains. I thought it was going to be obvious, ha! Even the synopsis on http://www.imdb.com/ states,
"CIA analyst Jack Ryan must thwart the plans of a terrorist faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's newly elected president by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore."
As a society, it is obvious that we been cultivated to believe that in this post-9/11 era every "terrorist faction" is Arab. According to author of the article, "Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People," Jack G. Shaheen states, "For more than a century Hollywood, too, has used repetition as a teaching tool,tutoring movie audiences by repeating over and over, in film after film, insidious images of the Arab people."
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| Actor Art Malik as terrorist Salim Abu Aziz in "True Lies" |
Shaheen further states, "there have been over 1,150 films that denigrate or stereotype Arabs and only 29 (all post-2001) which present any positive image.
According to the text, there are several ways Arabmen have been stereotyped over the years.Terrorist - Although only a minuscule fraction of real Arabs are terrorists, there are many of these on television, especially since September 2001.
Wealthy Oil Sheik - Often greedy and morally dissolute.
Sexual Pervert - Often portrayed as selling Europeans or Americans into slavery.
Bedouin Desert Rat - He is an unkempt ascetic
wanderer far misrepresented on TV and in
advertising.
wanderer far misrepresented on TV and in
advertising.
Of the 96 cast members only 6 were depicted as Middle Eastern men.
Now what about Arab women?
They are seen far less often than Arab men on U.S. TV and in U.S. movies, but, when they are seen at all, it is usually as oppressed victims or in highly stereotyped roles such as that of a belly dancer or a member of a harem. According to Shaheen, "The reality about harems is that they were never common and today are nonexistent in Arab countries. In the movie, "The Sum of all Fears," of the seven female characters, zero were Arab.
We can also see from the map of Israel that the surrounding borders are Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Furthermore, the port that was mentioned in the movie, Haifa, is near the city of Nazareth where Jesus Christ was born. Which leads me to the website: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html.
According to the Website, 76.4 percent of the population is Jewish with the remaining 23.6 percent being mostly Arab.
According to Shaheen, "Not only do these violent news images of extremists reinforce and exacerbate already prevalent stereotypes, but they serve as both a source and excuse for continued Arab-bashing by those filmmakers eager to exploit the issue. In particular, the news programs are used by some producers and directors to deny they are actually engaged in stereotyping.
“We’re not stereotyping,” they object. “Just look at your television set. Those are real Arabs.”
