Stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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This article discusses the various stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims present in Western societies and American culture. Stereotypical representations of Arabs and Muslims are often manifested in a society's media, literature, theatre and other creative expressions, but often have adverse repercussions for Arab Americans and Muslims in daily interactions and in current events. .....
In his essay "Arabs in Hollywood: An Undeserved Image", Scott J. Simon argues that of all the ethnic groups portrayed in Hollywood films, "Arab culture has been the most misunderstood and supplied with the worst stereotypes":
Rudolph Valentino's roles in The Sheik (1921) and The Son of the Sheik (1926) set the stage for the exploration and negative portrayal of Arabs in Hollywood films. Both The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik represented Arab characters as thieves, charlatans, murderers, and brutes.
Other movies of the 1920s share a common theme of power-hungry, brutal Arabs ultimately defeated by white westerners:
- The Song of Love (1923)
- A Cafe in Cairo (1924)
- The Desert Bride (1928)
Simon singles out A Son of the Sahara (1924) as "the strongest subconscious attack on the Arab culture of all the Arab movies of the 1920s."
The same themes prevailed into the 1970s and beyond:
- Black Sunday (1977) concerns an Arab terrorist plot to bomb a stadium during the Super Bowl.
- The Black Stallion (1979) opens with Arabs mistreating a horse aboard a ship, then attacking a boy with a knife and stealing his life jacket.
- Back to the Future (1985) went so far as to name a specific country, referring to antagonists in the film as "Libyan terrorists".
See also
- Orientalism
- Orientalism, a 1978 book by Edward Said
- Anti-Arabism
- Islamophobia
- Flying while Muslim
- Ethnic stereotype
- Stereotype threat
- Racial profiling
