There are also traces of terrorism in American film, going back as far as 1926 with Old Ironsides. Jack Shaheen, an expert on the portrayal of Muslims and Arabs in Hollywood films, claimed that American movies in recent decades ‘regularly link the Islamic faith with male supremacy, holy war, and acts of terror, depicting Arabs and Muslims as hostile alien intruders, and as lecherous, oily sheikhs intent on using nuclear weapons.’ He also estimated that, as of 2008, there were more than 1,150 films that defame Muslims and Arabs. A very clear example of the misrepresentation of jihad in American film is Rules of Engagement (2000)… The movie portrays all Muslims in the crowd, even children, as anti-American terrorists motivated by religious extremism.
Evidence
See Jack G. Shaheen, The TV Arab (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Press, 1984), for an analysis of damaging representations of Arabs, Muslims, and Middle Easterners on television and film through 1984. For a more recent study by Shaheen, see Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press, 2014). — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 674 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Jack Shaheen, an expert on the portrayal of Muslims and Arabs in Hollywood films, claimed that American movies in recent decades “regularly link the Islamic faith with male supremacy, holy war, and acts of terror, depicting Arabs and Muslims as hostile alien intruders, and as lecherous, oily sheikhs intent on using nuclear weapons.” 39 He also estimated that, as of 2008, there were more than 1,150 films that defame Muslims and Arabs. — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 49 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- corroborated: 4 independent passages support this claim
- XREF: connects to: Post-war Middle East events made violence central to US Muslim depictions — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 521; Representations of jihad in American film and television are also very relevant to how Americans view jihad and Islam.; Arab and Muslim representation in American film has been persistently vilifying — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 674 (+13 more)
Related
- Representations of jihad in American film and television are also very relevant to how Americans view jihad and Islam. (similarity 0.94)
- More than 1,150 American films have defamed Muslims and Arabs. (similarity 0.93)
- Jihad, which has come to be perceived as ‘holy war’ in American media and by many Americans, is a hot topic of debate throughout the world but especially in the West. (similarity 0.89)
- Hollywood has produced over 1,150 films maligning Muslims and Arabs since 1896 (similarity 0.88)
- Arab and Muslim representation in American film has been persistently vilifying (similarity 0.87)
- Among American Muslims who said it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S. in recent years, the second most-answered reason for this was negative media portrayals. (similarity 0.85)
- Post-war Middle East events made violence central to US Muslim depictions (similarity 0.83)
- Rare positive portrayals of Muslims cannot offset the dominant dehumanizing narrative (similarity 0.83)
- Muslim lives are less grievable than American ones in public memory (similarity 0.80)
- American media conflated Iranians, Arabs, Sunnis, and Shiites into one Muslim menace. (similarity 0.79)
- Mainstream American television has a history of misrepresenting jihad (similarity 0.79)
- Real-world conflict makes Hollywood Muslim stereotypes seem more credible to audiences (similarity 0.78)
- Hollywood terrorism narratives frame Israel as rational and Palestinians as violent radicals (similarity 0.78)
- The Arab stereotype in cinema morphed from harem-keeping greed to the Muslim terrorist (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Arab and Muslim representation in American film has been persistently vilifying
#corroborates(0.95) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 674 - More than 1,150 American films have defamed Muslims and Arabs.
#corroborates(0.90) — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 49 - When we think of jihad, what comes to mind? Holy war? ISIS? Violence? Terrorism? These are very common conceptions of jihad due to Western media portrayals of the term. When we turn on the news,…
#corroborates(0.70) - Mainstream American television has a history of misrepresenting jihad
#expands(0.60) — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 47 - The Arab stereotype in cinema morphed from harem-keeping greed to the Muslim terrorist
#expands(0.60) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 129 - Media framing shapes American attitudes toward Islam and jihad
#corroborates(0.55) — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 75 - Among American Muslims who said it has become more difficult to be a Muslim in the U.S. in recent years, the second most-answered reason for this was ‘negative media portrayals.’ In addition, 53%…
#expands(0.50) - Jihad, which has come to be perceived as ‘holy war’ in American media and by many Americans, is a hot topic of debate throughout the world but especially in the West.
#corroborates(0.50) - Clash of civilizations framing located terrorism’s cause within Islam itself
#expands(0.50) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 266 - Media frames Muslim terrorists as religion-driven simpletons while psychologizing non-Muslim perpetrators
#expands(0.50) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 506 - Sympathetic Muslim film portrayals exist but remain a minority trend.
#qualifies(0.50) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 558 - Real-world conflict makes Hollywood Muslim stereotypes seem more credible to audiences
#expands(0.40) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 544 - Terrorism and extremism are treated as exclusive to Islam
#expands(0.40)