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The Daily OrangeRecent box office hits reinforce stereotypes about the Middle East
By Tim Goessling
Posted: 10/9/07, 10:38 PM EST Section: Feature
I can personally report that the last 30 minutes of Middle East action flick "The Kingdom" are extremely intense.
Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner blow away enough Islamic terrorists to humble Jack Bauer. Jason Bateman struggles for his head like he's trying to keep "Arrested Development" on the air.
And a whole bunch of stereotypes are completely reinforced in the minds of the movie-viewing audience.
While I enjoyed the film, I found the fact that I did to be strange. I consider myself to be a non-violent guy. The only time I threw a punch was to shut up some kid who was making fun of disabled people. That was in sixth grade
Yet mysteriously, the entertainment I enjoy does not gel with this peaceful mindset. I've never missed an episode of the Jack Bauer Power Hour ("24") in my life. I play video games where I'm an American soldier fighting terrorists in the Middle East. I pay my hard-earned cash to see King Leonidas and his Spartans decimate Persians in "300."
In some ways, the use of Muslims and others from the Middle East as villains in popular culture can be attributed to the time period we live in.
It's how things have always been in pop culture.
During World War II, the prominent villains were Nazis. The Cold War saw the rise of the Soviet threat. Following this trend, it's not surprising that in this "war on terror," the bad guys are now Islamic extremists.
But unlike the villains of the past, people who practice Islam are certainly not all intent on violence. The Nazis and Soviets, at least, were at one point focused on dominating the United States. The problem with the portrayal of the current Islamic villain is that too many people think that this jihad-driven persona, the one we see in TV shows and movies, is the defining face of the religion.
It's always suicide bombers, men with AK-47s or targets for Jamie Foxx to blow away.
"I think the whole idea is to shift from the Soviets to the Muslims," said professor John Michalczyk, co-director of film studies at Boston College. "They are the new bogeymen."
Khurram Mehtabdin, a senior political science and international relations major, pointed out how Americans in "The Kingdom" act like they own the place upon arriving in Saudi Arabia.
"It's portraying the Western man's burden on how to educate the Orient to work," Mehtabdin said.
This attitude of superiority can be attributed to the fact that many Americans have a limited understanding of the religion.
For example, this Friday is Eid ul-Fitr, a holy day in Islam. It celebrates the end of Ramadan, a month of spiritual purification. On this day, the fast is broken and parties and gifts are exchanged.
But will most of the people getting fractured on Thursday night have any idea what the holiday is about?
People should educate themselves. Once we begin to understand what we don't know, we can work to combat the stereotypes that we have created.
I don't want to sound high and mighty, but I do think it's time that we worked harder to comprehend what we in some ways fear.
As master Yoda says, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering." We need to strive to learn about what we don't know. Only then can we move away from the repetition of these ideas that bind us.
"Right now, as normal people, we have the opportunity to work to make the world balanced and fair," said Mehtabdin. "It's time to close the gap."
Tim Goessling is a senior television, radio and film major, and probably the only person on earth who liked the new "Miami Vice" movie.
Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner blow away enough Islamic terrorists to humble Jack Bauer. Jason Bateman struggles for his head like he's trying to keep "Arrested Development" on the air.
And a whole bunch of stereotypes are completely reinforced in the minds of the movie-viewing audience.
While I enjoyed the film, I found the fact that I did to be strange. I consider myself to be a non-violent guy. The only time I threw a punch was to shut up some kid who was making fun of disabled people. That was in sixth grade
Yet mysteriously, the entertainment I enjoy does not gel with this peaceful mindset. I've never missed an episode of the Jack Bauer Power Hour ("24") in my life. I play video games where I'm an American soldier fighting terrorists in the Middle East. I pay my hard-earned cash to see King Leonidas and his Spartans decimate Persians in "300."
In some ways, the use of Muslims and others from the Middle East as villains in popular culture can be attributed to the time period we live in.
It's how things have always been in pop culture.
During World War II, the prominent villains were Nazis. The Cold War saw the rise of the Soviet threat. Following this trend, it's not surprising that in this "war on terror," the bad guys are now Islamic extremists.
But unlike the villains of the past, people who practice Islam are certainly not all intent on violence. The Nazis and Soviets, at least, were at one point focused on dominating the United States. The problem with the portrayal of the current Islamic villain is that too many people think that this jihad-driven persona, the one we see in TV shows and movies, is the defining face of the religion.
It's always suicide bombers, men with AK-47s or targets for Jamie Foxx to blow away.
"I think the whole idea is to shift from the Soviets to the Muslims," said professor John Michalczyk, co-director of film studies at Boston College. "They are the new bogeymen."
Khurram Mehtabdin, a senior political science and international relations major, pointed out how Americans in "The Kingdom" act like they own the place upon arriving in Saudi Arabia.
"It's portraying the Western man's burden on how to educate the Orient to work," Mehtabdin said.
This attitude of superiority can be attributed to the fact that many Americans have a limited understanding of the religion.
For example, this Friday is Eid ul-Fitr, a holy day in Islam. It celebrates the end of Ramadan, a month of spiritual purification. On this day, the fast is broken and parties and gifts are exchanged.
But will most of the people getting fractured on Thursday night have any idea what the holiday is about?
People should educate themselves. Once we begin to understand what we don't know, we can work to combat the stereotypes that we have created.
I don't want to sound high and mighty, but I do think it's time that we worked harder to comprehend what we in some ways fear.
As master Yoda says, "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering." We need to strive to learn about what we don't know. Only then can we move away from the repetition of these ideas that bind us.
"Right now, as normal people, we have the opportunity to work to make the world balanced and fair," said Mehtabdin. "It's time to close the gap."
Tim Goessling is a senior television, radio and film major, and probably the only person on earth who liked the new "Miami Vice" movie.
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Religion of Pieces
posted 10/11/07 @ 11:57 AM EST
Now it has been six years since 9/11. The global jihad proceeds apace, with well over 9,000 deadly attacks (hyperlinked above if you can stomach the stereotype) carried out in the course of those six years by believers in the proposition that "Islam must dominate, and not be dominated. (Continued…)
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