UAE | Media
Arabs again portrayed as the usual suspects
As yet another Hollywood movie on the subject of Arabs and terrorism is set to be released, Arabs in the UAE have expressed anxiety as to how The Kingdom will portray them.
- By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:16 October 8, 2007
- Image Credit: Supplied Picture
- 'The Kingdom', set in Saudi Arabia and partly shot in Abu Dhabi, deals with an FBI agent who takes a team to Riyadh after a bomb targeting Western expatriates explodes in a gated residential compound.
Dubai: As yet another Hollywood movie on the subject of Arabs and terrorism is set to be released, Arabs in the UAE have expressed anxiety and mixed expectations as to how The Kingdom will portray their community.
Arab characters in Hollywood movies have largely been associated with violence and terrorism, and despite the subject of this Hollywood movie being exactly that, Arabs say they expect something different, "yet the same" from The Kingdom.
Expected to be released in the UAE on October 11, The Kingdom, set in Saudi Arabia and partly shot in Abu Dhabi, deals with an FBI agent who takes a team to Riyadh after a bomb targeting Western expatriates explodes in a gated residential compound. While in the kingdom, the agent is assisted by a Saudi colonel whose help proves vital in the hunt for the terrorists.
"Of course it's the same kind of portrayal of Arabs that has to do with violence," said Sami Al Turki, a Saudi student in Dubai. The movie's portrayal of the Saudi colonel as a heroic character who sees it his national and religious duty to pursue terrorists, fails to impress Al Turki.
"Any free-thinking and freedom loving Arab to be shown as friend of the Americans and be like them," he said. Al Turki said he did not see any harm in watching it.
Hesham Derbas, a mechanical engineer, 27, said that although the depiction of Arabs was changing in American movies, it was still geared towards an American audience with specific expectations.
The position American filmmakers take on issues in their movies is often dependant on the political situation at the time and the concerns of the American public - something that will sell, according to Derbas.
"Do you think the Persians would have been portrayed the way they were in the movie 300 if there was no conflict between Iran and the US?"
Sharjah-based Jordanian blogger Fouad Abu Kishk agreed that an American audience is the primary target of the movie but said he was impressed by the depth of research done.
Stereotyping: Movie gets mixed reviews from critics
Although criticism of Hollywood's portrayal of Arabs has softened since the release of movies such as Syriana and Kingdom of Heaven, which have been called relatively objective, it remains to be seen how Arabs at home will react to the latest Arab flick from Hollywood.
Those that have watched the movie, including Arabs, have given mixed reviews.
Arab American Jack Shaheen, who documented enough cases of negative stereotyping of Arabs in Hollywood to put in his book, Reel Bad Arabs, called The Kingdom a "a $70 million (Dh256.9 million) jingoistic Rambo-in-Arabia thriller" in a review.
"Saudi Arabia appears as a sinister desert land filled with evil machine-gun-toting Arabs lurking around each and every corner, waiting in the shadows to kill Americans. The audience is led to believe that we [the Americans] had better kill [the Saudis]; even women and children; quick, before they kill us," says Shaheen.
Ray Hanania, an Arab American columnist and comedian, however, found The Kingdom to be a 'glimmer of hope' that the 'pattern' of negative stereotyping of Arabs could be changing.
Have your say
What have you heard about the movie? Will you watch it? Share your views at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form below to send your comments.
Your comments
I think the Arab community should count itself lucky. The Brits have been the bad guys in most US action films.
Keith
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 16:12
This is History repeating itself. Hollywood has no film in praise of the Arab/Muslim community in store. Same story in a different pretext under a different name. Boring and does not appeal even to the likes of me who studied in the UK and the USA. American Stereotyping at its best.
Waeel
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 12:05
The name of the movie it self targeting the Arabs in Gulf. They are trying to portray show Arabs as villains. So ask the Americans why they prefer to stay in the Gulf (Dubai) because they themselves know that Arab countries are non Villains.
Saheel
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 11:01
I'm an American born Muslim convert who lives n the UAE and I really think that many people missed the point of the movie. The real point of the movie was made in the last statement of the American played by Jamie Foxx and the little Saudi kid. The movie was not about terrorism, this was the storyline used because of the socio-political chaos that is presently preoccupying the world. The movie was actually about people from two different ways of life learning to get past the otherness and cultural stereotypes with which they had been socialised. The movie is not a blockbuster, but it must me listened to closely in order to understand what point the director is making. The only thing truly Hollywood and American about the film is that they used a sensitive socio-political issue (terrorism)and thus completely overshadowed the main theme.
Ali Abdullah
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 10:52
Reading this article makes me remember the old days when lot of people like me grown up with WW2 movies. Always "zi germans" were the bad guys and nobody cried "victimisation". Movies dramatise fact that happened, and I guess nobody will enjoy very much a "politically correct" movie.
Mugur
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 10:15
The stereotyping of the Arab people in hollywood has a tremendous impact on the world's view of the middle east. Hollywood movies have the largest reach compared to any form of media and so they should exhibit a higher degree of responsibility when inducing racism in their movies.
Panseet
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 10:05
I watched this movie yesterday and it is simply another American hero vs. Arab terrorist movie. Nothing unexpected from an American action movie. I did enjoy it, and it will be interesting to see what will be "censored" in the GCC countries. I will be really surprised if the movie is shown in its original edit. Yes, there are characters and maybe 2 phrases in the entire movie that condems terror by an Arab, but the movie still portrays Arabs as terrorists and a backwards civilization! I highly doubt that this movie will win any awards!
Kais
Phoenix, Arizona,USA
Posted: October 09, 2007, 09:49
This isn't the first time the arabs are made a target of media victimisation portraying them as terrorists. Whats sad is that after so many years, none of the Arab countries have stood up against this.
Raynold
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 09:26
I think American movies reflect the violence from Muslim towards America. So, what about the American violence towards Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan.
Zeinab
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 09:20
I am not an Arab but I think that doing films about them being the bad guys would hurt my feeling, if I am in their shoes. I hope someday there will be an American film that can show the peaceful lifestyle of an Arab country, like Dubai.
Kiko
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 08:43
I never watch such movies that insult the audience's intelligence. They are an absolute waste of precious time and hard-earned money.
Elias
Dubai,UAE
Posted: October 09, 2007, 08:18
As a Sunni Lebanese, Arab Muslim from Abu Samra in Tripoli, I was impressed by this movie. I did not see any significant dramatisation in it.
Abdullah
Tripoli,Lebanon
Posted: October 09, 2007, 08:01
Hold your seats and do not even think of moving in the last 30 minutes of the movie. I rate it 8.5 out of 10. The movie does show Arabs as villains but also shows some of them as the good guys. Since I am a Muslim myself, I got pretty mad watching the movie but then there is some truth to the story.
Emaad
Oakville,Canada
Posted: October 09, 2007, 05:42
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