oh please...

I know there are a lot of negative stereotypes about Arabs in the media, and just in general, but I think everyone from every racial background has stereotypes to deal with as well. Even though it is "politically incorrect" to say derogatory things about African Americans and Jewish people in America, I think it's pretty safe to say that the stereotypes about them still exist and are perpetuated by ignorance. That doesn't make stereotyping against Arabs any less correct, but they're not the only ones who deal with discrimination.

Also, of course there are going to be movies that portray people of different races irresponsibly. The movies that make the A-list do so because they were made by directors/writers who actually pause to take a minute to think about the characters. I don't really think that people are going to form all of their negative opinions on people just based on how they are portrayed in movies/the media...but maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.

(And yeah, I totally remember the "Arab" in the Father of the Bride" movies. Is there anything Eugene Levy hasn't been in? )

Cabaker that is exactly what I did when I read this.

I think this author is full of it. In the movie The Kingdom, Jamie Fox becomes really good friends with one of the Arab cops he works with, and even goes to visit his kid after the cop dies...

yes, clearly casting a bad light!

is this guy suggesting that all antagonists from now on be anonymous and of no specific gender/race/sexual orientation?

me thinks so

you know who get a really bad rep in movies, Russians.

Not zee Russians, syako! (Said in a bad Bond villian voice)

I've noticed it a lot lately. I think directors are conscious of these anti-Arab sentiment, so instead of getting pounced on by critics like this, they just use Russians as bad guys.

syako you are right... sometimes i watch the old Die Hard movies and I think, Geez, remember when we used to fight the Russians??

Sy, you are so right! Russians are ALWAYS the bad guys! I never really thought of that.

Damn Russians! ***Raising my fist in the air***

dude yeah the Russian are always evil mobster that will stop at nothing and the woman are drugged prostitutes.

I mean, Russians are no angels, that's for sure. But talk about perpetuating stereotypes. Is that critic dude outraged about this?

Interesting how no one ever sticks up for them...

we should start a Website. and send it to the ACLU. or someone who would care.

I just got all pissed off at the mentioning of the ACLU

You guys are nuts to think that Arabs, and even Asians, get the same amount of stereotyping as African Americans do. African Americans at least get cast as heroes in some movies. When is the last time you saw a movie where the hero was Asian or Arab, other than Jet Li or Jackie Chan? They don't even get the girl in the movies where they do get the leading role!
The Arab image is definitely smeared by Hollywood and the media. Especially in this post 9/11 world where most Americans think they're knowledgeable because they can pronounce Jihad. It's kinda sickening when someone who is Black or Latino fights for social justice is made into a hero, but when an Arab or a Muslim fights for equal treatment they are called terrorists. Just look at the situation where a public school principle wanted to open a school where Arabic would be part of the curriculum. She got forced to resign, meanwhile a start-up school where Spanish was part of the curriculum got community support and is thriving. If the principal had wanted to teach Chinese or Japanese or even Russian to reflect the growing world economy, there wouldn't be such an uproar. But because she wanted to teach Arabic the language, everyone accused her of wanting to train mini-terrorists.

btw ... I love how Disney mixed Arabic and South Asian words in Alladin. And how Jasmine was dressed in a bikini top and pants. That would never fly in the Arab world.

But that bikini top was smokin'!

ACLU

bengal, there is the Last Samurai. I could go on with Asian movies, but I am not sure if you are looking for American directed movies with Asian actors as heroes or American distributed film that were directed by Asians and made in Asia. The distribution angle would be easier but I could find more on the American directed if you would like.

If I can't use Jet Li or Jackie Chan, can I use Lucy Lui?

And Jasmine had it rough, but I don't think it was as bad as Pocahontas.

Has anyone every seen that list of the most offensive Disney characters?? Its pretty funny...

No but I would like to see that list. But I truly love Disney. Although, I think Walt would turn in his grave he saw what they have become.

Well I'm sure the African American boogie man is very happy to see the Arab boogie man. No doubt.

I'm not quite sure why Aladdin is on the bad list since the hero is Arab and the story took place in an Arab land so obviously the boogie man would also be Arab, not German frauleines.

Bengal, are you talking about the Khalil Gibran school? That whole situation was insane. I don't think the media is necessarily to blame though, and even if it is, we shouldn't give special treatment to Arabs while everyone else gets made fun of constantly.
The saddest thing about that school controversy is that no one opposed to it even gave a second thought to all the GOOD having Arabic-speaking Americans would do for the country. Those children could be future problem-solvers and provide all kinds of intel to the country. It took me about 2 years to learn Arabic, these children could learn it so much quicker and be more fluent just because they're still young.
*sigh!*

I am comfortable with the ways Hollywood portrays Arabs. However, I wish they would finally show the Irish for the filthy animals they are.

But...raciccarone, all Irish people just own pubs and go around singing with their guitars, and they can all make cable-knit sweaters and sound like they've got a pot of gold waiting for you at the end of each story they tell so wonderfully.

Also, maybe I'm alone on this one, but as someone who's Asian/Latina, I don't really think I care about how people of those races are portrayed in movies. If someone thinks all Asians are like Long Duck Dong from "Sixteen Candles", then that's their own problem. I don't know...the only thing I'm embarassed about is that Rob Schneider is half-Filipino.

I say everyone has to point out someone else to hide their own evil faults.The arabs are it right now.

Em I didn't even know that about rob! wow, i'm sorry!

Ken Watanabe might have been one of the heroes of Last Samurai ... but it was Tom Cruise that got top billing. And the movie was about an Asian society. How would Hollywood do a movie about Japan without Japanese actors????

I think my favorite movie so far with Asian actors as leads has been Harold & Kumar. Kal Penn is awesome!

hypnoticmix ... the original characters of Aladdin are Chinese. The story takes place in a Muslim territory in East Asia. 1,0001 Arabian Nights are stories that take place around Asia, not just the Middle East.

Hello 24!

I think the reason Arabs/Muslims stands out right now is because being Arab is the 2008 version of being a witch in olden days, it's the being black of the civil war days, it's the being asian of the pearl harbor days.

Movies pick up on reality, all movies have fear and heroes and blah blah blah, and if you really want to give people the intense emotions you have to give them what is out there, make it real.

So, it's both. Are arabs being picked on more than other races at this point in time (relative to the treatment of Arabs in movies before...nearly nonexistent) YES. Is it any different than any other group before that society turned on because basic human nature is not ideal and can't help but grab on to the "us" and "them" mentality, especially on a guilt-free fictional scale? No.

I'm sure it will blow over after a decade or two and we'll all move on to some other group, because that is what we do.

...that being said, good for him, with the elevated fear and hate there needs to be elevated reactions to counter the fear and slow-down the mob, to balance thing out as much as possible.

Aladdin was also a thief that got rich due to luck ... Stealing is a crime last I checked.

I agree with zeze. The Arab world is getting such a bad rep now ... sadly this country probably will move onto another group to ridicule as soon as they realize they've killed the subject. Until then, though, it pretty much sucks if you look Arab or are Muslim.

Well they did make a movie about Greeks with out any Greeks, so Hollywood can do it.

So then you just want Asian actors in films not films about Asia?

foxie - there's a school in the Bronx especially for Latino kids that conducts classes in Spanish. Why is that fair and not a school for Arab kids that is also open to anyone else interested in learning a foreign language other than the common selection of Spanish, Italian, and French? It's not like going to Latin school or Hebrew school where you are learning the language for religious purposes. The Khalil Gibran school wasn't interested in teaching Arabic for religious purposes, and the media totally blew it out of proportions by reporting that the principal was affiliated with anti-America Muslim groups.

cine- so far the only Hollywood movie I've seen where Asia has been done proper justice [in my personal and specialized opinion] was The Namesake. I also know most people didn't appreciate how half the movie was in Bengali ... but it was as real and as beautiful a depiction of Indians in America as any Hollywood movie can get. Tabu is also very hott
Hollywood in general will just end up butchering a culture that they don't take the time to understand, nor to employ directors from that culture. I have friends who are aspiring directors and screenwriters who keep getting their work turned down ... but then you get a tv show like Aliens in America. I dunno about you, but it makes no sense that a Muslim character has a Hindu-sounding name.

Bengal, I work in the industry, and I can tell you, Hollywood is not looking for integrity in their films. They are looking for a quick buck. They do it to all cultures. I think it stands out to you on the Asian culture like it stands out to me how they depict Greeks and Catholics, or Conservatives.

I agree on the geographical point bengalspice, but isn't this more about offense to culture rather than geographic identity as the article suggests.

As a prominently quad-racial individual myself taking racial/cultural traits from a back ground of Mexican, Spanish, African Amer., and Anglo French Canadian thanks to my grandparents. I grew up never thinking about race. Everyone was/is just an individual to me.

For instance your example of Aladin being portrayed as a thief. I simply saw him as a homeless kid trying to survive not an (Arab) thief.

i agree with this assessment. however, i think the portrayal of gays in movies and TV is much worse. yeah, it sucks always being typecast as the terrorist... but imagine always having to be the one-dimensional "wacky" best friend... now THAT's rough.

I am also sick of being portrayed as a mindless, angry scavenger who does nothing but eat trash! Think about how that is. Every time I walk into a 7-11 I'm always followed around the aisles. Forget about getting a loan. I'm just sick of it.

What's wrong with Aladdin? I know it wasn't exactly historically accurate, but no Disney movies are. It's a children's fantasy. And the heroes are Arab. People always complain that there isn't enough diversity in Disney movies, and that there are no minorities represented in the Disney princesses. But then we have a great kids movie like Aladdin, and people still complain. I don't get it.

My gals said it all.

Uhh... Bengal, I was agreeing with you. I love the idea of the Khalil Gibran school (I may be biased, since I am in love with Khalil Gibran).

Something I have always noticed about Aladdin was that Jasmine always had the most jewelry of the Princesses and the sassiest mouth.

She was actually the opposite of most of the stereotypes, of women in general. Jumping buildings, rejecting princes... I mean what did Cinderella do besides cry to godmother and whine to the mice?

i think in general, racism is now acceptable and sometimes encouraged in the US when it is directed at arabs and muslims. its sad that the cycle keeps repeating itself.

in our pc world, there arent many groups you can freely belittle. but the groups that are still available are arabs, conservative christian sects, indians from india, and white men. am i right?
and jasmine is not depicted in her clothing as an arab girl, but rather as a harem girl, a belly dancer. thus the bra top is aok.