Arab Stereotypes in Western Cinema
Casa Árabe, in collaboration with Arab Media Lab platform, presents in Madrid, from May 6th to 30th, a program which helps us to reveal the prejudices on the Arab people which are commonly broadcasted through western cinema.
April 14, 2011
Curated by Arab Media lab project, the programme will start with the debate "Arab Stereotypes in Western Media" with Abdelaziz Taleb and Abdellatif Benfaidoul, Arab Media Lab’s Directors, and Gema Martin Muñoz, Casa Árabe’s Director General: They will talk about the origins of this phenomenon and on how those negative stereotypes of Arab people are developed in Western media.
The debate will take place at Casa Árabe’s Auditorium (c/ Alcalá, 62) at 19.30. The entrance is free.
Moreover, Casa Arabe will show the first Hollywood movies, which represented Arabs as villains or terrorists, to the most recent productions and pieces of news.
Films
Reel Bad Arabs, How Hollywood Vilifies a People, by Sut Jhally (United States, 2006, 50 min.).
Based on the homonymous book by Jack Shaheen, this groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of the cinematic history from the earliest days of silent film to the present blockbusters. Featuring Mr. Shaheen himself, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs and offers an analysis on these stereotypes and insights into its development at key points in US history and why they are currently so important.
On ‘Orientalism’, Edward Said’s Book, by Sut Jhally (United States, 2000, 40 min.).
Since it was first published in 1978, Edward Said’s book Orientalism has deeply influenced a wide range of disciplines. During this entertaining and erudite interview, the author relates the context where he conceived the book, he talks about its main topics and how its initial thesis is linked to the preconceived images of Orient, as well as how this thematic is presented in the media.
Silent Film, Big Words, by Abdelaziz Taleb and Abdellatif Benfaidoul (Morocco, 2011, 15 min.).
Silent film already started a stereotype creation process on Arabs, developing a reluctant subject matter: brutal Arabs, thirsty for power and defeated by westerners.
Planet of the Arabs, by Jackie Salloum (Palestine and United States, 2005, 9 min.).
The collage-spectacle of scenes, trailer alike, depicts the Arab and Muslim dehumanization in the Hollywood film industry.
Recruiting identities, by Arab Media Lab Project (Morocco, 2011, 7 min.).
This documentary is based on the historical archive of the first Moroccan workers’ hiring process developed by Dutch authorities in 1969. It shows that the work force hiring process is also a way of approving or not identities, cultures, religions and ways of being.
Calendar of film shows
| Monday May 9th |
Reel Bad Arabs, How Hollywood Vilifies a People |
| Tuesday May 10th |
Selection of short films |
| Friday May 20th |
Reel Bad Arabs, How Hollywood Vilifies a People |
| Monday May 30th |
Selection of short films |
