Reel Bad Arabs

The Film Reel Bad Arabs was very insightful and opened my mind to a topic that I previously did not know that much about. I did not realize how many Arab stereotypes were in films until I watched this film. It made me feel a lot like a hypocrite by watching it because I realized how close minded I was towards this topic. I would be extremely offended if Americans were portrayed in Arab films the way that some American films show Arabs.

In my opinion the film demonstrates how far Hollywood will go to make an income. All of these films plus the tragedy of September eleventh have turned Arabs into the enemy. Hollywood knows that by using the culture that is easiest to make fun of or is the most convincing as the villain they will make more money. What they don’t analyze is the stereotypes that they are presenting to young America. If women in America were portrayed in Arab films the way that we show Arab women, there would be feminist all over America that would be very irate.

Overall this film excited me about this class because it opened up my eyes to something that before I did not even notice. It made me very excited to do more research on the middle east and find out more about what is happening over there. It inspires me to become more educated on the topic so that I can pass my knowledge onto others. If more Americans were educated on the middle east I think that the country as a whole would have a different opinion on them and not jump to the conclusion that everyone is a terrorist or a villain.