The Arab

What features come to your mind when looking at this picture?

Arabs have long been stereotyped in the media. A clear example of the aggressive Arab can be seen in the children’s film Aladdin. The film starts with a visual of the desert and a song that includes the lyrics:

“Where they cut off your ear

If they don't like your face

It's barbaric, but hey, it's home"

When princess Jasmine gives a single apple to a hungry child without paying, the Arabian owner intends to cut her hand off. Throughout the film Arabs are depicted as mean, unreasonable people.

Hollywood has made it a habit to portray Arabs in a negative light. Movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Executive Decision also dehumanize Arabs by killing them off cold-bloodily.

Initially it looked like Rules of Engagement were to counter this dehumanizing of Arab people by showing their pain and suffering. The movie included a sad little Arab girl who has lost her leg, provoking empathy on the audience’s part. But later on, the same little girl is shown to be a killer. The massacre of Arabs at the conclusion of the movie implies that the death of even young children is justified.

Arab women are also very narrowly portrayed in media. Either they are exotic belly dancers or veiled women in the background.

When direct encounters with the Arab world are missing, it is inevitable we use the media as the main source of information. Therefore, upon hearing words like “arab” or “muslim” most westerners associate them with negative implications such as terrorism. This stereotype instills a negative prejudice against the Middle Eastern world and labels a group of individuals as a result of false representations.