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Summary: Kudos for Mr Jack Shaheen
Review:
Kudos to Mr. Jack Shaheen for his book "Reel Bad Arabs"! I was starting to question myself. Maybe something was wrong with me. I had always thought it was wrong to pick on one race. One people. To continuosly portray them as always evil with absolutely no virtues. Nobody else seemed to think it was wrong though. Thank goodness to Mr. Shaheen. He helped me instill confidence in myself one more. At least he noticed the injustice, even if no one else did. Is Arab bashing so prevalent in our media that we don't even notice it anymore? That somehow we just take it for granted that everything is true and just move on? What is that doing to us? To our children?
Have we learned nothing from our past?
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Summary: Excellent, well-written book
Review: After September 11, it became clear that Arabs were among the most "hated" people in America. Stereotypes and misconceptions abounded, and still do. Sadly not enough people have taken the time to educate themselves and would prefer to lump all Arabs into one category: terrorists. Jack Shaheen's Reel Bad Arabs takes an historic look at the villification of Arabs in the film industry over the years. Such stereotyping has only led, and fueled, the general public to view Arabs as terrorists and a fanatical people. In reality, the majority of Arab Americans are hard-working, intelligent, educated people that take being "American" seriously. Unfortunately, as Shaheen so clearly illustrates, one would be hard pressed to find such truly accurate portrayals in film. I applaud Mr. Shaheen for his effort. We need more books like this one. And, on a separate but related note, for those who have the nerve to say those who suffered in the tsunami deserved it. First of all, if you were not so ignorant, you would realize how few of the victims were actually Arab. Second of all, shame on you. Human life is human life, no matter a person's race or religion.
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Summary: Reel Bad Arabs
Review: Comprehensive study of 1000 films, documenting how Hollywood historically continues to stereotype Arabs as brutal villains bent on terrorizing civilized Westerners.
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Summary: Mandatory Read for Those Fighting Bigotry
Review: Dr. Jack Shaheen accurately portrays the facts about prejudice against Arabs and Muslims in American film. He is very fact-based detailing vivid scenes in some of our most popular movies. "Most popular" means the film reaches a very wide audience; reaching a "very wide audience" ensures increasing the level of bias and prejudice that everyone brings to their daily interactions. "Increasing the levels of bias and prejudice" promotes hatred.As a former Captain and Army Ranger having served in Iraq and Bosnia, I can tell you that the kind of psyops (psychological operations) that Hollywood producers engage in is counter-productive to those of us promoting goal-directed dialogue to learn about one another...those of us committed to reducing the stereotypes and myths that support injustice. Dr. Shaheen's "Real Bad Arabs" book is a must read for those of us engaged in fighting bigotry because the author exposes the extent to which Hollywood will smear people. Prejudice has many faces in our great country. Reading Dr. Shaheen's book made me indirectly aware that we are either pro-diversity or anti-diversity. There is no in-between; otherwise, we are living the lives of hypocrites. Sure, we need to have "bad guys" in film, but there is an inconsistency in the ethnic and religious faces and images that mark our minds. The call to action is a call for more of a balance in film and the media in general. Well-done Dr. Shaheen!
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Summary: WHY IS THIS BOOK IGNORED ?
Review: DR.SHAHEEN HAS CALLED HOLLYWOOD ON THE CARPET WITH HIS AUTHORITATIVE AND SUPERBLY DOCUMENTED BOOK "REEL BAD ARABS". THOSE IN THE PRINT,TELEVISIONAND FILM INDUSTRY HAVE IGNORED THIS GROUNBREAKING BOOK. WHY?IS IT BECAUSE THE EVIDENCE IS SO CLEAR ANS SO PRECISE THAT THEY ARE NOT COMORTABLE SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH?
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Summary: This is a Major Problem.
Review: Especially after September 11,2001. The reason why many Arab and Muslim Americans are being discriminated is because many people probably think of the "TV Arab" image (i.e. Suicide Bombers, Fanatics,Lazy etc). Now to the book review. Mr Shaheen is doing the right thing, documenting almost 1000 movies from the beginning of cinema to the present day. He writes them in a form of Movie reviews. This book should be in every American Library. I really hope the Hollywood starts shaping up and stops vilifying Arabs. Otherwise 8 million Americans are going to have a MUCH harder time.
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Summary: This is a Major Problem.
Review: Especially after September 11,2001. The reason why many Arab and Muslim Americans are being discriminated is because many people probably think of the "TV Arab" image (i.e. Suicide Bombers, Fanatics,Lazy etc). Now to the book review. Mr Shaheen is doing the right thing, documenting almost 1000 movies from the beginning of cinema to the present day. He writes them in a form of Movie reviews. This book should be in every American Library. I really hope the Hollywood starts shaping up and stops vilifying Arabs. Otherwise 8 million Americans are going to have a MUCH harder time.
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Summary: This book rocks
Review: I adored this book. It succeeds in accurately documenting film portrayals of Arabs. It is also an excellent resource for research-oriented projects on film and stereotypes. In fact, I am now doing a research project that centers on Arab images in film largely based on the characterizations that Shaheen speaks of in this book (i.e. Villains, Sheikhs, Maidens, etc). I highly recommend this book. It rocks.
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Summary: Anti-Semitism Uncovered
Review: I am amazed as I read this. How much have I missed. Movie after movie, that I've seen, long before I became culturally aware of Arabs and anti-Semitism and the beauty of that culture and the awfulness of racism. And I did not know. But Shaheen lays it out too clearly to contradict, in an introduction that lays out the philosophical base for his arguments, and then in copious notes on 900 different movies. And suddenly I realize that the Black Stallion, a movie I loved as a kid, stigmatizes Arabs. Suddenly I realize those Porky Pig cartoons where he's a legionnaire are anti-Semitic. Suddenly I realize that Back to the Future really engages in the classic stereotypes of the evil, bad, terrorist Arab. And I mourn. As Shaheen makes it clear, it is not that he is arguing that Arabs should never be portrayed as the bad guys. It is only that, when we see them in the movies, they almost always are. And when they're not, we see only a stereotype, of a greedy, lust-driven Arab surrounded by a harem, which has nothing to do with real harems but everything to do with American preoccupation with sex, and perhaps reveals more of who we in the West are than who the Arabs are. This isn't the kind of book you read cover to cover- it's a resource book, and extremely extensive in the information and racism in each movie presented. It's ideal for picking up right before you watch a video, or right after, to contemplate another perspective than that of the movie, and to discuss. But there are some times I think when Shaheen misses. He lambastes farces, like Ishtar, which are true to the nature of a farce, and poke fun at Arabs and song-writers and the CIA and camels and the West- everyone in the movie. At other times I think he misses the point of a movie made in American culture, like The Siege. While Arabs are the terrorists in The Siege, it is quite clear that Bruce Willis, the military leader, is the true bad guy, and the greatest tragedy in The Siege is when Americans decide to remove freedom in place of security, as Thomas Jefferson said, "Any society which gives up it's freedom for the sake of security, deserves neither." The movie is writ on the backbone of our collective shame for what we did to the Japanese in World War II; and written on the collective forgetfulness we have as we now do the same thing to Arabs. But small points, on a few movies. Overall, it is impossible to come away from this book with the thought that Hollywood is at all equitable in it's treatment of groups, especially Semites. It is impossible to view movies the same way again. I wait with dread the next great production of Hollywood, where out of nowhere, Arabs will again appear as the caricatured, ignoramus villains, perhaps the ones behind the whole of the Matrix, perhaps responsible for mistreatment of mutants in X3. I am left with sadness, and a question I do not have an answer to: Which is worse- that there are 900 movies portraying Arabs, and 50 portraying them positively; or that the majority of movies I have seen in my life are on Shaheen's list?
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Summary: An Encyclopedia of Hollywood's racism
Review: I bought this book last year. It is not a book but an encyclopedia preceded by an introduction that is thoughtful, kind and intelligent. Mr. Shaheen reviews a multitude of movies. This encyclopedia covers Hollywood's portrayals of Arabs, 99.5% of them unfavorable. Jack Shaheen appears to be a very kind and decent person - after researching this topic in depth as he did, it would be very easy to write such a book in a nasty and hateful manner, but in this case all the hate emanates from Hollywood. I like his rating system (Sheikhs, Cameos, Worst list etc.) The casual reader should count how many times Germans or Nazis appear along with the Arabs in this book. But then again, any semi-conscious movie-goer will notice which groups are consistently abused by the American film industry (Arabs, Germans and Colombians). Mr. Shaheen proposes what changes should be made. I do agree with him, however I will fault the abused communities(mentioned above) for not being organized enough, screaming bloody murder, running boycotts, letter writing campaigns and otherwise hell-raising until the hypocritical, psychologically unbalanced and morally bankrupt individuals who run the film industry mend their ways. This book shines a light on an abomination. Enough is enough. The stereotypes must end because they are wrong. No ethnic group in the USA is deserving of such chronic abuse.
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