After reading the article "The Construction of Arabs as Enemies: Post- 9/11 Discourse of George W. Bush", it reminded me of my experience and how life did change for me after that atrocious event.
Before September 11, I traveled with my Moroccan passport everywhere -- Germany, France, even the United States. However, post 9/11 things changed dramatically. Arabs were portrayed as the mortal enemy, and Muslims become a third species. Ever since that day, I have now been traveling with my American passport. My Moroccan passport was expired for five years before it was renewed. This shows that George W. Bush's speeches did have an impact to Arabs nationwide, not only Americans. It was the first time where I became aware of the convenience of having dual citizenship. I remember the summer after 09/11, we had to raise our passports right as we got off the plane so that the ones with "the blue passports can stand in line to go down the escalator first".
This extends to the movies we were watching last class about Arabs. The truth is, its not really anything new that Arabs are portrayed as "Satan's sidekicks" or "Barbarians". Hollywood has depicted this image of Arabs for years, even pre 09/11. Yet, what is different is, due to 09/11 people have a personal connection which thus cemented their stereotypical views from the media to be fact in their eyes.
The real question is, will there ever be a period in Hollywood, where Arabs wont be perceived as the bad guys?
I can really relate to your stand point about the portrayal of Arabs. Being an Arab too, I definitely saw a change towards Arabs after 9/11. I do think it was understandable that Americans would get on the defensive side. However, the portrayal as "Satan's sidekicks" and "barbarians," like you said, was definitely to the extreme and a bit unfair. In my opinion, Bush's various speeches targeting Arabs has made a huge impact on how others view Arabs. Visiting the US before was definitely much easier. Also, getting a visa at the embassy back home is now a longer, more particular process. As a result, this shows that a lot of aspects of the relationship of Arabs with Americans has changed due to the portrayal of Arabs in a negative light, either through movies or Bush's speeches.
ReplyDeleteIn my own personal opinion, Bush never really had a great way with words, so his speeches never really helped the situation at hand. But in this case, it pretty much made the situation worse. While I see the targeting of Arabs in film, I also remember that African Americans were once targets in films. So, in response to your question, I wonder when minorities in general will not be seen as the bad guys in film. Minorities are usually the butt of the joke in films and occasionally as the ones who miraculously overcome some extreme obstacle. But when will there be films in general that focus on minorities in an everyday way?
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