1
Abstract
Since the very beginning of cinema as a popular medium, the Arab serves to be the
quintessential Other of Hollywood film industry. It has produced a number of films that
present a wide array of stereotypes associating Arabs and Arab culture with exoticism,
sexuality, fanatism, and recently terrorism. This paper looks at the various stereotypes of
Arabs in the era of terrorism and their impact upon the Arab diaspora in USA. During this
time, there has been a broad range of films that take war on terror as a primary context to
circulate many negative images ; these images inculcate the idea that the possibility to have a
wholesome hybrid space is unrealizable. Depending on the approaches of cultural studies and
the different concepts of postcolonial theory, this study attempts to examine this cultural
encounter in Hollywood studios and its impact on Arab-American community. The orientalist
discourse and the concept of Otherness are basically the major concepts in this study. The
primary resources of this study are split into two categories. The first one is concerned with
the different stereotypes that impugn the image of Muslims and Arabs. The titles of these
films are as follows : Rules of Engagement (2000) ,The Kingdom (2007) , Traitor (2008).The
second category revolves around the different effects of this cultural stereotyping of Arabs
and Muslims. America East (2008) and Amreeka (2009) remain two of the most
distinguishing films that deal with the misery of this community during the era of
terrorism.The first part of this study is concerned with the issues of cultural stereotyping as far
as postcolonial theory is concerned. Moreover, this part tries to contextualize the long time
relation between Hollywood and Arabs. In the second part, the focus is on the different
images that have distorted Arabs and its influences on the Arab-American community in
USA.
Keywords : Cultural Stereotyping, Hollywood,Orientalist discourse, Orientalism
2
موجز البحث
3
Table of Content
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Absract(s)………………………………………………………………………………………1
Table of Contentent ……………………………………………………………………….......3
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………5
Part one : Hollywood Film Industry And Postcolonial Theory………………………………..8
1- Hollywood And Arabs In Context:……………………………………………………8
1-1
Hollywood and The Orient : A Historical Overview…………………………..8
1-2
Background on The Image of Arabs in Hollywood…………………………..11
1-3
Major Historical Events Affecting Hollywood……………………………….14
2- Cultural Stereotyping in Postcolonial Theory………………………………………….16
2-1 Stereotyping And The Construction Of The Other………………………………...16
2-2 Stereotyping and Relations Of Power……………………………………………...20
3-3 The Orientalist Discourse in Hollywood Films……………………………………22
3- Hollywood Film Industry : A Neo-Orientalist Discourse………………………………25
3-1 Hollywood And Racial Smearing…………………………………………………..25
3-2 The Discourse of Gender in Hollywood Orient……………………………………27
3-3 Middle East As a Narrative Place of War and Chaos………………………………30
Part two : The Kingdom, Traitor , Rules of Engagement, AmericanEast, and Amreeka From
Postcolonial Perspectives……………………………………………………………………..35
1- The Orientalist discourse in The Kingdom, Traitor , Rules of Engagement………………35
1-1 The Kingdom……………………………………………………………………………………..35
1-1-1 The Kingdom and Its historical opening………………………………………….......36
1-1-2 Racial Smearing in The Kingdom …………………………………………………..37
1-1-3 Gender Discourse in The Kingdom …………………………………………………40
1-1-4 The Cultural Confrontations in the Movie…………………………….....42
1-1-5 The Aspects of Islamphobia…………………………………………...…45
1-1-6 The Arab Child vsThe American Child………………………………….47
4
1-2 Traitor……………………………………………………………………………………………. 48
1-2-1 Traitor In Context……………………..………………………………………………48
1-2-2 A Brief Reading Of The Title ……………………………………………………………….49
1-2-3 The Hegemony Of America Over The World……………………………………… 52
1-2-4 The Recruitment of Youngsters……………………………………………………. 57
1-2-5 The Characteristics of Muslim Fanatics……………………………………………...59
1-2-6 The Orient Land: A Place Of Fanatics……………………………………………… 61
1-2-7 The Western Character vs. The Muslim One…………………………………………62
1-2-8 The Image of Woman in Traitor…………………………………………………………….64
1-3 Rules of Engagement……………………………………………………………………………66
1-3-1 The Political Implications of The Film……………………………………………… 66
1-3-2 The Aspects of Hatred To Americans ……………………………………………… 70
1-3-3 Arab Stereotypes in Rules of Engegement ……………………………………………….. 72
1-3-4 The Misrepresentation of The Oriental Space………………………………………..75
1-3-5 The West As Place of Justice…………………………………………………….…. 77
1-3-6 The Arab Women as A Terrorist……………………………………………………..79
2- The Various Aspects of the Unhybrid Space…………………………………………..81
2-1 The AmericanEast………………………………………………………………………..82
2-1-1 The Mistreatment of Arabs in USA …………………………………………………...82
2-1-2 The Effects of Media Bias on The Arab Community………………………………… 84
2-1-2 The Aspects of The Hostile Relation Between Arabs And Jews……………………....87
2-1-3 The Arab Child And Cultural Stereotyping of Arabs…………………………………. 89
2-1-4 Glimpses of Hope ……………………………………………………………………...90
2-2 Amreeka………………………………………………………………………………… 92
2-2-1 Hate Crimes And Discrimination Against Arabs…………………………………... 93
2-2-2 The Arab Students And The Face of Terror………………………………………….95
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………100
5
Introduction
The major concern of this research is the analysis of the dynamics of cultural
stereotyping of Arabs in Hollywood and its effects upon the Arab- American community in
U S A . Surely, the analysis of the image of Muslims and Arabs in Hollywood film industry
has been tackled by many cultural critics . However,
my study is concerned with the
representation of Arabs and Muslim in Hollywood in the era of terrorism . Truly ,throughout
the history of American cinema . The Arab has been regarded as the demonic “Other” .
However, the Arab has always been depicted as someone different and exotic. Indeed ,
Hollywood has devoted all its technology to recycle and reinvent new stereotypes that go
hand in hand with the actual political situation. In this regard, American cinema has injected
new blood in the conventional role of the orientalist discourse. Henceforth, the ultimate
purpose of this study is to demonstrate the different stereotypes that have been associated to
Muslims and Arabs as well as to show the different effects of these stereotypes that resulted in
an unhydride space.
A number of approaches and theories have been adopted to analyse the process of
cultural stereotyping. Undoubtedly, the nature of the topic falls within the scope of three
major theories . Firstly , cultural studies proves significant in this study. In this respect,
Cultural Studies has emerged as a number of approaches to the study of culture and society .
In saying this , cultural studies tends to examine the dynamics of the stereotypical images of
Arabs and Muslims in TV screens. Second , postcolonial theory is another theory that is
useful to the topic .Recently, postcolonial theorists have produced many concepts that try to
examine the relation between the coloniser and the ex-colonized. Thus , as long as the
majority of these stereotypes have been related to the ex-colonized. Hence, it has been
6
necessary to adapt postcolonial approaches to examine the regime of this representation .
Finally, since this study is based on the negative cinematic images, media theory is also
involved. Media concepts play an important role in analysing the different mediatic texts.
This study is conducted through a detailed analysis of a number of films produced
after the horrific events of 9/11. The films , under study, are two categories : the first one is
concerned with the different stereotypes that impugn the image of Muslims and Arabs. The
titles of these films are as follows : Rules of Engagement (2000) ,The Kingdom (2007) ,
Traitor (2008).The second category revolves around the different effects of this cultural
stereotyping about Arabs and Muslims. America East (2008) and Amreeka (2009) remain two
of the most distinguishing films that deal with the misery of this community Indeed, The
analyses of these two films are undertaken to indicate how the constructed images of Arabs
and Muslims in Hollywood films develop a discourse of racism, discrimination and hate
towards this community. . Indeed, the choice of those films is based on their relevance of
their themes with the purpose of this thesis.
Concerning the structure of this thesis, it is divided into two major parts. The first part
is theoritical. It deals with Hollywood film industry and postcolonial theory. This theoritcal
part is concerned with the contextualization of the relation between Hollywood film industry
and Arabs showing how Postcolonial theory produces significant concepts that provide a
profound analysis of the relation between The West and The Orient. Moreover, in this part ,
the representation of gender, race, and space in American cinema will be discussed from
different postcolonial perspectives. In the second part, the major focus will be on the different
stereotypes that have been associated to Arabs and their space taking Rules of Engagement
(2000) ,The Kingdom (2007) , Traitor (2008) as cases of study. Also , the last section of the
second part is devoted to the aspects of the unhybrid space which is mainly resulted out of the
numerous stereotypical depictions of Arabs that overwhelm American cinema. American East
7
(2008) and Amreeka (2009) are a powerful examplification of the immense difficulties that
Arab diaspora experience in Post 9/11 atmosphere of The United State America.
8
Part one : Hollywood film industry and post colonial theory:
1- Hollywood and Arabs in context:
1-1
Hollywood and the orient: A historical overview
Hollywood is the world largest center of film industry. It generally consists of film
production companies, film studios, cinematography, film festivals1. Since 1920s, Hollywood
film industry has been the centre of the world cinema. It has occupied a large portion of the
whole world popular culture. Although it is geographically located in USA, Hollywood
movies reside in the heart of many film lovers; in fact, Hollywood movies have always had
particular motions for TV fans of all ages, sexes, and races all over the world.
Meanwhile, not only is Hollywood an international entertainer but a „teacher‟ as well.
Hollywood films, as an important aspect of the American popular culture, have acquired a
particular attention for all viewers. They are a powerful medium that plays an integral part in
shaping the perception of their viewers all over the world. W. Creider ,a national
correspondent for the nation, says:
Hollywood is our great national entertainer and also the most effective
teacher of our young. It is the authoritative creator of commonly
shared attitudes and feelings and even the shared experiences of
Americans. ( v) 2
For years and years, American film industry has inculcated their minds with a large number of
images and views about other races. Its main concern is to ass or rate any other with exotic
Victor Epand “About The Hollywood Film Industry” www.EzineArticles.com Epand n.d May.6
2011
2
Shaheen, Jack. Foreword. Reel Bad Arabs : How Hollywood Vilifies A People NY : OBP 2001 (v)
1
9
credentials, Jack G. Shaheen in his book Guilty Verdicts on Arabs an indersting definition of
the “other”:
the demonic other is especially dangerous and seductive during
conflicts. Be he Arab, Asian, Black, Hispanic, Jewish or Indian, he
has harmed us in the past… the other is always outside the circle of
civilization.(xii)3
Indeed, all these cinematic depiction have nothing to do with reality of these nations.
However, the power of Hollywood‟s films has influenced many Americans to generate views
and opinions based upon what is perceived on the silver.
Hollywood has gained popularity on an international scale. Because of the great
economic dominance, American film industry has achieved universal popularity and become
a principal promoter of the American cultural expansion. Jack Shaheen says in his book Reel
Bad Arabs “nowadays, Hollywood‟s motion pictures reach nearly everyone cinematic
illusions are created, nurtured and distributed worldwide, reaching viewers in more than 100
countries, from Iceland to Thailand”. 4
Hollywood film makers exploit this popularity to project demonic images about Arabs,
they are considered to be the most maligned group in the history of these distorting images,
Benjamin writes in the nation “it is time to recognize that time tutors of our children are not
school teachers or university teachers but film makers ” (4) 5
From a historical point of view, the encounter between the USA and the Arab world
was very minimal. This physical geographic location was an important impediment of their
3
4
Shaheen , Jack . Guilty verdicts of Arabs after 9/11 Massachassette: OPB 2008
Ibid
Ibid
5
10
interaction. Although there were great waves of Arab immigrants, it was hard for the ordinary
American to get in touch with an Arab, let alone to know their heritage, cultural and
civilization. Unfortunately, the paucity of a cultural contact created a huge gap that allowed
the emergence of a fertile space of myths to burgeon.
Moreover, such a distant location gave no reason to doubt that if an American were to
imagine what Arabs looked like, the image, then would be based on the early writings of
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries J. Shaheen says:
In the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, European artists and
writers helped reduce the region to colony they presented images of
desolate deserts, corrupt palaces and souks inhabited by the cultural
“other”- the lazy bearded heathen Arab Muslim ( 7) 6
Thus, these cinematic images of Arabs in Hollywood have reflected the myriad imperial
legacies that have shaped the contact between the west and the Arab world. For this reason,
the actual image of Arabs and Muslims is a reinforcement of the preconceived images already
constructed by Europeans.
The emergence of film industry brought to the forefront a powerful from of
representation. Films ability to provide vivid-images and portrayals has made them an
effective means to construct different exotic images about the Arabs which could be
circulated around the globe. The early representations of Arabs were due to the silent era of
cinema. The most important film was “The Arab” (1915) which presented the first major
Arab character to Hollywood film7. Desert was a suitable setting for adventure and romance.
This trend started with the Sheikh (1921), which has stood out as the most influential film in
6
Ibid
Saleh Alaswad. Hollywood Shoots the Arabs : The Construction of The Arab in American Culture
Diss Temple University: 2000 print
7
11
Shaping the Arabs image in American cinema8. During the colonial era, many films projected
the western dominance over the Arab world. Italian Libya (1942) is a good example, but in
most cases, the Arab characters were marginal and the Arab Locales provided only a
background to shape the Arab as evil “Other”.
To conclude, it is worth noting that American Films, over the span of history, have
placed the Arab world in the demonic “Other”. The films succeeded to provide glimpses of
reality, but emphasize the difference and exoticism of the Arabs world.
1-2 Background On The Image Of Arabs In Hollywood:
As stated earlier, the image of Arabs and Muslim in Hollywood has been
misrepresented for many years. The Hollywood Arab is only one kind : a very bad creature. In
his ground breaking study, J. Shaheen argues that Arabs and Muslims are the most maligned
group in the history of Hollywood “For more than a century Hollywood, too, has used
repetition as a leading tool tutoring more audiences by repeating over and over in film after
film insidious images of the Arab people (1) .”9 Indeed, the wide array of stereotypes is not
just the result of news and the other mass media, but it is a result of a series films produced by
Hollywood image-makers. They have targeted Arabs and portrayed them as barbarians,
savages, fanatics and many other negative images, in this part, the focus is on four of major
stereotypes: villains, Islam phobia, maidens.
The American film industry is long-familiar for its films depicting Arabs as villains. A
large number of fictional narratives and images compare Arabs with evils in many films, they
are seen attacking people, bombarding civil buildings and so on. Even the comedic films treat
Arabs as buffoons; thus, the misrepresentation of Arabs in American films is powerful enough
8
Saleh Alaswad. « Hollywood Shoots the Arabs : the construction of the arab in amercan Culture
“Diss Temple University: 2000
9
Ibid
12
to form social attitudes and shape beliefs through repetition ; therefore, these stereotypes have
become hard to be eliminated. In his outstanding study , Reel Bad Arabs, J. Shaheen suggests
that “a synergy of images equates Arabs from Syria to Sudan with quintessential evil, In
hundreds of movies “Evil” Arabs stalk the screen (14)10. movie goes leave movie theatre with
a sense of hatred and disgust towards these people of ridicule.
Moreover, impugning the image of Arabs is a feature of the American film industry,
“Sheikh” is another misrepresentation of the middle Eastern. In a literal sense, the word
“Sheikh” means a wise person, the head of the family, However, Hollywood Sheikhs are
much more different. Movie Makers provide the viewer with a contradictory image; the
Hollywood sheikhs have been associated with sexuality, lust, and captivity, Jack Shaheen
demonstrates:
Moviemakers, However, attach a completely different meaning to the word. As
Mathew Sweet points out” the cinematic arab has never been an attractive
figure… in 1920, he was a swarthy Sheikh, wiggling his eyebrows and chasing
the [Western] heroine (19)11
Thus, screen writers offer love stories presenting Sheikhs as oversexed. They are often
hunting a blonde western lady in the desert in stead of depicting them as sage men.
Additionally, the Arab woman has had her Share from the Hollywoodizing process.
She has been offensively portrayed. According to J. Shaheen:
Arab women, meanwhile, are humiliated, demonized, and
eroticized in more than a film. Half-Arab heroines as well mute
10
11
Ibid
Ibid
13
enslaved Arab women appear in about sixteen features, ranging
from foreign legion films to Arabian Night Fantasies.12
At the beginning, they appeared as belly-dancers. Fatima (1997) and Fatima‟s Dance are both
films showing belly dancing as an attached quality of the Arab woman. In 1917, films started
to associate women with black magic vamps possessed of devils “Advancing the vampire
image are movies such as Saadia (1953) and beast of Morocco (1966)
13
. Another portrait of
the Arab women is the bomber image. The Arab woman, then, is not only a subservient but
she is a terrorist, tending to kill westerners. A case in point, Black Sunday (1977)14.
Finally, Hollywood is a history of Islam phobia. Islam phobia refers to the unfounded
fear of and hostility towards Islam
15
. This phenomenon has been extensively exploited by
image-makers. They have associated the theme of terrorism with Islam. They have used the
well-grounded belief that Islam is a religion of terror to convey their pernicious message ,
Shaheen states:
Reel Islam phobia was in vogue before 9/11 and the Iraq war, Back in
1994 a Louis Harris poll revealed that 43 percent of Americans agreed
with this declaration Muslims belong to religion of terrorism: 47
percent concurred with the announcement that “Muslims are antiwesterners”(8) 16.
Moreover, Hollywood adjusts some Islamic teachings like holy war Jihad into the scenarios
of its films. The Ultimate purpose is to serve their social profiling agenda. Shaheen adds
“Islam, particularly, comes for unjust treatment today‟s image-makers regularly link the
12
Ibid
Ibid
14
Ibid
15
Islamphobia Merriam Webster web 10 may 2011
16
Ibid
13
14
Islamic faith with male supremacy; holy war in acts of terror, depicting Arab Muslims as
hostile alien murders” (29)17. In this regard, Islam phobia has gained currency within the
western community due to the excessive repetition of such themes in their film industry.
At the end, the ordinary Arab who lives peacefully and raises a family is hardly
depicted in Hollywood. American cinema projects the image of Arabs with different
stereotypes that have been attached to the western viewers‟ mindset.
1-3 Major Historical Events Affecting Hollywood :
Political events inspire Hollywood image-makers. Post WWII , the Arabs world
has witnessed various events that have been exploited by Hollywood screen writers to
produce many films that have intensified the image of Arabs as villains, savages, terrorists
and the like. It is believed ,then, that such a process of misrepresenting the Arabs is
following a specific political agenda that serves the interests of USA. The following quote of
Jack Valenti serves to back up this idea “ Hollywood and Washington spring from the same
DNA”18. The Arab Israeli conflict, the horrible attacks of 9/11, and the war on terror are the
most prominent events that have affected the American film industry.
To begin with, the Arab Israeli conflict has been a turning point of controversy
between Arabs and all the American administrations. In 1948, the Israeli state was founded
over the Palestinian territory after years of huge waves of Jewish immigrant. Interestingly,
the obvious bias stand of USA towards the issue has caused extreme tension translated into
hatred among Arabs. As a result, USA has been a legal target for the different Arabic
movements of resistance. Thus , it has been subject to many “terrorist” attacks inside and
outside its territory. Hijacking planes, bombarding embassies, and other American interests
17
Ibid
18
Shirley , Ruth. Slumdog Racism. www.freireproject.org/blogs/slumdog-racism 18 . May.
15
have been the most used strategies by these “terrorists”. In this regard, Hollywood film
makers have adopted such real events in the films in an attempt portray Arabs as violent
people. Shaheen states :
Seven films, including True Lies (1994) and Wanted Dead or Alive (1987), project the Palestinian as a nerve-gassing nuclear terrorist. In more than eleven
movies, including Half-Moon Street (1986) Terror in BeverlyHills (1988), and
Appointment with Death (1988), Palestinian evildoers injure and physically
threaten Western women and children (28)19
Clearly, the Arab-Israeli conflict has served as an inciting cause to the production of many
stereotypes.
In still another distinguishing event , the deadly attacks of 9/11 have had an enormous
impact upon the American film industry. Hollywood, even before, have produced films that
may be similar to the same scenario of these horrible attacks. However , their occurrence in
real life has been far beyond the imagination of Hollywood film makers. Thos events have
opened new dimensions of Hollywood film makers to create worse scenarios. They have
become vivid images of the already-constructed stereotypes. Therefore, the image of Arabs
has become more maligned. The American viewer has come to realise that Arabs and
Muslims are real enemies of the West not only films but in reality as well.
Finally, War On Terror has occupied an important space in the imagination of
Hollywood film-makers. It has enriched their repertoire of scenarios. Afghanistan and Iraq
have been the first battle fields of the War On Terror. In this respect, the two countries serve
to be concrete settings for screen writers‟ imagination. After these horrific events, Hollywood
has released a number of films that depict the Middle East as a place of war and conflict. In
19
Ibid
16
other terms, it has been repeatedly portrayed as hostile place populated by religious fanatics
or political conflict. Indeed, the images of the beheading in the different mass media beside
the warlike scenarios have been contributory factors to the legitimacy of this war.
At the end, it can be deduced that cultural stereotyping helps reinforce politics and
politics helps reinforce cultural stereotyping. Both of them are parallel lines of thought whose
main purpose is to give legitimacy to their military engagement in non-western territories.
The Arab-Israeli conflict, the 9/11 attacks, and WOT are striking examples of this issue.
2-Cultural Stereotyping in Postcolonial Theory:
2-1 Stereotyping And The Construction of The Other:
It is taken for granted that stereotyping and constructing other are processes which
have been in existence all over the span of history. They have been produced of various
origins; this paper discusses the nature and function of stereotyping in relation to the
construction of the “other”, by providing different post colonial perspectives. It is important
to stress from the beginning that stereotyping and the construction of the Other go hand in
hand whenever we construct an Other, we make a number of stereotypes to set up that
“Other”.
It is notoriously difficult to arrive at a single definition of stereotyping since it is a
wide term which can be use in both exclusive and inclusive sense. In dictionary terms,
stereotype is a conventional, oversimplified opinion or image20. Thus, stereotyping is a mental
process of classifying people according to a set of attributes. Richard Byer, an English
academic in media, defines stereotype as “ a process by which dominant groups apply their
20
Stereotype McMilcan Dictionary Web 19.May 2011
17
norms to subordinated groups, find the latter wanting hence in adequate, infenior, and hence
reinforcing the dominant groups own sense of the legitimacy of their domination.” 21
In postcolonial studies, the study of stereotyping is intimately tied to the process of
representation. Such a term can substantiate a range of meanings and interpresentation.
Generally, representation can be understood as a chain of processes through which another
object or subject is depicted, however, for cultural studies the meaning may differs according
to SAGE dictionary:
Stereotyping commonly involves the attribution of negative traits
to people who are different from us, a process that points to the
operation of power in stereotyping. In particular it highlights the
role of stereotyping in the exclusion of „difference‟ from the
social, symbolic and moral order since stereotypes commonly
relate to those who have been excluded from the „normal‟ order
of things. Stereotyping thus simultaneously establishes who is
„us‟ and who is „them‟.22
So, representation does not depict the object as it is but by representing or constructing it in a
new form. Such a new form is a result of the use of signs and language.
Moreover, Hollywood and colonial discourse are intertwined. The former has
adopted the latter as a transmitter of the imperial ideology. Hollywood has been dominated by
this discourse which has upheld imperialistic policies and cultural hegemonies. In other
words, it has inculcated the view of the “other” as silenced voices. From a postcolonial
21
Richard Dyer, "Stereotyping," in Media and Cultural Studies. Keyworks, ed. Meenakshi Gigi Durh
am and Douglas M. Kellner (Malden: Blackwell, 2006), 356
22
Stereotype The SAGE Dictionary 1ST Ed 2004
18
perspective, stereotype is an ideological operation. It constructs a group of individuals as
Others. In The Other Question, H .Bhabha defines it as "form of knowledge and identification
that vacillates between what is always „in place,‟ already known, and something that must be
anxiously repeated"23.In this regard, the construction of the other in colonial discourse is a
strategy to maintain the power of the colonizer over the colonized. That is to say, the colonial
power is not only exerted through territorial or economic domination but also by means of the
manipulation of the colonial subject images and representation in discourse. Indeed, the
control of the colonial subject‟s representation proves an effective instrument of coercion H.
Bhabha states:
the objective of colonial discourse [was] to construe the colonized
as a population of degenerate types on the basis of racial origin, in
order to justify conquest and to establish systems of
administration and instruction. 24
Furthermore, in the field of postcolonial studies, skin coulor , backwardness, degeneracy are
essential traits that the colonizer has attached to the colonized subject. Such discursive
formation has provided the justification for the ideology of improvement that postulate the
need to civilize the “other”.
In addition, colonial discourse seems to be ambivalent, it is a discourse that intends
to set a cultural and social hierarchy. Undoubtedly, the relationship between the colonizer and
the colonized is characterized by repulsion and attraction; it is a state of fluctuation where one
wants something and its opposite at the same time. In Ashcroft Post-Colonial Key Concept
dictionary, ambivalence referes to :
23
Bhabha, Bhabha "THE OTHER QUESTION ,THE STEREOTYPE AND COLONIAL
DISCOURSE" retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/19319366/Bhabha-the-Other-QuestionStereotype-Discrimination-and-the-Discourse-of-Colonialism
24
Ibid
19
The relationship is ambivalent because the colonized subject is never simply
and completely opposed to the colonizer. Rather than assuming that some
colonized subjects are „complicit‟ and some „resistant‟, ambivalence suggests
that complicity and resistance exist in a fluctuating relation within the colonial
subject.Ambivalence also characterizes the way in which colonial discourse
relates to the colonized subject, for it may be both exploitative andnurturing, or
represent itself as nurturing, at the same time.25
However, such a relation cannot be realized only through the articulation and repetition of
various differences, this is what Bhabha calls the concept of “fixity”, he says:
An important feature of colonial discourse is its dependence on
the concept of 'fixity' in the ideological construction of otherness.'
Fixity, as the sign of culturaUhistorical/racial difference in the
discourse of colonialism, is a paradoxical mode of representation:
it connotes rigidity and an unchanging order as well as disorder,
degeneracy and daemonic repetition. 26
thus, the construction of the “other” as something identified must always be repeated. In this
respect, repetition implies that all that the stereotypical construction of the other claims can
not be proved once and for all. Instead, it must be repeated over again and again.
Over all, the above discussion suggests the colonial discourse has also focused on
visual representation. Postcolonial theorists have explained the mechanisms of cultural
stereotyping through the adoption of some major postcolonial discourse concept like
ambivalence fixity and stereotype. Obviously, the construction of the other can then be
conceptualized as a source of the ideological representation of the colonized subject.
25
26
Ibid
Ibid
20
2-2 Stereotype And The relations of Power:
Because western media has wielded cultural hegemony over the “other” it has
instilled negative images about the Arab into the minds of the western viewer. In this part, the
discussion focuses on the operation of cultural hegemony in relation to social representation
in media. Antonio Gramsci and M. Foucault are two out-standing cultural critics whose
concepts seem to be of great salience to the exploration of this issue.
It would be much more appropriate to have a look at the Gramscian concept of
Hegemony before exploring his stand point of issue. According to Ashcroft and Girith:
Fundamentally, hegemony is the power of the ruling class to
convince other classes that their interests are the interests of all
Domination is thus exerted not by force, nor even necessarily by
active persuasion, but by a more subtle and inclusive power over
the economy, and over state apparatuses such as education and
the media 27
Once related to the process of cultural stereotyping hegemony, then, can be understood as the
political economic ideological or cultural power exerted by dominant group other groups. In
the post colonial studies, the application of this concept serves to strengthen the fact that the
colonizer creates a range of stereotypes about the colonized and makes them become common
beliefs for the colonized. In plain terms, the dominant group is powerful enough in relation
the Other in his own regime of representation.
More to the point, mass media have been regarded as an instrument to spread and
reinforce the dominant ruling class values. In this regard, Gramscian stance remains faithful
27
Ibid
21
to his Marxist frame work of reference. It is very much in accord with the Marxist argument
that:
The class which has the means of material production at its disposal has
control at
the same time over the means of mental production, so that
thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental
production are subject to it”28 .
Moreover, the function of mass media is to produce false consciousness in the working
classes, therefore, media products are seen as vehicles of expressing the ruling structure
ideology. Interestingly, the hegemony of Hollywood, as a discursive formation ,over the
world enables the west to construct an image of the arab that is totally different from reality.
Additionally, Foucault‟s stance is not different from that of Gramsci, it is worth of
note at the beginning to make a pause at the definition of discourse since discourse is
fundamentally related to mass media . According to SAGE dictionary:
Here, discourse is said to „unite‟ language and practice and refers to
regulated ways of speaking about a subject through which objects
and practices acquire meaning. The production of knowledge
through language that gives meaning to material objects and social
practices we may call discursive practice29
indeed, media plays an important part in the madeses world. For many social structures,
media has largely substituted for old institutions (church and salons) as a source of
understanding the world.
Daniel Chandler Marxist “Media Marxist Theory”
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/marxism/marxism03.html n.d web 4.May 2011
28
29
Discourse The SAGE Dictionary 1ST Ed 2004
22
Stereotypes play a vital role in constituting people realities ; the implications of the
power and the influence of media discourse are clear. In this regard, the Foucaultion stand
highlights the mass media as one of those institution, which control a discourse and which
ultimately affects people„s views on issues in given contexts. In similar vein, Foucault
continues to argue that the masses are oriented by media. For him , those in the authority will
always strive to limit access to knowledge and free expression through the imposition of rules
and regulation and constructing images and facts to their own advantage. In this regard, mass
media , in general, and films in particular offer enormous trajectories for dominant ruler to
wield power over the masses whom they rule. Hollywood ,as a powerful cultural apparatus,
serves to be a key example. In Foucaultdian terms , the Arab as Other is recognized as
subordinate. For this reason, the Other‟s cultural heritage is considered empty , valueless and
exotic in comparison to those in control.
2-3 The Orientalist Discourse in Hollywood :
Orientalism, oriental studies or oriental science are terms that are used to describe the
western – based research fields in which languages , religions ,cultures and people of the east are
studied. The term was popularized by E. Said in his book Orientalism). Said argues that Western
scholars describe and create the orient as inferior, uncivilized and the like. “The Orient,” Edward
Said wrote, was “almost a European invention, and had been since antiquity a place of romance,
exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable experiences”30. so , the paradigm of
E.Said examines how the western knowledges about the orient are closely related with its
domination over it. According to Bill Ashcroft,Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin in postcolonial
dictionary:
The significance of Orientalism is that as a mode of knowing the other
30
Edward Said, Orientalism . New York : Penguin, 1978 (18)
23
it was a supreme example of the construction of the other, a form of
authority. The Orient is not an inert fact of nature, but a phenomenon
constructed by generations of intellectuals, artists, commentators,
writers, politicians, and, more importantly, constructed by the naturalizing of a wide range of Orientalist assumptions and stereotypes.
The relationship between the Occident and the Orient is a relationship
of power, of domination, of varying degrees of a complex hegemony.31
So , the west has continued to inflict cultural change and transformation on the orient via
„‟orientalist discourse manifested in different media texts.
Orientalism main idea is that the western knowledge is based on
preconceived
stereotypes through which the west has constructed the East . In his paradigm- orientalism, Said
establishes his argument depending on two major concepts. Hegemony and discourse . Following
the ideas of Foucault , Said stresses on the relationship between power and knowledge. In
discourse analysis , a discourse , as Foucault theorizes, is a system of statement within which the
world can be known; thus ,as a social formation , discourse works to constitute reality
according to those who maintain power32. In colonial discourse .the colonized is introduced to a
system of statement about colonies that became engraved in their mindset. Another thinker that
influenced Said is Antonio Gramsci. This notion of hegemony tends to play an important role in
understanding the pervasiveness of orientalist constructs in western scholarship and their relation
31
Ibid
Steven Green “How can some of Foucault's ideas and perspectives be usefully applied to the study
of the mass media in society” www.theory.org.uk/f-essay1.htm n.d 4 May. 2011
32
24
to exercise power over the orient. According to Gramsci, those elites who hold the power and
authority use mass media as a tool to spread their values and cultures as an attempt to reinforce
their wealth, power and position. Daniel Chandler states :
Gramsci used the term hegemony to denote the predominance of one social class
over others (e.g. bourgeois hegemony). This represents not only political and
economic control, but also the ability of the dominant class to project its own
way of seeing the world so that those who are subordinated by it accept it as
'common sense' and 'natural34
so their hegemony is maintained by means of their powerful discourse and ideology.
Moreover, Hollywood plays a significant role in reproducing the orientalist discourse.
Hollywood ,one of the most influencing ideologies of the west. Undoubtedly, Said‟s Orientalism
(1979) marks a turning point in the awareness of viewing cultural products through the lens of
political domination . Similarly, the relation between the West and East is a key example of a
relation of power and domination . In this respect , Hollywood film makers have overwhelmed the
world with numerous stereotypes about the Arabs. The representation of Arabs as evil terrorist is
no deeply etched in Hollywood consciousness. This scenario, unfortunately, has become a standard
plot in most hollywood films.
All in all, it can be said that orientation is still alive in contemporary cultural and
communication practice. It has been recreated from one historic epoch to another, from middle
ages to the age of discovery to the enlightenment passing by colonisation to modernity. It has
always sustained its conventional representation of the orient. Today, orientalism , as an ideology
whose principle goal is to distort the Arabs‟ image, is extensively present within the circle of
Hollywood filmmakers.
34
Ibid
25
3- Race, Gender , Space And Hollywood Film Industry
3-1 Hollywood And Racial Smearing :
The issue of race is of paramount significance in postcolonial theory. By placing itself at
the centre of civilization, the west succeeds to stratify the world into social hierarchies, regarding
their race as being superior, civilized whilst attributing aspects of backwardness, inferiority to the
people outside their circle . Reina Lewis summarizes all these aspects in the following
quote “Orientalism establishes a set of polarities in which the Orient is characterised as
irrational, exotic, erotic, despotic and heathen, thereby
securing the West in contrast as rational,
familiar, moral, just and Christian (17)”35 . Indeed , cultural critics have been engrossed with the
politics of representing race in all the artistic depictions. That is to say, the focal point lies in their
investigation of the politics of ascribing inferiority to any “Other” because of the colour of his /
her skin. Is the condition of being different on racial ground synonymous with savagery? Is being a
Muslim synonymous with being a terrorist?
The production of many artistic depictions about the “Other” and associating him or her
is coupled with the experience of colonisation. This type of discourse emerged in order to
facilitate the colonial expansion and justify their exploitation in the colonized land.. In plain
terms , to find legitimacy to their imperial dom6inance , the colonial powers created the concept
of the “noble mission to civilize” the other races .However, to depict a group of people as being
uncivilized on the ground of their race is a striking aspect of racism.
Defining the concept of race is fraught with difficulties. According to cultural critics
, race is a term for the classification of human beings into physically , biologically and genetically
destinct groups .Thus, race is taken to be a form of identity construction. For appiah :
35
Reina Lewis, Gendering Orientalism London: Routledge, 1996 (16)
26
There are heritable characteristics, possessed by members of our species, that
allow us to divide them into a small set of races, in such a way that all
members of this race share certain tendencies with each other that they do not
share with member of other race (108)”.36
Following Appiah n words , the difference between races remains a natural aspect of one‟ s
identity and this difference has nothing to do with the moral and intellectual qualities with a
certain race. In this respect, it is a fallacy to claim that black people are less intelligent ,or that
Arabs are lusty sheikhs .Appiah calls those two kinds of racist thinking extrinsic and intrinsic.
Hollywood is regarded as the world centre of film industry whose cinematic repertoire is
full of slereo types about many races,. Initially, black people ware portrayed as inferion creatures.
The racial demeaning of blacks was so pervasive that blackness became synonymous with silliness
,deprivation , ignorance and savagery . In this regard , the image of black people in the white mind
focused on outrageous depictions of blacks and their cultural heritage. Stuart Hall ( 1995) states
three major images of blacks in cinema
37
The first image is related to slave figure. The
underlining message of such images is that the slave is some one willing to serve. The second
image is associated with the blacks primitiveness .In many roles, the black figure is presented as
cunning , cheating and savage. For this reason, the white must have control over them to develop
their character. Finally, the image of the clown is attached to blacks. Many times, the black is seen
as an idiot who seems stupid and mentally unstable.
Moreover , Hollywood films have produced many stereotypes which have defined the
Asians to the world . As a first stereotype, the mastery of Asian martial art is a danger unless it is
practiced by the white man. Usually, an Asian who is professional in martial arts is a villain whilst
36
appia
Rena , Mistry . Can Gramsci's theory of hegemony help us to understand the representation of ethnic
minorities in western television and cinema? www.theory.org.uk/ 9. May 2011
37
27
the white Man who knows martial arts is the star of the film. The series Kung Fu ( 1987) is a good
example. In still another stereotype, Asian men is much more associated with the magical and
supernatural. The Asian cultures are so strange that the can defy the realties of the western world.
The supernatural power that they may acquire represents a danger to the Western civilization .
Yellow Peril (2009) is a good example. Finally, many images of Asian function as propaganda
encouraging conquest and colonisation by showing indigenous peoples who appeared to need both
guidance and salvation.
Obviously, Hollywood movies are stylized fiction and their stereotyped depictions are
deemed as actual discrimination against many races : be them , Arabs, Asians, Hispanics , Blacks.
Indeed, all these cinematic images of racist discrimination tend to realize one major goal of the
great world powers which is the subjugation of these racial groups.
3-2- The Discourse of Gender in Hollywood Orient
Hollywood has not been fair to Arabs. Their „negative‟ portrayal has existed since the
advent of filmmaking in. American film industry has been intertwined with stereotypes of
Arabs, typically those of buffoons, sexual predators and more recently terrorists. Jabara
Abdeen states “From harem girls, lusty sheiks, and flying carpeteers through mummy lovers,
greedy oil billionaires and sinister terrorists, films have reinforced misconceptions and
stereotypes of the Arab people”38. From the beginning, American cinema has been caught
with the mystique of the orient. It adopted the narrative and visual conventions as well as the
cultural assumptions, on which orientalism is based. According to SAGE dictionary of
cultural studies :
The differentiation between sex as biology and gender as a cultural
construction is broken down on the grounds that there is in principle no access
38
Abdeen Jabara, "Time for a Change," Cineaste, vol. 17, no.1 (1989), p.1.
28
to biological „truths‟ that lie outside of cultural discourses and therefore no
„sex‟ which is not already cultural. In this view, sexed bodies are always
already represented as the production of regulatory discourses39.
So, gender proves great significance in the stereotypical construction of the female other.
For many decades, the image of the Arab woman has been presented to the world
through the lenses of Hollywood. The images of the Arab woman differ from one film to
another, but they all tend to demonize, distort and marginlize the position of the Arabs
women. Here-in, it is essential to identify that such a misrepresentation is mvolned in the
discourse of racial discrimination whose ultimate purpose is to acquire more dominance and
power over the “Other” . Ella Shohat (1990) states that.
Although Hollywood's view of the orient has been discussed in terms of the
Arab image, there has been little discussion concerning the intersection of
imperial and gender discourses. Hollywood‟s view is not symptomatic of
colonialist imagination but also a product of the male western gaze . Sexual
difference has a key component in the construction of the east as other40
Henceforth, the politics of representing the Arab women is significant in colonial discourse.
In plain words exposing the female other in the process of stereotyping is an attempt to
emphasize the power of western man to possess her. Ella shohat (1990) adds, she, as
metaphor of her land, becomes available for the western penetration and domination41 .
39
ibid
Shohat , Ella “Gender in Hollywood's Orient” http://www.jstor.org/stable/3013287 n.d 5
May.2011
41
ibid
40
29
More importantly, in most of the western films, the images that accompany the
Arab women continue to be disparaged with out impunity. Nowhere is this more evident than
in Hollywood films. The images, ther, can be categorized in to the following situations.
Initially, the Arab woman has been depicted as a hot creature ready to have sex
and live a romantic adventure with a foreigner. The American film industry has fabricated an
eroticized Arab woman. This stereotypical construction is based on two major elements. On
the one hand, belly dancing is very expressive of the dancer's sexuality. Her near-nakedness
tends to portray her in an atavistic nature of woman in primitive ages. For the western man, it
is an object for visual pleasure. One of the most powerful films which is associated with this
is Road To Morocco (1942). On the other hand, American films portray the Arab woman as
an object for sexual lust. According to W. Zinisser (1961) “ It is a place where young slave
girls lie about on soft couches, stretching their slender legs, ready to do a good turn for any
handsome stranger who stumbles into the room. Clearly, the arab women are most often
projected to look oversexed”42.
Instill another feature, Arab women are portrayed as a subservient, oppressed
human in her society, the Arabic social context is presented as an oppressive patriarchal
setting. The cinematic images of the Arab woman show her as a silent other; her role in life
can not go beyond the domestic chores.
Shaheen states.
Background shots show thern as beasts of burden, carrying jugs on their heads.
Some are so fat, no one would touch them they appear as a homogercous of
covered women trekking silently behind their unshaven mates43.
42
43
William Zinisser, “ In Search of Lawerance of Arabia” Esquire 1961: 72
ibid
30
Moreover, many films have tried to falsify the image of islam in relation to woman. For
example in Santa Barbara (1990) the sheikh plans to execute wives because she ran away
from home. In this films, the image of the arab woman is inferior visa-vis the image of the
western woman. Eden, the western heroin, keeps preaching this Arab sheik until she succeeds
to convince him to free oppressed the muslin women and change his character. This cinematic
portrayal strongly emphasizes the image that the arab woman are submissive and suppressed.
For this reason. They are still in deer need of the west.
In or word, the cinematic depictions of the Arab wow that have been circulating
worldwide has been purposefully created to establish international cultural hegemony. Indeed,
serene writers never show them at home with family, functioning as doctors, journalists or
successful business women. Obviously, xenophobia and prejudice are the main barriers for a
wholesome hybrid world.
3-3- Middle East As a Narrative Place of War and Chaos:
The construction of an exotic, alien space is one of the most prominent aspect of the
American film industry .It has been a constant source of narratives and images that has
created cultural geographic boundaries between the self and the “Other”. In this respect, the
Arab land has been a space that contradicts the west; it has been defined as distant, exotic, and
dangerous. In this section, an attempt will be made to investigate the concept of space and
how it is theorized in postcolonial discourse, beside, an over view of the different narratives
and images of the Middle East in the American film industry.
Actually, the concept of space is a stark problematic issue in postcolonial studies
because various meanings can be associated to it. Terms like place, temitory, geography can
refere to space. According to Ashcroft dictionary:
31
the concepts of place and displacement demonstrate the very complex interaction
of language, history and environment in the experience of colonized peoples and
the importance of space and location in the process of identity formation. In many
cases, „place‟ does not become an issue in a society‟s cultural discourse until
colonial intervention radically disrupts the primary modes of its representation by
separating „space‟from „place‟. A sense of place may be embedded in cultural
history, in legend and language, without becoming a concept of contention and
struggle until the profound discursive interference of colonialism44
This quotation implies that space is not related only to what is physical but it can refer to
what is cultural and historical. In this regard, space is an integral part of one's cultural
heritage. Once depicting a certain space, it is also a depiction of people's culture and identity.
According the theory of Foucault, knowledge and power discourse are essential
elements in the conshuction of space. It is important, then, to consider that the orient is
constructed and exploited by western strife for domination by dint of a created body of
knowledge that is based on misrepresentation. Interestingly, through this knowledge, the
colonizer succeeds to dominate the colonized. According to SAGE:
Since the 1970s there has been a growing interest within cultural theory in
questions of space inspired in particular by the work of Foucault and his focus
on the construction of space by discourse, power and discipline. Here space can
be understood as a social construct with the social itself being spatially
organized. Thus space is constituted by a dynamic set of processes that are
implicated in questions of power and symbolism.45
44
45
ibid
ibid
32
Henceforth, the construction of space is interrelated with the dynamics of power, discourse
and knowledge. In a word, the “Other” cannot be known untill the “Other” space is studied
from all its aspects.
Edward said, another theorist, argues that the Orientalists have produced an
“imaginative geography” to serve their imperial project. Travelogues, paintings and other
artistic depictions have not been devoid of the imperial agenda. The western artists have
devoted their efforts to provide the world with an “imagined space” characterized by
exoticism. Said says “ Orientalism is a field with considerable geographic ambition”46. In fact,
those orientalist artists lack the intentions to objectively portray the Orient. On contrary, their
works tend to collaborate with the already constructed images. The orient is chiefly
esbblished an fmade-up images.
Actually, Hollywood film industry has adopted this line of representation. Since its early
days, American films have reproduced and reinvented classical stereotypes of the Arab land.
Thus, the Middle East in eyes of West is organized around three chief images: desert as an
exotic setting main aspects, a zone of war, and finally an environment where order is missed.
To begin with, Hollywood has represented the Arab land as an exotic desert
characterized by backwardness , danger and its residents are savage and barbaric. Lacking
civilization has been a fist aspect of Arab land. Many Hollywood films have used the image
of shepherds, goats sheep, horses and camels as essential features of the Arab land. Road To
Morocco (1942) and Maruecos (1942) are good examples. Moreover, desert is not a safe
place. The existence of desert robbers makes the white character a convenient prey. Those
savage thieves rob, kill, and rape. Once a westerner tends to go to a desert, he thinks of these
images as a reality. The Sheikh (1921) serves to be a convenient instance. Clearly, the
46
ibid
33
portrayal of the Arab land as an exotic and wild environment have been strongly present in
American cinema.
Secondly, the Middle East is mainly described as a war zone. The numerous wars that
have been occurring in the Middle East and its political implications have inspired Hollywood
filmmakers with war-like scenarios. War on terror, as mentioned in the previous section, tends
to be an inciting cause which projects the Middle East as a place where terrorists and fanatics
find refuge. Thus, it has become a legitimate target for many military operations .Mikkel Fugl
says:
As a location, the Middle East can be specific, e.g. Beirut or Baghdad, which s
erves to associate the narrative universe with public images of war and chaos;
or it can be unspecific.In both cases, however the local topography is less imp
ortant than the intention of conveying a general sense of “Arabness” , most
often associated with images of mosques, and bazaars, dusty cityscapes and the
unavoidable call for prayer.The middle East is mainly portrayed as a hostile
environment 47
In a word, Middle East has been recently stereotyped as a battlefield.
Finally, the Middle East has been seen as a chaotic place that needs regulation and
control. In deed, due to the tribal diversity and the existence of a large group of sects creates
mense tension in the region. Such a task can not be performed on by the western help .it is the
task of the western police, intelligence services to provide logic, the skills and the overview to
a basically chaotic space.
Fugel Mikkel , “The Middle East As Narrative Space : Cultural Stereotypes In Hollywood & Art
Cinema” The Danish Insttute in Damascus : 2009: 13
47
34
To conclude, the Middle East has been misrepresented by attributing a large number of
stereotypical images to it. Wilderness, exoticism, tension, and war are all negative aspects that
assert the ideological construct that the orient is always in need of the the Occident‟s help so
as to live properly.
35
Part two : The Kingdom, Traitor , Rules of Engagement, AmericanEast, and Amreeka From
Postcolonial Perspectives
1- The Orientalist discourse in The Kingdom, Traitor , Rules of Engagement
1-1 The Kingdom:
The kingdom was entered active production on July 10th 2006 and released on
September 28th. 2007 under the production house of universal pictures(1). It is a thriller action
movie directed by peter Berg that tells the long chickened relationship between USA and
Saudi kingdom. This movie is starred by Jaunie Fox ( Ronald Fleury special agent) along with
Jennifer Garnier ( agent Janet Mayes) , Jason Bateman (Adam Leanitt) and Chris Cooper (
Gant Sykes). The real bombings at the Riad compound inspired the total events of the story.
This 106 minute movie explains how FBI agents lead an investigation in Saudi kingdom
to find out the real scenario of a crime scene that the Saudi could not dream of. The first scene
of the film is opened with a prologue of the movie that sheds light on the major historical
events that has characterized the political relation between USA and the Middle East. This is
deemed as an attempt to make connexion between the political events and American film
industry.
At the beginning, many Americans appear playing baseball in their oil company‟s
housing compound. All of a sudden, gunfire is heard near the playground. Few minutes later,
some men take car and start shooting the Americans. Meanwhile, one of the terrorists
disguised in Saudi soldier uniform blows up himself with everyone around him. Shortly after,
a second bomb, put in an ambulance, explodes in the compound killing more people including
an FBI special agent, Mayer.
36
In USA, Fleury informs his FBI team on the happenings in the kingdom. He suggests to drive
an investigation in SA. After gaining permission to lead the investigation, Fleury and his team
composed of three men and one woman flies to Saudi Arabia. The FBI team finds great
difficulties ended up by a bloody confrontation where the leader of the terrorists was killed.
1-1-1 The Kingdom and Its historical opening:
It is important at the beginning to shed light on the historical opening of the film.
Berg starts his film with a short historical lesson on the Saudi / US relation before he swiftly
cuts on to horrific attacks upon Riyadh western housing compound .Although this historical
short clip lasts for less than 4 minutes, it strongly scoops out many cultural and political
implications.
First of all, Peter berg indicates the establishment of the Saudi Arabia kingdom in
1932.During the first quarter of the 20th century, King Abdalziz had been chosen by Wahhabi
warriors as the, Sultan of Saudi Kingdom. Indeed, to mention this historical event is not
accidental. Peter berg aims at strengthening the idea that the bonds between the Saudi
monarchy and Wahhabi warriors are unbreakable. In this regard, the US relation with the
Saudi Arabia must go though the channel of this religious body.
Moreover, the clip demonstrates a strong cooperation between US and SAR.
The discovering of oil in 1933 by an American expedition was the beginning of a new era
between USA and SAK. A series of agreements, statements by successive US administrations
arms sales have demonstrated a strong U.S security commitment to Saudi Monarchy. In this
respect, Peter Berg shows that such a strong relation fruits in the emergence of a cultural
meeting site .In this clip, Peter Berg demonstrates a number of American families dwelling in
various compounds in SA. In effect, the SA government provides the Americans living on its
Territory with the same life style they enjoy in US. Therefore, many religious men start to
criticize this cooperation and sending many official letters‟ to the king to stop this
37
cooperation. Moreover, such a cultural shock causes an immense tension among the
Americans working in SA and the SA population due to the bias support of US to Israel .
Additionally, this short clip sheds light on the embargo, one of the most striking event
during the 1970s. It is important to note here that the establishment of those compounds for
Americans has been fully criticised. Even worse, the continual support of USA to Israel has
extremely increased the disharmony between Americans and Saudians. Thus,a violent
compaign has been oriented towards the existence of American in SA led by Osama B laden.
Indeed , Americans become targets of AlQaeda . Additionally, it is fully clear that Peter
Berg‟s short introduction is an attempt to contextualize this film. This historical
contextualization aims at emphasizing a number of contentions. First of all, Saudi Arabia has
always been regarded an important source of for terrorism financing worldwide. Also, a close
reading of Berg‟s short documentary indicates that she Saudi huge oil production is a real
threat to the American national security. Finally, Berg shows from the beginning his intention
to deepen the gap between the two Worlds and create more tension.
1-1-2 Racial Smearing in The Kingdom:
In this fictional political film, Peter Berg unveils intricate treatment of race thinking in
the post 9/11 period, particularly with its vies to the “war on tenor”. Indeed, despite the high
tech special effects of P. Berg‟s film, it remains faithful the traditional race thinking. In this
regard, Berg exposes three prominent figures who come to symbolize the “war on terror”:
Muslims as evil-doers, the civilized western character, and finally Muslims as complex
characters.
Firstly, throughout the film, Berg focuses on linking the Muslim character with three
major features: hatred, barbarity and the zeal to take revenge. To begin with, since the early
moments of their arrival, FBI team faces strange looks full of hatred. Berg‟s camera goes
38
around the SA soldiers and civilians eyes; one can easily notices how unwelcomed the
Americans are in the Arab land. At the mid of the film, Fleury recommends Colonel Ghazi to
wander around the compound. Emphatically, Berg shows the unwillingness of the population
to see FBI team in this country. A number of scenes show this stand. For example, when
Fleury goes through the café, he notices a lot of youngster playing video games that revolve
around battlefields between Americans and Al-Qaeda warriors. Even worse, he hears
successive insults to Americans. In addition, barbarity is one of the major features that has
been attached to Muslims all aver the history of Hollywood. The kingdom has reflected this
distorted image through the exploitation of real broadcast videos showing the act of
beheading. In the last 30 minutes, one members of the FBI team was captured by the theorist
cell. They attempt to decapitate him. Fortunately, Fleury ,in collaboration with colonel ghazi,
succeed to save their colleague at the right moment. Finally. The zealous Muslim to take
revenge is a strong image of Hollywood Muslims. In this film, Muslims are marked by their
immense enthusiasm to kill Americans as an attempt to take revenge for the Palestinians.
Thus, Peter Berg‟s main purpose of this film is to emphasise the idea that Muslims are a threat
to American national security. The last words of Abu Hamza to this grandson are very telling.
The grandpa recommends to keep war against those disbelievers until they submit to the
willingness of Allah.
Secondly, whilst the Arab Muslim character is associated with all devilish qualities,
the western character is associated with all that is civilized and modern like: heroism,
scientific advancement. To start with, the film remains faithful the tradition of the western
hero. In fact, the kingdom strengthens the idea that the western hero is the only one who can
save the world from all kinds of devils. Fleury and the other members of the FBI team
represent the power of the west to save the Arab land from all devilish faces. The series of
terrorist attacks and the inability of the Arab to abolish this phenomenon causes a continuous
39
dependency to the west. That is, Fleury appears to be the most prominent figure who
demonstrates immense braveness, intelligence and solidarity with the victims of the terrorist
attacks. There are three major scenes that emphasize this idea. As a fist scene, gent floury
shows a very great understand and respect towards Islam. When the American man dwelling
in the compound starts insulting Islam and accusing it of terrorism, Fleuury stops him and
asks ghazi to leave. In here, Fleury‟s behaviour is a reflection of the civilized quality of the
western man which is confronted by the face of terror. In still another scene, the unwelcome
visit of the FBI team ends in a confrontation between colonel ghazi and another army group.
At this moment, a serious fist-fighting starts between Fleury and the army group captain; this
incident ends up in the defeat of this latter. This is a very striking event that reflects the
disempoweredness of Arabs. As a final scene, the endeavour to save J. Bate wouldn‟t have
succeeded unless Fleury had been with the team. Fleury , at this moment, takes the
commandment over all soldiers even Colonel Ghazi. Indeed, this is not accidental. It really
stresses the idea that the west is the protector of the East. Furthermore, the FBI team is a
representation of the scientific advancement of the western civilization. Although the
kingdom shows the SA soldiers as brave, clever fighters, they remain traditional in their
intervention. Fleury‟s team involves three categories of terrorism task force. The first one is
represented by G. Sykes. He is a technician of bombs. His mission is to diagnose the attack
scene area and categorize the type of bombs. While there, Grant gets surprised when he fails
to communicate with the workers. They keep wide-lips during his explanation. The second
major aspect of the scientific advancement is A. Leavitt, intelligence analyst. His role is to
provide logical deductions about the terrorist cell activities. He is always seen with his laptop
exploring different webpages. The most important aspect of the scientific advancemant is
Janet May, forensic examiner. Her role is of paramount significance. Indeed, Forenscic
science is an ultimate reflection of the western civilization and modernity. In this regard, none
40
of the SA characters represents a sophisticate partnership. They all have ordinary roles. Thus.
This science accentuates the superiority of the west over the east. It is, then remarkable that
the film fartherly associates the west with nobility, modernity, atonement.
Eventually, Peter Berg‟s thither unveils the complexity of the Islamic world. Indeed
“war on tenor”: even if it waged against a large umber of Islamic extremists, has been
supported by many Islamic countries; they feel they are in alignment with the morals and
goals of this American military campaigns. So, it can be said the geopolitical context o Arab
countries is characterized by complexity. That is to say, the terrorist attacks are declined by
many Muslims. In this film, Col. Ghazi represents this category of Muslims. His military team
demonstrates a strong ambition to catch the terrorist and protect the FBI team. On the other
hand, the film shows another category that hate all that is American. Abou Hamza and the
other members of the theorist cells represent the dark part of the Islamic world. According to
the diegesis of the film, therefore, the Islamic societies are full of complexities that can be
reflected in the following points. First, women are dressed differently. Terrorist women are
fully covered inside and outside their homes. This can be seen by many Muslim scholars as
extremism. On the other hand, Col. Ghazi‟s family is seen practicing all Islamic teachings and
the wife dressed a modern hijab dress. Next, Col. Ghazi children are seen playing , studying,
and enjoying a living standard similar to that of the western children. By contrast, Abu Hamza
children are seen fighting as professional combatant. Thus, these images are interesting
depictions of the disharmony and complexity among all the social, political, textile of the
Islamic world.
1-1-3 Gender Discourse in The Kingdom:
The issue of gender is of paramount significance. It is taken for granted that
The Kingdom has continued to superimpose the previous images of Hollywood‟s orient
41
female. Throughout the film, Peter Berg tries to use one western female character, Janet May,
to dwell on a number of clichés to characterize the Western women with liberty, modernity,
and civilization. Meanwhile, Muslim women in the film are essentially covered, apprehended
as traditionally and religiously oppressed. In fact, all these discourses aim at constructing the
image of the civilized, liberal woman whose femininity urges her to adopt the stance of the
saviour and protector of the Arab woman. It is the ultimate purpose of this study to shed light
on these dichotomies taking the forensic examiner, Janet Mayes as a case of study .
As a first dichotomy, Janet Mayes is a symbol of the free, modern women whilst the
veiled women represent oppression and subservience. May, in the film, functions as a
technology of Empire. Her position among male western colleagues portrays the genderequality of western society. The western society allows women to participate in all social
activities side by side with men. Indeed, the task perfumed by Janet depict the great cognitive
abilities of the western women ; being a forensic examiner is very demanding. On contrary,
the Saudi women appear to be silent and their roles do not go beyond their domestic chores.
The gender-bias traditions of Islamic religious practices deprive women from an effective
participation in her society. This is shown in the film through many aspects. First, the Muslim
women speak only at the end of the film. Second, their speech is only shouting or some little
soft questions. Third, body is fully covered. All these aspects construct the image that Arab
woman are the silent other of the Arab men.
In still another, dichotomy, Mayes‟ out-of-placedness throughout the films causes her
to be in continual contempt. Importantly, the choice of the film maker to involve one woman
in this team accentuates the differences between the American liberal women and the
traditional Arab women. However, as long as Mayes is an Arab setting; she is exposed to the
same behavior as any other Arab women. In many scenes, Janet is asked to cover her body. In
effect , she is forced to abide by the customs and traditions of Islamic culture. For the Arab
42
women, the situations is worse. In public place like cafes, streets, no women appear and in
case she shows up, she is covered from head to toes. Moreover, Janet is commanded not to
attend a meeting with the prince because she is a woman. Agent Fleury abides (though with
contempt). This incident shows how tolerant and civilized is the western man in his treatment
with women.
Finally, Mayes‟ clothing throughout the film is purely masculine. She is most of the
time dressed in military pants with a T-shirt, a cap and sun glasses. In this regard, the film
maker attempts to masculinize her body whereas he shows her female body with specific
emphasis on her breasts. The ultimate purpose behind this is to save her from the known
sexual violence of the Arab man who is always obsessed by the blonde western woman. On
the other hand, the woman in Arab world is always hidden at home in order to be safe from
the “gaze” of the male. In fact, such depiction positions the Arab men as lecherous and hypersexual. So, women in Arab world are not outside in order not to be targets of such sexual
violence for this reason, this sexual violence is coded as an aspect of the Arab world Muslim
women are oppressed and silent because of the male-oriented hegemonic discourse.
To conclude, the above discussion about the various binary oppositions between the
western women and the Arab women demonstrates how American film industry still adopts
the mechanics of the orientalist discourse in its films. In the kingdom, Janet Mayes is deemed
as the signifier of modernization and liberation. The final scenes that shows Mayes giving a
Lollipop to Arab girl symbolizes the positive interaction between the Arab women and the
western women.
1-1-4 The Cultural Confrontations in the Movie
The kingdom is one of the most powerful films which depict the cultural encounter
between westerners and the Orient. The FBI team confronts many problems with the Saudi
officers and citizens. Unfortunately, these problems result in obstructing the pace of
43
investigation because there is a lack of communication and understanding the Muslim
traditions.
Actually, the FBI agents have got very confusing and nervous feelings after their
arrival at the S.A. They have been suffering too much from the despotic orders of colonel
Ghazi who can be described as their babysitter. The first clash between the two starts at the
airport when colonel Ghazi asks them to leave their arms. In Arabic traditions, a foreigner is
not allowed to hold his arms ; it is regarded as a way of showing power or having bad
intentions. Moreover, the FBI agents‟ residency is in the playground of basketball. One of the
Islamic fixed traditions is the separation between man and women in public places let alone in
private ones. As long as the team has a female agent whose name is Janet Mayes, a forensic
examiner, the colonel Ghazi orders her to make a limit between her and the other members of
the team; such a division could not be understood by the whole team who starts getting
anxious at colonel Ghazi‟s despotisms.
In addition, when Fleury‟s team arrives at place where crime scene took place, the
agents seem to be funy for the Saudi soldier. The fact that they dress in civil uniforms is not
convenient for them. They strongly believe that military uniform is an aspect of the agent‟s
commitment to the mission. Moreover, Lollipop and gums are traditionally unaccepted for the
ordinary Arab man or woman, let alone if it is a police man or a soldier. That is why most of
Saudi soldiers mock at them. Indeed, such an incident imply the huge gap that can exist
between the two cultures. It might sound strange but the reality shows that the cultural norms
between the west and the East are different if not contradictory.
Further, at their arrival in crime scene area, the team is surprised by the visit of one of
the Saudi prince. Here-in, Mayes gets a very hard shock. Before she meets the prince, a bodyguard comes to cover her body. In Saudi Arabia, a woman is not allowed to go out unless she
wears an abaya (black cover) over her clothes and have her head and face covered. Another
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cultural shock that is related to this female character is her exclusion from a dinner with the
prince. “Ikhtilat – the coexistence of man and women-while eating is prohibited in Islam. For
this reason, Janet spends the whole time of dinner thinking of this exotic tradition. Because
she is a westerner, she can not grasp such a traditions. Additionally, Janet‟s main mission is to
examine the body of the suicide-bombers. In the laboratory, one of the Saudi soldiers shouts
at her, he says “Haram Haram”, which means what you do is forbidden in Islam. He means
the fact that she touches the hands of the corpses. For Janet, it is illogic to feel anything
toward a man who is dead, besides it is a part of his job. In fact, this incident is an
exaggeration since in Islam there is nothing wrong in touching the dead corpses by women.
Also, lack of communication is one of the most important aspects of this cultural
shock. A part from colonel Ghazi and his second hand, the other Arabs are silent, when the
FBI bomb specialist is digging into the hole caused by the explosion, he tries to explain the
method of working. His efforts are in vain since the Arabs are unable to understand the
language and his method, they appear silent, this can be seen as sharp linguistic barrier that
complicate the missoion of the team at whole.
In still another problem, xenophobia is another barrier to the FBI agent‟s investigation.
It refers to the feelings of hatred and fear of the foreigners or strangers‟. The natives think that
the presence of these foreigners is not justified or it is a form of colonization. In the film,
since their arrival, the agents suffer too much from evil looks of the Saudi people, be them
civilians, or soldiers. While investigating, Fleury notices a large number of youngsters playing
video games that revolve around Muslim martyrs killing the US marines. The youngsters
play the video games uttering heavy insults towards the Americans.such an image strongly
portrays the thirstiness of Arab youngsters to the western blood. Those youngsters do nothing
to Fleury when they see him ; however, their looks are full of strong dislike. Besides, in the
crime scene area, the soldiers of colonel Ghazi do not allow the FBI agents to trespass the
45
designed limits. The problem here is not related to the interdiction but to the way the solider
misbehaves ; he pushes the agent with his shoulder. In Arab countries, such a violent reaction
implies that there is an intense hatred between the two persons.
Finally, the different cultural confrontations discussed before reflect the extreme
tension that exist between the west and the east. Indeed, the inability of the FBI agents to
absorb many cultural practices and Islamic teachings creates and unhybrid context despite
their harmony in their fight against terrorists. So, xenophobia and cultural shock remain two
of the major barriers in the leading investigation.
1-1-5 The Aspects of Islamphobia :
The Islamophobic traits are strongly present within the entire scenes of the film.
Indeed, the film director exploits well the political campaign of U.S.A against Islam to show
the legitimacy of the War On .Terror. The kingdom is rich enough with many aspects that
equate the religion of Islam with all that is violent, backward and barbaric. This is much more
clarified in the following aspects : the video tape from Abu Hamza, the act of beheading, and
suicide-bombing.
Initially, the obscure figure of Abu Hamza as old man creates an atmosphere of gloom
and terror. Usually, a man who is old and know much about his religion should be wise and
peaceful. However, Abu Hamza is a figure of threat and danger. the repetitious use of Abu
Hamza‟s covered face and subsequent words give the impression of fear and panic to the
viewer. This latter can no longer think of Islam as a religion of tolerance and co-existence.
Physically, Abu Hamza appears as model of the most dangerous Muslims. he man looks
different to western social norms ; he exists “outside” of the west, his looks are the scars of
warfare that evoke the stereotypes of barbarism and wilderness. Moreover, most of his
speeches indicate that to kill Americans is a principle duty of all Muslims. At the end of his
speech, he always invokes Allah to give the martyrs the promising reward- heaven.
46
Next, the film associates the act of beheading as an Islamic justice to non-Muslims
interestingly, such a violent act might find origins in Islam but in certain circumstances.
Unfortunately, the film shows this act of decapitation as a punishment to all Kufar
(unbelievers). It emphasizes the idea that Islam is a violent religion when J. Bate is
kidnapped, the terrorists decide to behead him and film this violent act. They consider him as
an ablation to Allah. The words of one of the terrorists indicate that this is the right
punishment that all Americans deserve. In this regard, the film tends to be more supportive of
the war on tenor since in the elimination of those Islamic fanatics, peace would prevail on all
parts of the world.
Eventually, suicide bombing is another aspect of Islam phobia . At the opening scene,
one of the terrorists dressed in solider uniform blow up himself and all those around him.
Before pressing the key-button, the terrorist utters shahada. In Islam, all those who say these
two words before their death, they will be in heaven. In effect, many observers relate this
strong willingness to die for this cause to the Islamic teachings. The concept of Jihad is a very
significant practice in Islam, most Muslims wish to die this way. However, such a sacred duty
is both misinterpreted and misunderstood. On the one hand, the American film makers follow
the understanding of the wrong Muslims. Muslim intellectuals and Sheikhs are aware that
such a group of Muslims is dangerous even for Muslims. On the other hand, there is a clear
bias concerning the production of these images. Really, the ultimate purpose of this portrayal
is to demonize Muslims and their religion. After watching a film about suicide-bombing, the
direct viewer‟s impression is fear from Islam.
All in all, the image of Islam as a religion that scares the west is not new. However,
the American film makers benefit from the geopolitics context to emphasize this prejuduce .
The war on terror has inspired many screen writers to associate Islam with features of fear and
violence. Undoubtedly, their attempts are to support the agenda of their administration and
47
gain more financial support. In a word, Hollywood film industry has a tendency to reflect
existing social anxieties by feeding upon mass fear about Islam.
1-1-4 The Arab Child vs the American Child:
With the events of September 11, 2001, the relationship between Hollywood and
Muslims grew tenser. Indeed, to take a wider scope, The Muslim child starts to be portrayed
in devilish portrait. The kingdom is a strong representation of the Muslim child whereas the
western child is seen as a model of innocence and kind-heartedness. In this film, the Muslim
child is associated with violence, as well as the future enemy of the west.
To begin with, the kingdom shows the Muslim children as militant combatants. At the
early opening of the film, the leader of the terrorist cell is shown surrounded with militant
children who look eagerly at the crime scene area. Despite their young age, they are violent
and aggressive towards the westerners. Also, while Abu Hamza is saying his word to the
world, the camera focuses on the faces of the men around him. Most of them are between 16 –
18 ;moreover, in an intervention by the Saudi Special Forces in one of the suspected houses,
they find out the corpses of some members of the terrorist cell, all of them are young children.
Further, at the end of the film, Janet Mayes is seen giving a Lollipop to one of the children
who gives her a piece of marble. This scene significantly connotes that the west is the symbol
of godd and the middle east is the symbol of evil. This can be justified because the bombs is
composed of marble.
Additionally, the Muslim children are the future enemy of the west. Actually, the
film portrays the eradication of Abu Hamza terrorist cells. However, the battle against
terrorists is a long one. While Abu Hamza is dying, he whispers at his young grandson, he
recommends that he must continue this bloody path and clean the earth from all the
Americans. He also emphasizes, that all the dead corpses he sees now are at heaven cuddling
the most beautiful women ever created. On the other hand, the western child is seen at school,
48
enjoying his time and preparing himself to serve his society and humanity . In a conversation
between Fleury and his son, the father appears talking in telephone with a special agent in
S.A. This latter informs him about the bombings. When he hangs off, his son says “very bad
people”. The western child, despite his young age, appears to be aware of the existence of evil
in remote areas.
To conclude, American film industry is long familiar with constructing binary
oppositions between the Orient and the west. However, the distortion of the image of children
has been a new aspect of the old cultural stereotyping.
1-2 Traitor:
Traitor is a 2008 American film directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff. The film presents
famous actors like Don Cheadle (Samir) and Guy Pearc. Samir Horn, a devout American
Muslim , has been ruspected as a member of a terrorist group. FBI agent Roy Clayton heads
up a task force investigation to link Horn to some bombings in Europe.
The film starts by showing the act of killing Samir‟s father in a car explosion in
Sudan. In his adulthood, Samir becomes an expert in the design and use of explosives.
Because he is a dual citizen of US and Yemen he finds himself pulled intoa vaid and sent to
prison. While there, he meets up with some terrorists who help him to escape from the prison.
Due to this help, Samir gets engaged with the Muslim terrorist networks. He provides them
with the necessary skills to fabricate primitive but powerful explosives in spite the fact that he
continually feels self- reproach. The successfulness of Samir‟s bombings makes him a hero
for the terrorists but a barrier to some of their plots. The fully disaccords with them in
engaging youth Muslims and this objection creates some doubts around his commitment
towards the duty of Jihad. At the end, Samir revolts against the terrorists and started killing
them.
1-2-1 Traitor In Context:
49
The tragic events of 9/11 and the outbreak of WOT (war on terror) have engrossed
public concern worldwide with terrorism and this has been destined to inspire a new range of
films in which terrorism dramatizes elements of real-life threats.
As far as the Traitor is concerned, it was launched in 2008. That is to say, seven years
after the outbreak of WOT. In this period, the whole globe has been committed to devote all
its capabilities to defend all the noble principles and fight against terrorists who represent the
dark side of humanity. So, the world has been in an alarm state. 9/11 horiffc events were not
the only terrorist attacks in the first decade of the third millennium. The world had known
several attacks in various parts of the world; the most tragic ones are those of Madrid in 2003
and London in 2007. This warns the world from the spread of sleeping terrorist cells which
are ready to bombard any place at any time jeopardize life of all world dwellers. In this
context, Jeffrey Nachmanoff succeeded to reflect this horrible atmosphere of the world by
taking WOT as the backdrop for his film scenario.
1-2-2 A Brief Reading of The Title :
Traitor is one the best American thriller films produced after the horrific events of
9/11. It is really of great significance to mark a pause at the beginning as far as the title is
concerned. The word traitor is very meaningful taking into account the whole plot of the film.
In dictionary terms, traitor can mean one who betrays another's trust or is false to an
obligation or duty. In the story, Samir, the protagonist of the film , plays over various ropes.
He engages himself within conflicting loyalties that drive him to play the role of the
chameleon. So, many questions can be raised concerning this character : Is Samir driven by
his loyalties to his "brothers" in Islam and so thoroughly entrenched in his covert identity that
he will carry out the attacks? Or, will he be loyal to an American government which is
simultaneously pursuing him as a high priority terrorist and is also complicit in racial
50
profiling and violence towards the Muslim world? All these questions are a reflection of the
implications of the title of the film , Traitor.
Throughout the film, Samir appears to be a very a very complicated character that
lives in full dilemma. First of all , it is important to note that the word traitor is mentioned
only one time. Omar calls Samir traitor when they are queuing in the Yemeni prison. At this
moment, the viewer can clearly see that Samir co-operates with the FBI. Especially, when one
sees that the arrival of Samir coincides with the attack of the Yemeni soldiers. They attack the
safe house killing many terrorists and arresting others including Omar and Samir. After that,
Samir is seen interrogated by the FBI agents, Clayton and Archer. He refuses to divulge any
information on anyone, and gets punched in the stomach by Archer. Clayton tries acting the
"good Fed", but to no avail. Samir is thrown in a Yemeni jail. In here, the viewer gets a little
confused since he becomes unable to specify the side of Samir. Moreover, One day, during
lunch, he witnesses an inmate bully an older inmate. When he helps out the older inmate, the
bully and his cronies attack Samir. Samir puts up a brave fight, but gets a beatdown. The
guards come to his rescue and put him in solitary for a while. When he is released, the bullies
come back to finish what they started. This time, Omar has Samir's back and intimidates the
bullies. Little by little, Omar gets closer to Samir and asks him to talk about his experience in
Afghanistan. Samir , at this moment, reminds him of his first conversation with Ahmed, the
head of the terrorists . Ahmed says “ In Afghanistan , cold got into our bones. But thanks to
Samir , we figured out how to take apart those Soviet AP mines to make a little heater….we
nearly blew our fingers”. Thus, these stories about Samir‟s resourcefulness in the Afghan war
against the Soviet indicate his participation with the US Special Forces.
Furthermore, as long as the plot develops, Samir‟s turmoil makes the viewer more
confused. At some scenes, Samir seems to be as a traditional, devout Muslim whose religious
discipline is continuously displayed. The film makes it a point that Samir is devout in the
51
practice of his religion. He often quotes the Koran, is observant, seems to have true
spirituality in his soul He prays five times; he fasts and abstains alcohol. In jail, He performs
namaz regularly. Also, in Marseille, Samir is not happy to be offered wine by Fareed, who
says he does it to blend in with the enemy and that it is allowed by the Holy Quran. Samir
corrects him that you are allowed to say you're not a Muslim to save yourself, but that's all.
However, Fareed forces him to drink the wine. The following conversation between the two
serves to back up this idea:
“ Fareed : Don‟t look disturbed Samir, we shave we drink alcohol,
Sometimes we even eat pork. It is called „ Taqia‟ in Koran.”
“ Samir : It is not „ Taqia‟. Our prophet allows Muslims to lie when
death is eminent.
In still another scene, when Samir succeeds to bomb the US Embassy in France and kill 8
workers, he gets distraught. When he comes home, he acts as if he is unhappy because only
few persons were killed. Seconds later, he is seen praying for Allah‟s forgiveness. All these
qualities make of Samir a hard-to-identify character.
Finally, the title of the film is pregnant with numerous implications that give the film a
sense of ethical gravity and a real intrigue. The core of entertainment in this film lies in the
fact that Samir is born out of a political conflict. These geo-political realities make of him a
multi-faceted character that is seen as a bad guy, a highly trained terrorist who is professional
in making bombs. In other times, he is depicted as an agent who is in charge of infiltrating
sleeping terrorist cells headed by Nathir. This reality is known only by Jeff Daniels, a
government supervisor. Meanwhile, Roy Clayton and Max Archor , FBI agents,
are
suspecting Samir and believe that he is an active member in Nathir‟s terrorist group. Thus, the
fact that Samir involves himself with different contradictory political and religious affiliations
makes him unable to decide the side he will join. For this reason, the title of the film is a
52
successful choice since Samir is obliged to trait one of his partners to continue his life as any
other person. In a nutshell, it becomes clear that Samir is duplicitously playing various sides
at growing danger to himself and the lives of innocent people.
1-2-3 The Hegemony of US Power Over The World:
It is important to note that many political issues have been treated in Traitor. The fact
that USA represents the leader of WOT forces it to get involved in the investigation of many
terrorist attacks. Traitor, successfully, shows US hegemony through its over intervention in
many countries. The two FBI agents Roy Clayton and Max Archor shift responsibility to
search for the head behind the numerous terrorist attacks in Spain , France and Switzerland.
Their leadership of the investigation in other territories is a very important indication of the
immense hegemony USA exerts over its allies.
Initially, the first appearance of the two agents is in Yemen. The FBI agents , in
collaboration with the Yemeni solidiers, attack the safe house of Ahmed, a well-known
terrorist. Indeed, this co-operation is not welcomed by the Yemeni colonel. This latter ordered
Archor to leave his arms as he is in their territory. This , unfortunately, creates a conflict
between Archor and the soldiers who feel that their sovereignty is violated. The following
conversation can indicate the extreme tense they are in :
“ Army officer : Put down your arms.”
“ Archor: No. It is my gun.”
“ Army Officer : Put your arms down. You are in my country. Your
are not in Washington.
In here, Clayton interferes peacefully as usual to calm down the situation and convinces
Archor to leave his gun. Here is the converstation :
“ Clayton: Give him the gun.”
“ Archor: I give my gun to take Kalashnikov. Russian arms”
53
Remarkably, Archor‟s tone implicitly indicates his lack of confidence towards the equipment
of the Yemeni Army. Also, the utterance of Russian arm can have more than one political
reading taking into consideration the geo-political context.
Furthermore, US hegemony is seen even over European territories. In Traitor, the
investigation process is led, guided, and under the supervision of US terrorism task force.
Such interventions are not , of course , accepted. In France, CIA information was received
that a young guy is going to commit a suicide bombing in US embassy. When FBI agents
come to France and meet the French intelligence liaisons; this latter arrogantly treats Archor
and Clayton. Such a brief conversation serves to buck up the idea:
“ French officer : Welcome. The guy was murdered yesterday.
“ Clayton : Can we go to see the decayed area ?
“ French officer : in his phone “ Prepare two rooms in Hotel
Principal de Paris” Enjoy your travel.
“ Clayton: WE ARE NOT here for a vacation. We are here to
Investigate . It is an international cause”
“ French officer : Ok. Let‟s go.”
The above conversation strongly reflects the extreme tension that exists between the two.
However, the French officer submits to the will of Clayton. Certainly, this emphasizes the fact
that USA maintains control over the French special agents. In other words, there is implicit
dependency of the French Special Task Forces to American ones.
Lastly, the bombardments of Madrid are an important event that shows the overcontrol exerted by US on Spain. In Madrid, a suicide-bomber tries to blow up his explosivesladen car, but due to a malfunction, gets cold feet and runs. The bomb explodes seconds later,
killing eleven people. He is caught, however. Clayton and Archer fly to Madrid to interrogate
him. Remarkably, inside the Spanish intelligence office , Clayton and Archor move as if they
54
were in FBI offices. They even give orders to many Spanish offices. Moreover, no single
Spanish officer appears in the scenes. They keep silent and try to serve the FBI agents.
Politically, this can be read as a reflection of the real political weight of Spain ; it does not
exceed the role of information provider for large amounts of dollars. In the investigation,
Clayton appears to be the only one interrogating the failed suicide-bomber. He threatens him
to expose his family into trouble unless he cooperates. This is the conversation:
“ Clayton :Do you know if you refused , how much would you
Pay ?
“ the terrorist: fully Shocked!!”
“ Clayton : your family, your cousin, your brother”
In this way, Clayton succeeds to make him confess that the head behind all these terrorist
attacks is Mr. Nathir . indeed, the absence of any Spanish involvement apart from catching the
terrorist is a strong indication of the American hegemony on Spain and generally all over the
globe.
In conclusion, it is strongly demonstrated that the involvement of the FBI agents in
other territories as well as their intervention with other police are striking proofs of the
tremendous hegemony that characterizes the relationship between USA , as leading power in
WOT, and its allies. The above examples of Yemen, France, and Spain are just little examples
beside many others.
1-2-4 The other face of America
Although Clayton and Anchor appear to be in full harmony as far as their continued
pursuit of terrorists, they represent two different faces of the United States of America. On the
one hand, Clayton is a figure who shows the real commitment of USA towards freedom of
religion and racial tolerance. On the other hand, Anchor is a symbol of the authoritarian
55
America. Clayton and Anchor‟s development ,throughout the plot of the story, reveals many
aspects of these major points.
At first, it is of paramount significance to dig into the personality of Clayton. As an
FBI agent, Clayton demonstrates an immense commitment towards his mission to catch
Samir. Besides, Clayton is portrayed as a metaphor for America willing to see beyond race
and religion. For this reason, the filmmaker creates this personality in a convenient familial
context. Clayton gets his up-bringing in a conservative family. His father is Baptist preacher.
In this regard, Clayton is greatly knowledgeable about his own religion. Also, Clayton‟s BA
degree is in Arabic and Religious studies. Many times, He appears reciting verses of Koran or
prophetic narrations. So, his educational background helps him to get closer to Samir‟s
relatives who are all Muslims.
At the beginning, he goes to Samir‟s mum. While sitting in a café shop , both
characters show a significant model of tolerance and understanding to each other . The
conversation is as follows :
“Clayton: your is an immense trouble.”
“Samir‟s mum: why?
“Clayton: He is involved in a terrorist cell.”
“ Samir‟s mum: Do you believe in God ?
“ Clayton: Yes. I do believe in God.”
“ Samir‟s mum: Do you know what does the word Islam mean ?
“ Clayton : Submission to God‟s will.
Clayton‟s awareness of the Islamic religion makes him believe that Samir is a devout Muslim,
and a devout Muslim cannot commit such crimes.
Also, his sympathy with Samir is indicated when he talks to the courtyard and
convinces them that Samir has worked for the benefit of America since he kills the heads of
56
the terrorist cell. At the end of the film, Samir meets Clayton and talks a little about the war
on terror. As usual, Samir appears as a devout Muslim by reciting various Koranic verses that
forbid killing people, be them Muslims or non-Muslims; meanwhile, Clayton responds by
reciting other verses in the same context. Therefore, it can be said that Clayton is an
interesting character through whom the filmmaker softens the image of America in front of
Muslims and Arabs.
On contrary, the filmmaker creates Clayton‟s partner with total different
characteristics. Archor is very poor as far as his educational background is concerned. He is
not as well-educated as Clayton. He seems to be ignorant of many historical events. In other
words , Archor is unaware of many religious and cultural issues ; as a result, he lacks cultural
awareness, and appreciation of the nuances of Islamic teachings. Very often , Clayton corrects
many wrong conceptions to his colleague, Archor. For example, When Archer lambastes
Islam as a religion of terrorism, Clayton reminds him that the Klu Klux Klan rationalized their
abhorrent behaviour with the Bible and that extremist minorities do not define a religion.
Their conversation in Madrid is a good example :
“ Archor: Islam is a religion of terror.”
“ Clayton: can‟t say that. You remember the Klu Klux Klan. They
were Christians. It seems that every religion has different faces.”
Indeed, Archor‟s personality is a vivid image of many Americans who are ignorant about the
reality of Islam and Muslims. Their view is full of mistrust, doubt and lack of respect.
Besides, the FBI agent Archor is a representative of the cruel face of USA. He is a
strong agent whose main principle in all his missions is shoot first then ask questions. That is
to say, the room for dialogue, in WOT, is too narrow. For him, the right method with this
people is violence. Throughout the film, Archor always acts cruelly with characters, mainly
Samir. When Samir is caught by the Yemeni police, Clayton begins to interrogate him calmly.
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All of a sudden, Archor starts punching Samir violently because he talks about the American
violence in Afghanistan. Moreover, while attacking the safehouse of the terrorists in Yemen,
Archor appears too eager to kill the terrorists. In this regard, Archor is the voice of many
Americans whose hatred towards Arabs and Muslims are deeply rooted in their heart. He is
the other side of America which represents a wave of hostility, hatred, suspicion towards
Americans. Another aspect that emphasizes Archor‟s hostility is oral violence. The majority
of his speech while talking about Islam and Arabs is a number of insults. Many times, he
ejaculates bad words that detract the Muslims and Islam.. The following words serve to back
up this idea: terrorists, barbarists, primitives, so on and so forth.
At the end, it can be concluded the two FBI agents are a reflection of the social,
political mosaic of America. While Clayton attempts to give a brilliant image to America‟s
noble principles like freedom of religions, tolerance, Archor shows the angry American who
is keen to take revenge of the Arab and Muslims.
1-2-4 The Recruitment of Youngsters :
In accordance with the political context of the film, the filmmaker tends to highlight
an issue that has been scarcely treated by Hollywood films. The WOT has revealed many
issues that strongly condemn terrorists of exploiting very young Muslims to be effective
projects of suicide bombers. The film amply shows the numerous techniques and ways
terrorist adopt to inculcate those innocent youngsters with ideas of extremism and terror.
It is remarkable through the film that the age of terrorists vary. Samir, Nathir , Omar
and his friends are between the age of 35 and 47. All their job is to move from one country to
another to plan for terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, they search for new young faces to inject new
blood in the terrorist cells. The preferable category selected by Omar and his friends is
school-aged young minors. In Traitor , the director shows the involvement of these
youngsters in a range of operational activities.
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At the beginning , the viewer is extremely shocked. While Samir is on his way to
sheikh Ahmed‟s safe house, he is arrested by nineteen- aged boy holding a Kalashnikov. He
does not talk to him ; silence is the only way of communication. When he hears the name of
sheikh Ahmed, he immediately opens the gate. This implies that those young enthusiastic
persons are recruited because they are naïve and obedient. Moreover, the time soldiers attack ,
those youngsters , in spite of their young age , fight with tooth and nail to save sheikh
Ahmed. They show desperate resistance; this can explain why they are recruited and
radicalized by terrorist groups.
Additionally, Omar and the other terrorists utilize a range of tactics and techniques to
influence school-aged boys. In Traitor, the case of the young Moroccan boy is the best
illustration of the process of radicalizing the youngsters. When Omar meets the boy , he starts
to instill the culture of violence into his mindset. The method Omar uses is very influential; he
succeeds to recruit this young boy by dint of tailored messages. In this context, Omar targets
specific grievances aimed at encouraging youth to support the cause. The following
conversation can reinforce this idea:
“ Omar: We try to kill but this doesn‟t mean we love violence , we use
violence only because it‟s used against us.the cruseaders have invaded
our lands, ….they stole our natural resources, they throw bombs on our
people. We are fighting to end murder and humiliation of our
people…
does our blood not count ?
Samir: History has shown us that a man who is not afraid to die can never
be defeated.
The young boy: They have bombs and missiles but we have Allah.
Noticeably, Omar and the other members of the cell attempt to spot the recruiters when they
practice their favourite sport. This is a technique to develop intimacy with them then it
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becomes easy to brainwash their minds. Before the previous conversation, Omar and his
friends appear playing football.
To conclude, Omar‟s terrorist group is a very active cell which performs multiple
roles. Beside bombing, they are responsible for radicalizing and recruiting young students.
Sadly enough, the film shows a very shocking reality. The innocence of these students and
their ignorance of the real moderate Islamic teachings make them vulnerable
to the terrorist groups.
1-2-5 The Characteristics of Muslim Fanatics :
Traitor is considered to be one of the most outstanding films that takes the issue of
terrorism as its primary context .The film shows the path of a group of terrorists. Such a
portrayal introduces the real features of terrorists to the viewer's. In this analysis, the focus is
on fine major features that a terrorist has.
Firstly, the film portrays the terrorist as violent creatures. Omar, a well-respected
member of Muslim brootherhood, appears to be violent.
In the Yemeni prison; Omar
succeeds to protect Samir from the gangsters‟ attack. The following conversation between
Omar and the gangster is a good exemplification of their cruelty :
Omar: don‟t touch my brother.
The gangster: I have fifty men; ready to kill anyone
Omar: are they ready to die for you?
This harsh threatening from Omar indicates that to join a terrorist group; killing ; beheading
and fighting are all necessary qualities .Moreover .to betray is not tolerated within the circle
of terrorists .One member of the terrorist group betrays his friends . He goes to the French
intelligence service and tell them about a planned blow –up in Paris. Once discovered; he is
thrown from the bridge .Also; the final scene is about the bombardment of bus.Even if the bus
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is full of children and other innocent people, the terrorists do not feel any pity for them and
blow up the whole bus. Obviously, inhuman treatment is an essential feature for a terrorist.
Secondly, the film associates terrorists with deception. In order to succeed in their
plans , terrorists play many tricks . For instance ,they abandon many Islamic practices in order
to keep the eye of the western intelligence away . Fareed ,the main co-ordinator of the group ,
tells Samir that they should shave ,drink alcohol and even befriend girls to avoid any clash
with the police . Even worse, Fareed tries to justify such deeds from Koran. He says it is
called "taqia ". Samir does not grasp the idea and replies by saying that this does not exist in
Islam. Connotatively. Such a feature displays that terrorists are chameleons. They are ready
to change their color according to the circumstances. This is ,of course, an aspect of devilish
manners .
Thirdly, the terrorists are logistically supported. On the one hand ,Traitor shows
that terrorists mobility from one place to another is not that easy. So, it entails a lot of money;
this can imply that there is heavy financial support from unknown resources. In the film,
Omar, Samir and his friends are seen moving from one country to another and reside in highquality houses . Such a job requires huge amounts of dollars . On the other hand, the
members of the terrorist group are penetrated even within the intelligence services of the
west.In Traitor, when FBI agent Clay Layton decides to intervene and catch Samir, one of
the FBI stuff informs Fareed .This proves that the war against terrorism is not an easy one.
Moreover, the appearance of Nathir, the head of the terrorists, is very surprising. The meeting
takes place in a very modern yacht ; the way he dresses foreshadows his prosperity. For this
reason, he feels able to tremble the US homeland security .
Finally, traitor shows that most terrorists are not knowledgeable about their
religion.Omar , in his conversation to some youngsters, starts telling historical events ,and
commentaries on some
korannic verses that are flase. This is very indicative that the
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members of the terrorist group are not aware of the reality of their religions. The
misinterpretation of some verses and the strong will and enthusiasm to take revenge are basic
aspects of many Muslim fanatics .In addition, the ignorance of the real interpretation and
commentaries of some verses lead to confusing the real understanding of the Islamic
teachings. As a result , the association of Islam with violence and wilderness find witnessing
events in real life . Hence, the lack of the real understanding of Islam is one of the most
prominent features of Muslim fundamentalists.
To conclude, it can be deduced from the above analysis of the characters Omar and
Fareed that the Muslim fundamentalists are special persons with special qualities that
distinguish them from any other organized violent groups . Those features are as follow:
cruelty, deceit and finally ignorance.
1-2-6: The Orient Land: A place of fanatics
The film under analysis represents an important source of popular images about the
orient. Indeed; these images are similar to these existing travelogues and European novels,
thee orient land, in this film, is depicted as a den of terrorist, savage people and torture.
The film construction of the orient is emphasized from the very beginning of the
film.The opening captions state that the Yemeni territory is full Muslim fanatics. Sheikh
Ahmed ,a previous combatant in Afghanistan, finds Yemen a safe hiding place from the eyes
of the interpol services .He considers it a convenient place from which he can plan and
observe the terrorist atatcks. For this reason ,he asks Samir to come in Yemen . Additionally,
sheik Ahmed‟s castle is inhabited by many Muslim fanatics from various parts of the world .
A critical look at this men shows that they find refuge and security in the orient. This implies
that the middle East is a hostile place populated by religious fanatics. Furthermore, the orient
is portrayed as a war zone visited only by special forces or hidden agents. In the film, most
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battles take place in Yemen. Henceforth, the middle East is depicted as a battleground against
terrorists
Moreover, throughout the film, when it comes to Middle East, the viewer comes
across the prisons which Implies that thet region is a symbol of torture, oppression and
mystery. When Samir and the sheikh Ahmed‟s followers are caught in the prison, images of
torture and cruel punishment are depicted .Two of the Yemen police men are portrayed hitting
violently one of the prisoners. Indeed, no reason is mentioned for this behavior. This stresses
that the middle East is an area where people can be ruled only by violence and expression.
Besides, the majority of the prisoners are depended of the basic human needs. One of the most
striking scenes in Traitor is that of an old man who tries to gather his food .from the ground
.Such an image strongly shows penury and deprivation existing in the orient.
At last, the image of the orient as a mysterious land is incarnated in the mysterious
atmosphere of the prison .As a first aspect, the prison is a place of evil. The existence of
dangerous gangsters creates a gloomy atmosphere .Those gangsters are not ordinary criminals
.In contrast, they consider themselves as Gods. Samir ,the protagonist, suffers a lot from these
people. In a conversation with Samir, the big boss tells Samir “forget Allah ,it is me who
decides who can live and who will die” . such a dialogue emphasizes that this region is
mysterious not only due to the physical geography but also to the mysterious people who live
in it .Another aspect,is savagery .The
prison is on old building that lacks the basic
components of an ordinary residency. Such an atmosphere turns the prison into a jungle. In
this regard, to stay alive, one has to be powerful to fight for his rights .In the film, the first
prisoners who have access to bedrooms are those who follow the boss.
In conclusion, the issue here is that the depiction of Yemen as an alien or mysterious
region is misrepresentation of some oriental essence .Indeed, the notorious image of the orient
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is reinforced throughout the film. The negative portrayal of the prison and its gloomy
atmosphere can be seen as a manifestation of the total chaotic, wild orient
1-2-7 the western character vs. the Muslim one:
The regime of visual representation found in the film is based on binary opposition
between the west and the orient .it is argued here that dhotis the film portrays Arabs as
dangerous, violent whilst the westerners are fair, civilized.This examination will reveal how
representations of Muslim characters are different of not contradictory to the westerner.
Omar, Clayton and Samir will be the basic cases of analysis.
First, Omar is one of the most important figures of the film. He is the one who
convinces Samir to join the Muslim brother hood and teach the other member how. Fabricate
bombs. Indeed, though out the film, Omar is a signifier the real Muslim fanatic whose heart is
overwhelmed will hatred to the westerners, his strong dislike m as any other Islamic faith, is
based on the political events and the different conflict Will talkie to youngsters Omar tries to
justify the terror attack. He says " children are dying, but no one makes a move Houses are
demolished, Holy places are desecrated ". In this regard, the film dabbles in the dup areas
fundamental in. The purpose of these attempts is to introduce the Muslim fanatic as someone
who wants to take revenge ;in other terms, Omar and his friends are Real enemies of the
western campaign to democraticise the world. Obviously, to demonize the Muslim character
is a major theme through the film.
Moreover, the CIA agent Clayton is a representative of the western civilization
with all its aspects. Clayton ,in Traitor, heads up the investigation into a dangerous
international conspiracy. He is the one in charge to cover the terrorist Cells . During his
investigation, Cladyton is not a violent person .On contrary, he seems to be tolerant and open
to Islamic teachings . When he speaks with Samir‟s mother ,he reveals that he believes in god
and he wants to help Samir .In his investigation in Yemen ,he appears very peaceful to Samir .
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He tries to convince him to avoid this path hand lives in peace .When Samir speaks about war
in Iraq and Afghanistan, Clayton's friend fists him. At this moment, Clayton stops him . All
these aspects are purposely displayed to create a brilliant image about the western character .It
is the west who stretches out his hand for peace whilst the orient stretches out his hand with
guns.
Finally the character of Samir is very complex . He is an ex-special operations officer.
One of the worst incidents in samir‟s life is the death of his father in a car bomb . His
proficiency in arm dealing nukes makes him admired by Omar who introduces him to Muslim
brotherhood cells .During his imprisonment, the viewer can see that Samir is an ambivalent
character . He appears praying the five times, reciting Koran and Athkar and sometimes even
debating Omar‟s wrong interpretations of Koranic verses . This can be attributed to the roots
of Samir; his father used to provide him with the traditional proper Islamic teachings.
Meanwhile ; Samir accepts the involvement of many theorists ; this is; of course ; a result of
the years he spent in Afghanistan and his contact with extremists . in this respect; Samir
seems to be in continual fluctuation between the U.S movement or the terroists. Additionally,
although he has American passport , being an Arab can not guarantee his full faithfulness .
This leads us to think of Samir as some one who betrays the U.S government. After he
becomes professional in bombs thanks to the training he has in USA ; he starts to attack those
whose who taught him. this is a striking example of the incredibility of Arab-American.
Hence, the west is always the one who introduces civilization and technology.
To sum up ; the development of characters in the movie differs from one to another .
while the Muslim character is observed as dangerous and devilish, the western character is
considered as a tolerant permissive character. This is a manifestation of the power dynamics
in the representation process.
1-2-8 The Image of Woman in Traitor
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The involvement of women in this film is very important. Although there are four
women who scarcely appear in the film , their roles can imply very momentum analysis. It is
the ultimate purpose of this part to shed light on the different aspects of the gender discourse.
Omar‟s mother, Leila, Ted Blake and the female suicide bomber are the cases of study .
First, Omar‟s mother is an image of the traditional Muslim women . In her conversation
with Clayton , she seems to be very religious . It is interesting here to mention that Samir‟s
mother is against terrorism. This statement is a tremendous justification of her belief “my son
has seen enough death to know the value of life”. This shows that the traditional
understanding of the Islamic teachings is not violent at all. Moreover, her cup of coffee with
a strange man in a public place indicates her openess to the western civilization ;at the same
time, Samira‟s mother does not shake hands and she wears hijab . This depiction of the
female American Muslim foreshadows the possibility of the coexistence of Islam and
Christianity .
Second , Samir‟s girlfriend ,Leila, is another important female character in the
film. She is really the signifier of the modern Muslim women. She is dressed in western
clothes and she practices sport. In this regard, Leila represents the idea that it is important to
keep and maintain the Islamic faith . However , it is also important to benefit from the west
and live according to their standard as long as there is enough space for everybody to practice
his or her Islamic teachings.. When Clayton visits her, she could not believe that Samir can be
involved in such terrorist plots. She knows well that Samira‟s proper faith cannot allow him
to use violence again civilians . She said “ his faith was a sense of strength and collaboration.
He used to be a soldier in US army. He defended his nation”.
Third, the female suicide bomber is silent and not identified in Traitor . This
figure appears only in few scenes. However, her participation in this bombing of the bus
displays that fundamentalism is not related only to Muslim men. In contarast, many women
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are ready to die for their noble cause. Also, it is worth of note that this female suicide bomber
does not wear hijab. Here-in, a link can be drawn between Fareed and this girl. They both
believe in what is known as taqia. Finally, the suicide bomber starts whispering the shahada
before blowing up. it is a very strong depiction that is frequently repeated to equate terrorism
with Islam.
In a word, despite their scarce presence in the film, women are represented from
different perspectives. This is a particular reflection of the variety that characterizes the
Arabic societies
1-3 Rules of Engagement:
Rules of Engagement was released on april, 2000. it was directed by William Friedllin
and starting Tommy Leo Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. The story revolves around childers
and his marine expeditionary unit to save the US, ambassador in Yemen. The embassy
building is subject to rock-throwing and sporadic fire from nearby rooftops. In this
intervention, many marines are killed by the snipers‟ fire. As a reaction Childers orders his
unit to open fire at random. Consequently, children, women and many unarmed demonstrators
are killed.
Back in United States, the films turns battle to court martial. The national security
advisor decides to proceed with this military court to try and deflect negative public opinion
in USA. The film closes with innocence of children and supposes that N.S.A is convinced of
failing to prove his accusation.
1-3-1 The Political Implications of The Film :
Rules of Engagement shed light pertinently on the American foreign policy at postwar era. The whole plot of the film demonstrates the strong will of US politicians to empower
the relations with middle-east countries. The incident of Sana‟a in Yemen has floated as an
impediment towards the extension of US allies in the middle-east. However, the US
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government smartly exploits the event to appear a highly democratic state. Thus, it has been
decided to drive court trial in order to punish the responsible colonel for this massacre.
Indeed, such an initiative has various political implications that are going to be exposed in this
part.
In Rules of Engagement, Whitehouse strongly condemns the bloody intervention
of col. Childers. It has been considered by most American politicians as a striking violation of
the noble values USA fighting for. In effect, the new position of USA, as the leader of war on
terror, obliges it to seek for more partners mainly in middle-east. Such an incident poses the
US presence in this region in danger. The hot conversation between Bill Sokal , National
Security Advisor, and Gen. Perry indicates how much USA is worried about the loss of
Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt as effective allies:
“ Bill : Here I have an international crisis with mega fucking proportions.”
“ Gen. Perry : Bill, you know there have been regular reports about
terrorist attacks”
“ Bill: it was like any other regular protests about the American
presence in the Gulf”
“ Gen. Perry: fire was over the head of our men. We lost three US
marines.”
“ Bill : they lost 83. We are covering our ass all over the middle-east
because of your men. We are in danger of losing our presence in the
whole region”
the words of Bill are very indicative of the US immense need to strengthen the bonds with
Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the other gulf countries. He is fully aware of the negative
effects that might be resulted from this deadly incident. It ,obviously, results in a total mess of
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American relations with these moderate countries in a time US in need of their support and
collaboration in the war on terror.
Furthermore, this political firestorm can never stop unless there is a scapegoat who can
shift the total responsibility of this bloodshed. In search of this scapegoat, Bill orders that a
court martial must be held to convict Childers of murder, even though he possess videotape
evidence that proves otherwise. In this way, US government will appear as a model of justice;
it is the country which enhances the ability of Department of justice to prosecute civilians,
politicians, or soldiers alike. For this reason, Bill asks the hot prosecutor Maj. Mark Biggs to
try the case. Indeed, Maj. Biggs and his team of investigation decides to create a new scenario
and provide well-built arguments that can effectively make Childers guilty. Their scenario is
that US government asks Col. Childers to go to Yemen and save the US embassador and
avoid any military confrontation with the Yemenites. However, Childers , because of his
bloody past and familial status, goes to Yemen with the intention to kill. The following
statement of Maj. Biggs backs up this idea :
“ this guy is a warrior…. And a warrior is a warrior .. he has no wife no
kids…he was our best to serve the country in this mission…we gonna prove
that he went there with the intent to kill…. There have been usual protests prior
his arrival , once there he got fires from snipers on the roofs………he shot the
wrong people”
Additionally, Maj. Biggs successfully exploits the pictures of the international newspapers
which show the images of dead and injured Yemenites including children, women and old
men. The inability of Hodges to prove that those people are armed and shoot fire makes Col.
Childers close to death penalty. Such a sentence can brilliantly rectify the image of USA in
front of the international community in general and the Yemenite community in particular.
Undoubtedly, it is the only solution for the American diplomatic circles to save their face .
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Moreover, it is significant that one of the strong messages of the film is to prove the
credibility of American law enforcement as a way for US government to skin itself from any
responsibility. In fact, the international reports cause a worldwide scandal. The international
media campaign has strongly blamed USA for this slaughter; some may have thought that the
American law allows marines to commit such crimes. Politically, such propaganda must be
rectified; otherwise, USA would lose its position as the foster parent of democracy and human
rights. Thus, the title of the book is really convenient to this political implication. In this
regard, the title of the book is heard till the last day of the court when Col. Childers is asked to
read the official rules of engagement according to American law. In here, Col. Childers starts
reciting the whole article. Sadly enough, this worsens the situation of Col. Childers; he
appears like he neglects the set of responsibilities and operational constrains the day of the
incident. On the other hand , US government appears as a regime which provides its military
personnel with a degree of confidence that their actions are conducted within a legally
defensible framework. While in the court, Maj. Biggs asks very embarrassing questions that
complicates the position of Childers. The following conversation implies to show how smart
Maj. Biggs is in his devilish plan :
“ Biggs: Colonel ! Can you read this for us , please.”
“ Col. Childers : Rules of engagement, 1- Warn the enemy to surrender
Before opening fire…. deadly force is the last resort.”
“ Biggs: Good. Did you do that ?
“ Col. Childers: no
“ Biggs: you give an order to your captain. Can you repeat What you said ?
“ Col. Childers: I can‟t remember.
“ Biggs : you said waste the mother‟s fuckers.
“ Col. Childers: YES, I said it. I can‟t stand by losing marines just to follow
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These fucking rules.”
Until now, Maj. Biggs succeeds to a great extent to make Col. Childers the only responsible
for this slaughtery. His nervousness beside the dirty language he uses in the courtyard give the
judge an impression that the incident is a unilateral decision. As far as Whitehouse is
concerned, It is amply shown that US government has nothing to do with the incident and
therefore USA cannot be responsible for the action of one man. This is , exactly, what Maj.
Biggs is looking for.
Above all, although Col. Childers has distinguishably served US army for thirty-two
years, it remains nothing before the US political interest. The need to preserve strong relation
with Arab countries forces US to use Col. Childers as a scapegoat to save its face. Obviously,
the political implications are too vast to cover in such an examination but it is important to
note the film has been made essentially to brighten the foreign policy of USA in middle-east.
1-3-2 The Aspects of Arab Hatred to Americans :
Rules of Engagement is one of the strongest films whose raison d’étre is to show
deliberately how much the Arabs hate Americans. Indeed, the release of this film has
promoted fears and hatred between the two nations. It is true that Arabs have always been
represented as oppositionists of American policy in the east ; however, in Rules of
Engagement , the filmmaker utilizes different visual and emotional devices to represent the
Arabs in general and Yemenites in particular as enemies of USA. This paper will address the
different aspects of Arab hatred towards Americans.
First of all, the regular protests of the Yemenites beside the American embassy,
understood as American, depict their refusal of their existence over their territory. As a part of
its foreign policy, USA starts binding relations with far middle-east countries like Yemen;
however, such a strategy faces strong opposition from Arab people who have bloody
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memories with US marines. In the film, the crowds of Arab demonstrators repeatedly shout at
the American ambassador. They say “ America, America, no peace , no peace , no peace with
Yemen”. These words strongly signpost their extreme hate to Americans. Moreover, this
demonstration is not peaceful that day. There are snipers on the roofs shooting at the
American flag. Symbolically, this can imply that they are totally against the presence of
Americans over their territories. Besides, the Yemenite government is also shown as a fake
confederate. Although the demonstrators open fire and throw the embassy with sporadic
bombs, they do not get involved to protect the ambassador. On contrary , they come till the
marines leave and take out the arms of the demonstrators. This is an attempt to make USA
responsible for the crime and as a result to distort the image of USA.
In addition, Hodges‟ visit reveals a lot of hatred to Americans. Even if it remains less
than forty-eighty hours, the trip to San‟a , where the massacre supposedly takes place, helps
Hodges to be aware that these people intensely abhor Americans. While wandering in the
streets of San‟aa , the Yemenite do not welcome his presence among them. The first pattern of
their hatred appears from the eyes of their women. William Friedkin‟s camera constantly pans
the different looks of hate and detest. More to the point, in the narrow streets of San‟aa ,
Hodges is exposed to various kinds of racial hatred. When he is walking peacefully in a very
narrow street , he respectfully averts some women coming in front of him. Unfortunately,
these women pull him aside the walls ; all of a sudden, a number of men come to him and put
heavy blame on him. They accused him of sexual harassment. A close-reading of this scene
shows that the entire people , be them civilians, politicians, or militants, have no kind of love
to Americans. Their abhorrence is deeply rooted in their hearts. Therefore, it has become
difficult to make any kind of co-operation with these countries.
Lastly, the most important aspect of Arab intense detest to Americans is shown clearly
in the message left in the cassette tape found by Hodges. On his visit to Yemen, he finds the
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tape in many places. The first place is at the ruins of the embassy , the police station, then the
hospital. Hodges gets very surprised when he remarks that the streets of San‟aa is literally
strewn with the cassette. When he translates the title of the tape , he recognizes that this
widespread cassette is a call for Jihad. In other words, the content of the tape is to urge
Yemeni people to kill all Americans , be them civilians or militants. This becomes clear when
the doctor comes to the court room and translates the words of the speaker which are as
follows “call on every Muslim who believes in God...to kill Americans and their allies, both
civilian and the military…. to kill Americans is a duty”. At this moment, the court becomes
aware that the US army must be serious with these people because they are not innocent. As a
result, the Yemeni territories are regarded as a breeding ground for terrorist not as a partner in
war on terror.
To conclude, it is taken for granted the entire film is emphasizing many different
aspects of hate to Americans , if not, the film itself is a vivid aspect of this hate. Indeed, the
above patterns are only brief synopsis of the tension that is lived between the two nation. The
coming will thoroughly elaborate on more aspects.
1-3-3 Arab Stereotypes in Rules of Engegement :
William Friedkin has exceeded the line of the previous filmmakers. It is widely known
that Hollywood has vilified the image of Muslims and Arabs. Rules of Engagement , however,
has blatantly misrepresented and dehumanized the Arab figure in a manner that can distort the
Americans‟ perception of the Arab world at whole. Many cinematic devices have been
utilized to represent the Arabs as exotic, violent, and extreme. Therefore, they prove
dangerous in their implications. The focus, then, of this part is to mark long pauses at each
misrepresentation of the Arab figure.
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At the beginning, the film , under analysis, depicts the Arabs as violent creatures. In
Rules of Engagement, there are different scenes which emphasize the fact that they lack any
sense of humanity. In a time when American ambassador allows the Yemenites to protest
peacefully , they react more violently. The ambassador‟s son asks his mother a very innocent
question “Mum, Why are they shouting?”. She replies “they are asking for their rights”? In
effect, the mother shows a brilliant image of American tolerance that is faced by the Arab
hostility. Even worse, the demonstrators exploit the absence of police to start expressing their
violent characteristics differently. As a first aspect, the whole crowd is shown chanting,
waving slogans anti-American. Also, within few seconds, they start an unprovoked attack that
results in the murder of the ambassador‟s bodyguards and three US marines. More
importantly, the scene of demonstration emphatically indicates that Arab people are too
aggressive. The special effects used in this scene like the numerous explosions, the sound of
the bullets, of Molotov cocktail create a horrible atmosphere of chaos and violence.
Therefore, the permitted protesters are nothing more than a number of villains.
Additionally, the portrayal of the Arab child is enormously unfavorable. As far as
children are concerned, they are also portrayed as vicious, hateful and murderous. Still in the
demonstration, the Yemeni children are seen armed. One of the most powerful scenes which
stresses this negative portrayal is the little that loses her leg. When Hodges firstly looks at her,
he feels sympathy to her. However, he later on discovers that the little girl is armed and opens
fire at US marines. Few moments later, when Hodges wanders around the hospital, he meets
that little girl again. At this time, he kindly approaches her. He says “ hello, what‟s your
name” caressing on her hair. However, he violently reacts to him by saying “ you are a
murder, murder”. Just at the doorstep of the hospital, another young boy looks victoriously at
Hodges and uses his fingers to show a gun. Connotatively, the Arab child is a future terrorist;
he is too eager to take revenge and ready to be involved in any battlefield against the
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westerners. This last idea is amply established at the scene of the demonstration. In spite of
their early age, the Yemeni children show no sign of fear from the horrible atmosphere of
hostility. On contrary, they smile gloriously and sucking their lollilop. That is, the filmmaker,
unfortunately, , uproots the innocence of the Arab child and associates him with terrorism.
Furthermore, Rules of Engagement connect the Yemenite society with all that is exotic
and alien. The film is very rich of the different facets that make the Yemeni people seem
strange . Initially, one of the most essential elements of this unfair portrayal is the dress worn
by all the Yemenites. When Hodges firstly steps at the Yemeni soil, he gets surprised at the
costumes of the men. The male characters are dressed in kuffiyehs, turbans and some are
equipped with daggers. These are cultural elements that are totally foreign to the American
society. Besides, the costume can imply violent dimensions. Although these men are civilians,
they have daggers which means that they are ready to wage bloody fights and confrontations.
The viewer cannot forget the scene which shows these men dancing with their daggers in a
dangerous way. Another aspect of exoticism in the film is the contradiction between the what
the Yemenites believe in and their behavior. For many Americans, niqab is a sign of a deep
religious devotion. Nonetheless, in the film women in black niqab are seen opening fire and
attacking the Americans. That is to say, Everyone in Yemen is complicit in the anti-American
violence. Farther, apart from the doctor and the handicapped little girl hobbling in the streets,
all characters wear traditional clothes. So, the American viewer looks at these peoples as alien
if not primitive and backward. Clearly, the use of all these visual devices is to convey a sense
of the binary opposition “US” vs “ Other”.
Ultimately, deception is a common characteristic among all the Arabs. In this
American war movie, all characters are involved in the anti-American conspiracy. The veiled
women are considered to be the first traitors. When marines terminate their mission, they take
out the arms from the corpses and start screaming in grief. Based on this scenery, the
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international community intensely condemns the US government and considers it as a war
crime. Likewise, the visit of Hodges unveils many realities about this nation. Almost
everyone he encounters lies to him. When he goes to the police station which is responsible
for the protection of the embassy, the Yemeni police deceive him. The following conversation
shows the different lies of the police:
“ Hogdges : why didn‟t the police go to the embassy ?”
“ The police officer : the demonstration was peaceful”
“ Hodges : did you find any arms among the corpses ?
“ The police officer: No”
It is important to note that the officer speaks very aggressively to Hodges; it is an indication
that he is not welcomed in the office. The same scenario goes with the chief of the tribe. He
also gives a falsified narration. He says “ the US marines were first to open fire to the mob”.
Thus, the whole nation is a nation of liars and traitors.
In conclusion , it is of paramount significance to note that the film is full of racial
prejudices of Arabs and Muslims. The above analysis has put stress on the representation of
Arabs and Muslims as violent terrorists, villains, alien, and traitors. Indeed, another
examination can reveal more stereotypes about the entire nation.
1-3-4 The Misrepresentation of The Oriental Space :
Rules of Engagement is one of the films which tends to „exoticise‟ the oriental space.
Apart from the natural intrinsic feature like desert, camels, and horses, the film emphatically
constructs the Oriental space with orientalist essence. Indeed, the Special Forces intervention
and the visit of Hodges unveil many aspects that represent Yemen as an exotic space. This
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can be brilliantly seen through the analysis of the following places : the embassy, San‟aa, and
ultimates the hospital,
At the beginning , the US embassy old building exemplifies the backwardness of
Yemen . Politically; it is a convention to have an ambassador ; however , the place where the
US embassy is situated falls below the expectation of the American viewer; for him, the
embassy belongs to the American soil. Nevertheless, it is located in a remote desert where it is
hard to find the basic natural needs. Moreover, the embassy is similar to an old „saharian‟
castle. It is constructed by rocks and sand-like cement. This is ,indeed, an offence to the
American government. It is an aspect of anti-American presence in the region. Also, These
authentic features of the orient give the impression that civilisation jumps over this country.
In addition to this , the embassy is equipped with very old technological devices. For
example, the phone used by the ambassador is no longer used in the U.S.A. This symbolically
shows the backwardness of this country.
Additionally, San‟aa is a real manifestation of the misrepresentation of the oriental
space. Since his arrival, Hodges , the lawyer of Col.Childers, wanders inside and outside the
streets of the city. When he firstly steps, he recognizes a huge gap between USA and San‟aa .
The fact that there are camels beside cars is a strange sight. Hodges couldn‟t believe such
contradictions. Moreover, while wandering , all Yemeni men are dressed in their traditional
garb. Thus, this Arabic attire is a distinguishing feature of their backwardness. Furthermore,
to hold a dagger is a very important tradition in Yemen. It is almost a must. Such a tradition
makes Hodges doubt in the innocence of those Arabs. A dagger is a striking signifier of the
intention to murder. So , if the majority of men hold this weapon , it means that violence
prevails in the whole city. He also suggests that they might they fight against each other- he
means the natives- what about the other enemies. This is the starting point of his belief that
his friend was obliged to open fire against the demonstrators. Additionally, San‟aa is
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supposed to be the capital city of Yemen. Customarily, a capital city of any country , be it
developed or developing, is distinguished by many features of organization, modernity and
progress. In this film , however, all the sights taken by camera show that San‟aa is no more
than an oasis in the orient desert. This is well illustrated in their narrow streets and the
different field of palms all over the city.
At last, San‟aa unique hospital emphasize the image of primitiveness. Because it is the
only hospital in the city, it is crowded with the injured people , men , women and children. All
of them are in one single room. Some even share the same bed. Indeed, this chaotic
atmosphere in the hospital reflects the immense disorder that exists within this primitive
society. Even worse, there are no nurses in the hospital; there is only one doctor. Moreover,
the hospital is not fit out with the necessary equipment. This results in the death of many
injured people. Supposedly, the hospital should be the most important place; in Yemen, it is
only a garage. In this respect , the film strongly asserts that the orient is a primitive place that
lacks all means of modernity and where people still use camels to move from one place to
another. Obviously, The capital city of Yemen is shown as a space at the early stages of
development.
In conclusion , Rules of Engagement associates the oriental space with primitiveness
and backwardness and many other aspects of exoticism. The negative depictions of the city,
and its facilities position the region back at the early stages of development. Essentially, such
a misrepresentation is both a re-call to neo-imperialism and an assertion of the need of the
entire nation to be civilized.
1-3-5 The West As Place of Justice :
The movie ,under study, accentuates on depicting the west as the perfect place for
justice. If the orient is characterized by hatred towards the west, the west is on contrary an
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environment that is based on justice and democracy. One of the nobel missions of the west is
to increase the opportunity for the peaceful conflict resolution. Thus, when Col. Childers
commits this war crime -the incident of demonstrator, Maj. Mark demands the court to shift
the total responsibility on Childers. So, justice is emphasised as a western political icon
through the flouring characters: Maj. Mark Biggs and the child Justin.
To start with, Mark Biggs keeps defending the Arab demonstrators throughout the
film. Since he knows the incident, Mark decides to save American reputation by admitting the
colonel Childers the full conviction of massacre. For him, he is the only responsible for this
incident. To open fire against civilians is not an aspect of western civilization. When he
conducts the investigation, he meets Mr. Sokal . This latter asserts him that Whitehouse gives
no orders to wage a battlefield in Yemen. For this reason, he devotes his efforts to gather all
the necessary evidence to prove the accusation of Col. Childers. On the other side, the
Yemenite officers try to change the real scenario. When Hodges asks the police officer “why
did you leave and let the demonstrators beside the embassy”. He replies “the demonstrators
was peaceful, so, there was no need to spend the whole day there”. Indeed, it is not true. The
demonstrators have gums and bombs and they attack the embassy. In this regard, Col.
Childers has to open fire. He has no other choice. Such a contradiction between Maj. Mark
and the Arab officer indicates the film maker‟s emphasis on the note that the west plays to
spread justice; whilst, the Orient is still characterized with deception and evil.
Moreover, the children of Mrs. Mourain is a symbol of the western commitment to
protect justice all over the world. Mrs. Mourain‟s Ron‟s name is Justin. A semiotic reading of
this name indicates that justice is a deep-rooted convention in the west and it will remain a
principle that all westerners will die for, man, women and even children. Col. Childers to save
Justin and his family implies the good intentions of US Marines whose first responsibility is
to protect the world from all evil doers. In the other region, the Orient child has no access to
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such noble concept. The film shows that among the demonstrators, there are children who
shoot the embassy and the Marines. Thus, the Arab child is depicted as murderous and savage
In this respect, the western child is a representative of justice whilst the Orient child is a
representative of violence and savagery. Obviously, the ambassador‟s child amplifies the role
of the west to keep justice in the world.
To conclude, the above discussion of Maj. Mark and the child Justin provides an
illustration of the well know construction of dichotomies. Rules of engagement conducts the
viewer to construct the Orient in all that is contradicts the West.
1-3-4 The Arab Women As a Terrorist:
For many years, Hollywood has associated the image of the Arab women with over
sexuallity and belly-dancing. However, due to many geopolitics changes, the Arab women
has become an obscure figure. This movie is a manifestation of the new negative portrayal of
the Arab women. Many scenes demonstrate the engagement of women in the terrible assault
of the US embassy. Many times, veiled women are seen shouting , fanatical slogans and firing
automatic slogans.
.
As a first feature, Rules of Engagement depict The Yemenite women as fanatics. It is
important to note that at the beginning the film excludes the Arab women. In most scenes, the
Yemenite women do not speak. The voice of the women is heard only in two scenes. The first
is at the moment when marines open fire and kill their men. At this moment, women in black
niqab start screaming and shouting. The second time is when they meet Hodges; they
ejaculate very strong insults that show their extreme hatred to the West. For example “ killer,
disbeliever ..”. Apart from that, the women are silent ,however, their silence is accompanied
with many aspects of violence illustrated in many aspects. First, the looks of the Yemenite
women are strange and frightening. When Hodges discusses the details of the incident with a
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Yemenite man, his wife gives them tea. Before she leaves, she looks at Hodges exerting evil
influence through her eyes. As a result, Hodges gets embarrassed and couldn‟t formulate a
well-constructed question. Moreover, while wandering in the streets, Hodges confronts many
women in their tradition niqab. Remarkably, when he is face-to-face with them, the women
do not give a spare space instead, they cause him to move on the other side. While conducting
his investigation, some conspire on Hodges. They attempt to touch him by shoulders to accuse
him of sexual harassment. In fact, they succeed to do that; so many men of the tribe join them
and start shouting at Hodges and spitting on him. Such behaviors can project the intense
hatred Arab women have to the westerners. Clearly, despite her silence, the Yemenite woman
acts violently against the westerners.
Furthermore, the Arab woman is involved in terrorism. The film reflects many visual
percepts, there women act as fantastic. In the first place, women are among the demonstrators.
Not only do they shout but they open fire as well. The marines and the embassy staff are the
target of many veiled women. Semiotically, their veil hides everything but their thirst to
western blood. Again, when snipers open fire, many mothers witness this confrontation. They
are side by side with the sniper. They even bring their children to witness the battlefield in
spite of their young age. This suggests that the major roles of women in terrorist acts is to
spur men into greater action and expression of their courage. Moreover, they are the
responsible for feeding terrorism to their youngsters. The Yemenite women are also callers
for violence against westerners. Hodges notices many women distributing audiotapes that
recommend the necessity to wage wars and terrorist acts against Americans. Obviously,
women seem to be out of the issue of terrorism. However, the film is an accusation of the
Arab women of its involvement in the war on terror.
In brief, the movie is a powerful portrayal of the new negative image of the Arab
women. From a cultural perspective, Arab women is scarcely seen in the street; nevertheless,
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when it comes to exerting aggression towards the Americans, the women are allowed to
protest, shout, fight and even open fire to them. Really, the images of women in this film are
very stereotypical.
2- The Various Aspects of The Unhybrid Space :
It is important to mention at the beginning of this part that the preceded films are by
means not the only offender. The range of these films is too broad and far to be covered in
one single study. During the ten recent years, a new wave of Arab filmmakers has emerged as
a challenger of Hollywood process of Hollywood-izing the Arab character in the American
popular film.
The Arab filmmakers have come together to think that the it is the right moment to
start producing a new category of films which highlights the challenges of the Arab American
living in USA. This community of the American society has never been represented as
ordinary people respecting law , doing their job, and enjoying life peacefully. Indeed, popular
films imprint the American audiences with various negative portraits that influence their
relation with the Arab at the outdoor.
Therefore, many Arab filmmakers decide to produce new films whose main purpose is
to do their best to correct this bias. The major themes of their films are to raise the issue that
films , full of Arab and Muslim stereotyping, obstruct the social process of Multiculturalism
that prevails the American society. Indeed, these films extremely deepen the problem of antiArab and anti-Muslim stereotyping. Such stereotypes, unfortunately, have not existed only
within the walls of Hollywood studios. They have become deep-rooted beliefs and attitudes in
the US citizen mind. That is, the co-existence of Arabs and Muslims with Christians and
Jews in one single harmonious space is hard to achieve because the values of the former are
totally strange and exotic for the latter.
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2-1 AmericanEast :
AmericanEast is a 2007 American film about the situation of Arabs and Muslims
living in USA after the tragic events of 9/11. the movie is directed by Hesham Isawi. It
introduces many figures from the Orient like Anthony Aziz, Sayed Badreya, and Erick Avar.
The story centers around one major character and his sufferings in United States of
America. Being an Arab, Mustapha decides to open a restaurant specialized in Falafel, an
eastern dish. The movie starts with a discussion between Mustapha and his son about Islam.
At the airport, while Mustapha is waiting for his cousin, his son disappears. He unconsciously
begins shouting while asking for his son in the crowd. This leads FBI agents to capture him
and drive him to an investigation. It is only one example of many other incidents which
powerfully portray the misunderstandings of Arab-Muslim community?
Finally, although the film shows many aspects of the great tension among Americans
and Muslims, it involves some hints of hope. The decision of Mustapha to open a new
restaurant in collaboration with his Jewish friend implies the hope of a peaceful multicultural
society.
2-1-1 The Mistreatment of Arabs in USA:
AmericanEast remains one the most powerful portrayal of the Arab-American
challenges in the American society. Although it has been rejected by Hollywood film
industry, the film succeeds to a great extent to transmit the message of the increasing numbers
of Arabs and Muslims living in USA. The film impressively treats the different aspects of the
mistreatment of Arabs inside the American society.
Firstly, Muslims have been viewed with suspicion due to the numerous stereotypes in
US media . The film starts with a scene when Mustafa is on way to meet his cousin at the
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airport . While there, Mustafa‟s son gets lost his in the crowd at the airport. As a father, he
gets confused and starts shouting „Ahmed… Ahmed Oh Allah Allah‟ in a loud voice . Such a
reaction is misunderstood by the police and the passengers who think that it is a terrorist
attack. At this moment, a Japanese-American woman gets scared and starts shouting.. Indeed,
the fact that Mustafa grows beard makes all people to identify him as a Muslim fanatic. Thus,
Mustafa is brought to FBI for further investigation. The FBI agent , Steven, asks Mustafa to
justify some of his possession like Koran, money transfer papers and other things. The
following conversation serves to support the idea that a Muslim behaviour in the American
society is always suspected :
“ Steve : Could you identify these things, Mr. Merzouk ?”
“ Mustafa: Well Koran I listen, is that a crime now ?”
“ Steve : Koran, these recits?”
“ Mustafa: Money transfer, donations”
“ Steve: To Sharee‟a Asssociation. You support terrorist financially???!!”
Of course, Mustafa denies this accusation and tries to explain that it is an Islamic teaching no
more or less. Later on , Steve starts talking about the aspect of the Egyptian culture : minerate,
pyramids and asks Mustafa a question:
“ Steve : you have a rich culture; imagine if some Christian fundamentalists
Destroy these cultural aspect. How would you look at an American speaking
English at Cairo airport when the alert is red.”
Mustafa gives a long face when he is listening to the words of Steve. He gets aware that the
situation is not convenient for revealing the Arab identity. The last words of Steve is a piece
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of advice “ don‟t speak Arabic in public places.” Indeed, it is a strong indication of the
horrible atmosphere the Arab community lives after 9/11 events. The mother tongue of Arabs
is itself a crime.
Furthermore, Muslim artists are victims of their religious background. Many
Muslim actors are mistreated within the cinematic circles. In AmericanEast, Omar , a taxi
driver, is very enthusiastic to succeed as an Actor and become A Hollywood star.
Unfortunately, because of his race , all his roles in films are related to fundamentalism.
Because of his enthusiasm to become famous ,Omar accepts these roles. Especially , many
directors promise him other more important roles. In the last film , Omar gets informed that
he will play the role of a policeman in the film. This is the time Omar has been waiting for a
long time. Sadly enough, in the studio Omar gets shocked .A young American guy takes this
role to some unknown reasons. At this moment, Omar becomes a real terrorist , he attacks the
film maker and kidnap all the actors in the studio. The scene closes at the death of Omar by a
gun fire. Clearly , Omar‟s roles in films as a terrorist is a mistreatment of the Arab artist .
In brief, the movie is an attempt to shed light on the numerous struggles that Arab
Americans face in their life in uncle Sam‟s land .In reality, These struggles leave no chance
for a peaceful co-existence between the diverse ethnics in USA.
2-1-2 The Effects of Media Bias Upon The Arab Community:
It is important to mention that the Americaneast is a realistic representation of the
different aspects of the atrocious atmosphere where Arab community has been living in since
the dreadful events of 9/11. The film indeed is very rich of a variety of powerful scenes that
stress the fact that there is a broad range of challenges for the Arab-Muslim community in
USA. Truly, there have been serious political events , within the first decade of this
millennium, that have entirely disrupted the bond between the West and the East. Meanwhile,
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the western media outlets have waged another battle using some real events as pretexts for
more distortion of Arab image in the American society. All these factors overlap to produce a
social context full of extreme brutality and enmity.
First of all, the film has proved how violent the US media is with Arabs and Muslims
after the events of 9/11. The first shocking aspect is the declaration of red alert. This
connotatively indicates that the USA is under attack. In this regard, one may ask himself
about where are these enemies? Who are they ? Are they over our territories ? This means
that the existence of Arabs in USA is an imminent danger to all Americans. This is backed up
by huge media campaign. In addition, While Mustafa is driving to the airport, news on radio
talks about some terrorist attacks and arrest of some Americans of Arab origin who intend to
bombard some governmental buildings. Later on , when Mustafa comes back to his falafel
café shop, he talks about his experiences; he says “ I am feeling to explode”. His Iraqi friend
replies “ We „ve enough explosions.” Immediately, Sam turns on TV to watch that there have
been bombardments at the American embassy in Damascus. Obviously, such portrayals are
vivid images of the whole atrocity which the whole society witnesses.
Likewise, the ghastly media campaign has made the Muslim civil rights abridged and
their faith is under attack. AmericanEast successfully illustrates the different restrictions that
American Muslims undergo when they want to practice their religious teaching. In this
regard, many Muslims have been deprived from the possibility to practice their daily prayers
in Mosques. For this reason, they attempt to pray in their friends‟ houses. Mustafa , who is
very religious, welcomes his brothers to say their prayers in his restaurant . Many times , a
number of bearded Muslims are seen coming in the restaurant to pray. In still another aspect
of this restriction, due to the horrific events of 9/11, Muslim mosques become under
surveillance. When Mustafa goes to Friday ceremony with his son, there are numerous
policemen all around the mosque. Moreover, at the entrance, Mustafa has to show his identity
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card in order to get access. In addition, the pillar of Islam known as zakat, alms, is also under
sever control. Mustafa is accused of financing a terrorist association in Egypt. One Friday
afternoon, FBI agent Steve is waiting for Mustafa in the restaurant. Because of the intense
atmosphere , Mustafa gets handcuffed and is taken to police station. In here, the FBI agent
gets shocked since he knows the real reasons of Mustafa‟s various money transfer documents.
Here is the conversation:
“ Steve: Mr. Merzouk, you lied. Your last donation wasn‟t zakat. Mr. Merzouk
You „re accused of financing Shari‟aa Foundation.
“ Steve: No, money was sent to my cousin. I had to buy back my father‟s land.
It was a loan. (crying)
Clearly, all these boundaries have been mentioned to indicate that it is difficult to be a
Muslim in America. The concept of America as a tolerant or a melting pot country has
become ink on paper only
Finally, the movie displays the bias media coverage of Muslims and how it affects
the Americans perception. Omar , the young ambitious Arab actor, has always dreamt of
being one of the outstanding Hollywood star . Indeed, many directors confess that he has
qualities of a professional actor. Unfortunately, his race is an impediment; it makes him
recommended in roles of terrorism. For this reason, he has been recognized by many
Americans as a fanatic. The incident of the restaurant is a very powerful example of the
brainwashing process that US media heavily exerts on the American population. When Omar
asks for his coffee, some guys doubt in him. The following chat shows how Americans
become unable to distinghiush between the real world and the Hollywood world :
“ the guy: is that bag yours ?”
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“ Omar: Ahh, you think I am a terrorist and the bag is full of bombs”
“ the guy: mmm … yes.(in a frightening tone)
“ Omar : Yes, if you keep here, I will explode the whole shit ”
After that , the guy runs away to tell the police about Omar‟s plot. Truly, the police
understand the situation of Omar but they still accuse him of frightening the an American.
Further, When camera points at TV in Mostafa‟s restaurant, the majority of channels are
American local channels and the large deal of news is related to terror acts in USA or its
allies. Such coverage has largely been criticised by Morad as many other Arabs. They know
well that the first victim of this bias is the Arab community living in USA. Obviously, the
immense prejudice held through the US media aggravates the situation of Arab and Muslims
living in USA.
. 2-1-3 The Aspects of The Hostile Relation Between Arabs & Jews :
The relationship between Arabs and Americans is characterized by extreme tension.
the aspects of this atmosphere are sufficiently portrayed in the movie under study. Indeed, one
of the principle causes of this strained situation is the wide array of negative images in
Hollywood films. These aspects will be discussed under the analysis of the relation between
Murad and Sam, Salwa and Dr,Westerman and eventually between Mustafa‟friends and
Sam‟s family members.
At the beginning, Murad and Sam's continuous verbal assault are a reflection of the
extreme tension between Americans and Jews. Although Murad is westernized in his
mindset, he remains patriotic. Whenever he watches the news that distorts the image of Arabs
and Muslim, he starts insulting the Jews.The worst moment for Murad is when he sees Sam.
For him and for many other Muslims, the the increasing propaganda against them is
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supported by the Jewish lobby in USA. Thus, for him, all Jews tend to distort his image and
Sam is no exception. Meanwhile, Sam does not hide his hatred towards Murad. He often
reacts in the same way,for him ,it is the increasing number of Muslims in USA that produces
terrorism. He strongly believes that terrorism is a deep-rooted feature of Islam and Arab
people. In this regard, although Mustafa tries to befriend Sam, the impaired atmosphere
between the two races remains as a hinderance to a whole hybrid space.
Moreover, the hostile atmosphere between the Arabs and American impedes the
success of Salwa's love. Though Salwa represents a modern figure of the Arab women and
Westerman is an open minded American, their love is a total failure. During this time, when
hatred is increasing between American and Arabs ,Salwa is aware that her brother cannot
permit her to be engaged in such a marriage .For him, it is his responsibility to find a good
husband for his little sister. Dr , Westerman ,certainly, falls below his criteria. For this reason,
Salwa sadly, decides to leave her love , to avert any clashes between the two . For her ,there
are enough tension and conflicts ; so, to continue is only a failure and it is better to stop it
now. Briefly, salwa's failure is a result of the hostile atmosphere between, between "us" and
"them ".
Finally, Mustafa's partnership with Sam faces great obstacle because of their different
racial backgrounds, Mustafa and his Jewish partner find great difficulty to convince their
families about this co-operation. On the one hand, Mustapha is heavily criticized by Imad and
Fikry. They remind him of the devilish characteristics of the Jewish people. Betrayal,
greediness are the major characteristics of these people. Thus, to be involved with him in such
a business is very dangerous.On the other hand, Sam's family refuses this partnership. His
father warns him from any engagement because Mustafa might have some affiliations with
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Muslim terrorists . Al that time, they will loose all their money remarkably, both Mustafa's
friends and Sam's family base their refusal on the worldwide cultural serotypes that
overwhelm the American film industry. Hence, Mustafa's project to build a restaurant is a farfetched dream.
At the end ,American East succeeds to construct a real image of the effects of cultural
stereotyping the development of the relation between the different characters thought the film
contributes to reffet this deferent aspects of tense relation.
2-1-3 The Muslim Youngster and Cultural Stereotyping :
The process of cultural stereotyping affects the future generation of Muslims, although
Mustafa tries to raise his children according to the Islamic teaching. Unfortunate, the process
of media braingwashing is stronger than his efforts. This problem is illustrated under the
analysis of two characters : Mohammed and Leila.
Actually, Mustafa's son rejects his cultural heritage because he believes what he sees
on TV. At the beginning .Mohammed asks his father very striking questions: " Why am I a
Muslim ? " Are Muslims terrorism ? These questions foreshadow the doubt that Mohammed
has about his religion. Later on, this doubt is translated into very negative reactions that
totally break our hero. first, at the airport, he goes to hold a balloon on whitch Jesus is written
.Second, she refuses to pray with his father Finally, he cries out at his father‟s face „I don't
want to be a Muslim:" don't want to be a terrorist". Despite his young age, Mohammed is
aware of what is circulating in media.
Further, Mustafa's young daughter, Leila, belives in the negative image of Arabs and
Muslims. Interestingly, Leila is not a good Muslim, she drinks, she smokes and she is
represented as any American. In fact, the problem is not related to this, when her friend asks
her about these problems that exist between the Arabs and Americans, she tells her the whole
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story using a cartoon montage .This montage is based on the idea that Muslims are invaders
and barbaric. The fact that she narrates her own history from a cartoon produced by
Hollywood film makers indicate the passivity of Leila in receiving the news. Clerarly,
Mustafa's daughter is a victim of the media bias coverage .
Lastly, the negative portrayal of Arabs and Muslims in mass media has been instilled
in the minds of the coming Muslim generation. Mustafa‟s children remain concrete examples
of this phenomenon that lead the children of Arab-American community to be fully alienated
2-1-4 Glimpses of Hope :
Truly, AmericanEast is a very powerful respresentation of the different hardships that
Arabs and Muslims have suffered since the dreadful assaults of 9/11. Still, the film implicitly
carries a different discourse. Indeed, a close-reading of the interaction between the various
characters can sufficiently indicate the hidden message of The AmericanEast . This message
is very positive since it provides the viewer with hope and optimism about the relation
between the West and the East. Love , business, and friendship are strong signals through
which the director send this message of hope.
To begin with , romance , despite his horrible atmosphere, has been present in the
film. Although Omar belongs to a different culture , he falls in love with a blonde American
lady. Kate does not consider race in his relation. She believes that it is possible for all nations
to live peacefully in one place side by side. When she is in the salon, she meets Salwa and
tells her “ it is important to love someone no matter his race is; what is important is his soul
and heart..hh”. Later on , Salwa starts to talk about her love story with the American doctor
who is interested in having a serious relation with her. At this moment, Salwa completely
approves the words of Kate. The difference in race cannot be an obstruct towards their love.
Remarkably, the involvement of such love affairs in the films is a revealing of hopefulness.
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The film director uses these two love stories as a vehicle to carry the message that it is
possible for cultures to get interacted in one single space and in a peaceful way.
Also, even if they belong to two different cultures whose common history is full of
enmity, Mustafa and Sam collaborate to settle down an economic project. Indeed, both friends
seem to love and respect each other. They both accept their different beliefs and most of their
discussion is about the ways they can do to develop their business. In fact, such a partnership
confronts many impediments due to some cultural clichés inherited through history and
circulated by media outlets. On the one hand, Mustafa has been strongly opposed by his
friends. Mourad stressed that to do business with a Jew is a betrayal of the Arab cause. He
believes that Jews are the responsible of the widespread hatred all over the American media.
He says “ look at the shit of news and movies…all accuse us of terror.. the fucking
Hollywood is financed by Jews and you want to fund to that”. On the other hand, Sam‟s battle
is with family. They also decline any co-operation with Muslims. His father tells him that
Jews do not trust Muslims because they hate each other. He says “ a partnership like this is a
fake business…. add to that their support to terrorism.”. Fortunately, Sam and Mustafa have a
strong motivation. They challenge all these obstacles and found their business in USA. The
AmericanEast is a very symbolic name of the restaurant. It encapsulates the possibility of
both cultures to cohabit peacefully in a common area.
Finally, friendship is another element that binds characters together in a harmonious
way. The first model of this relation is Mustafa and Steve. It is true that Steve and Mustafa‟s
first meeting is under tension. Later on, Steve feels great sympathy to Mustafa when he
knows well the real reasons behind leaving Egypt. The best illustration of this is the fact that
Steve picks up Mustafa to his restaurant when he finishes his investigation. The looks of
sympathy, the smile are all hints of the possible bridge that might consolidate the bond
between the two poles. The second model is the relation of Terri and Leila Marzouk. These
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characters share many things in common. They are both interested in Rock music; their
common passion makes them approach to each other. When Terri asks Leila about the reasons
why Muslims destroy and kill innocent people, Leila tells her the whole story of the ArabIsraeli conflict. In here, it is important to mention that Sayed Badrya succeed to condense all
the events of the millennia into a cartoon montage .Their friendship makes the cultural and
racial differences loose. Their attachment paves the way to a deeper understanding to each
other and an open platform for discussion.
Finally, the movie , written and directed by Arabs and Muslims, is a part of a new
media movement. The aim behind is to fight back the numerous stereotypes that have been
inculcated in the Americans‟ perception. Sayed Badrya , indeed, succeed to escape many
stereotypes and at the same time leave enough space for the possibility to a further dialogue
between the East and West. His words “ Our destiny is in this country. We belive in it
Mohammed.” are clear enough to show their hope, belief, desire to create a common space
enough to hold everyone.
2-2 Amreeka :
Amreeka , which was released in 2009, is the first experience of Cherien Dabis in
cinema. It stars Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Yussuf AbuWarda, Joseph Ziegler, and Miriam Smith.
Amreeka „s time of releasing is very crucial. It was shoot after 9/11 terror attacks.
These events have been followed by a sharp propagandistic campaign in mass media. The
Arab-Americans has been profoundly affected more than any other community by this bias
campaign
Amreeka is a vivid documentation of the woeful experiences that many ArabAmericans suffer from after this black Tuesday. Muna Farah, a divorce Palestinian woman ,
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decides to leave Palestine due the increasing oppression that Israel exerts after the
construction of the wall. She thinks that life will be better in USA. When she arrives to
Illinois to live with her sister , she discovers that the situation in USA is much more
complicated than Palestine. The the discriminatory measures that Muna faces at the airport
forshadow the embitterness that characterizes life in USA. Thus, the relation between Arabs
and Americans falls below the expectation of Muna Farah. Little by litle , Muna begins to
recognize that she comes to USA at the wrong time. During her residency, many war have
been waged in Middle East accompanied by the a strong mediatic campaign that distorts the
image of Arabs. Thus, anti-Arab sentiment runs high.
In fact, Although Amreeka is the first feature from US filmmaker Cherien Dabis , the
film succeeds to powerfully depict the woes of the Arab-American community caused by the
wide defamation of Arabs in the fiction of Hollywood.
2-2-1 Hate Crimes And Discrimination Against Arabs:
Muna‟s dream of realizing a better life in USA has been collapsed at the beginning of
her stay with her sister. She gets fully aware that to be an Arab in USA at this crucial moment
is not easy. It is a real adventure that is characterized by all that is weird and unsupportable.
Throughout the film , the major concern is to provide the viewer with the aspects of this
hostile asmospher. These aspects can be discussed as follows : the anonymous threats, Nabil‟s
loss of patients, Mun‟s difficulties to find a job.
To start with, one of the hard realities that shock Muna is Nabil‟s reception of many
threatening letters. Because he is a well-known Arab doctor in USA, he has been the target of
many new “klu Klux”. It is a group of gangsters that organise acts of violence against the
Arab-American community. What is written is really very frightening. They say “We‟ll get
Saddam and we‟ll get you, too.‟‟ In this horrific atmosphere, Nabil and Muna‟s sister start
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shouting at each other. Muna asks Nabil to protect the family by a guard. Nabil, however,
totally refuses the idea. It is important to remark that Nabil still abides by his Arabic spirit
despite the fact that he belongs to the very early Arab immigarants in USA. He cannot accept
to host a strange man in his house. In here, Muna feels great pity and regret. She has never
thought that Arab-American community lives in this horrible situation. She could not believe
that Americans believe what they see in the American media and develop it into extreme hate
and enmity towards Arabs. One can remember her words to Fadi in Palestine when she first
receives her official papers. She said “ Fadi, we „ve got the chance to go to Uncle Sam land;
the place of democracy, human rights. WOW” she starts dancing with him.
Moreover, even if Nabil is a professional doctor, being an Arab post 9/11 , enormously
affects his career. While Muna is on way to her bed, she hears her sister speaking to her
husband about their financial status. Since the day of the events , many American doctors
carry on a series of propaganda to distort the reputation of Nabil who is regarded among the
best doctors in Illinois. Consequently, Nabil starts to lose his patients gradually from his
medical practice. That is to say, they are no longer ready to deal with him not because he is
not a good doctor but because he is an Arab. They think that all the money he gets will be sent
to Middle East to support terrorists. Indeed, such an increased climate of negativity facing
Arab-Americans has been supported by a vicious, sustained, and well-organised attack
through all the outlets of American media. As far as this media campaign is concerned, Muna
remains astonished due to the bias which she observes in US TV channels.
Finally, Employment discrimination is one of the most serious problems continuing to
plague Muna in USA during this particular period. Although she is a professional bank
manager that has an old experience in this field, Muna suffers a lot to find a job that is
convenient to her potentials. Because of her need, she accepts to take a job in a fast food
hamburger restaurant. In this place , Muna witnesses the real sufferings of the
Arab-
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American ordinary worker. This job makes Muna to languish in different forms of job
discrimination. Workplace harassment is another challenge that Muna has to face. Thus, the
restaurant has become a hostile work environment. In White Castle, the manager repeats
egregious negative comments about the performance of Muna. Most of these abusive
comments are based on the different racial background of Muna. This is well illustrated in the
manager‟s treatment with the co-worker of Muna who is Jewish. Despite his clear-cut
stupidity, the manager never blames him. Moreover, Muna‟s salary has been reduced at the
first months because of taxes. On the other hand, the Jewish worker is safe from all this. In
still another example, one of the most dramatic captions in Amreeka is the harassment that
Muna is exposed to when a number of adolescents come to the restaurant. They keep mocking
at her during their stay and at the end they cause her to fall on the ground. Such incidents
makes Muna ponder about Raghda‟s will to leave the country. She becomes aware that they
are unwelcome in USA.
Lastly, the numerous problems that have been stated above are only snapshots of many
others. Muna , as many other Arabs, get a real shock from what they witness while stepping at
the American land. Undoubtedly, the American dream collapses and Muna needs to
reorganize her agenda. She witnesses the real USA; the Promised Land remains only ink on
paper.
2-2-2 The Arab Students And The Face of Terror:
Because of the hostile atmosphere that is continually produced in US media, The
Arab-American student feel its effects. The long term of associating Muslims and Arabs with
Terrorism and violence has inculcated the idea that the Arab-American students are identified
by these two phenomena. Fadi , the only son of Muna, and Salma , the elder daughter of
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Raghda, suffer from anxiety, fear and anger that permeate the emotional depths of his
educational institution.
Firstly, war on terror has become a controversial issue in American classrooms. Many
Arab-American students struggle to defend the numerous misunderstandings that American
students say in their discussion about the topic. One day, Salma‟s teacher tackles the issue of
suicide-bombing in Iraq and Afghanistan as dangerous acts of terrorism. Immediately, Salma
responds to her teacher and say that it is only a type of resistance. Meanwhile, her American
classmate interrupts her and says that Americans are there not for occupation but to free Iraq
and save the Afghan people from the Taliban. Here is a caption of what is being said:
“ Salma: Imagine someone has invaded your country ; would you consider
Resistance an act of terrorism.”
“ A student : We don‟t see that. It is a bit different.”
“ Salma : No, that is not.
“ A student: My brother is there to give some freedom
“ Salam : if you see this , I am very sorry for you.”
Such a hot debate indicates to what extent the ordinary American citizen is impregnated with
numerous stereotypes. He believes all that is presented to him through American channels.
For Fadi, it is also the same. His Arabic features make him distinguished from other students.
Thus , whenever there is an issue about Arabs, terrorism, the teacher chooses him to answer.
Very often, Fadi answers him but he is extremely offended. He feels that his roots are a
barrier towards a full integaration. That is why, he is seen alone in most of the time. After
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Fadi tells Muna about this hostility and biased, she becomes aware that USA has become an
ethno-hierarchy country rather than a country of freedom, justice and democracy.
Secondly, Arab-American students feel a higher level of stress due to the wide array of
negative images of Arabs recycled by US media. Because American channels emphasise that
Arabs are violent , many young Americans act out in angry, combative ways. Fadi‟s
classmate repeatedly harasses him. Beside thei accus One day, Fadi decides to take revenge
from his racist classmate. Fadi attacks his classmate‟s car and damages the wheels.
Surprisingly, the American guy notices him. Few days later, the American attacks Fadi at
school and then they start fist-fighting. While they are fighting , the only insult that is uttered
at this moment is “ terrorist”. Such an insult increases the will of Fadi to become more violent
in his fight. What is remarkable in this incident is that the policemen do not consider it as a
fight of minors. Adversely, they consider it as an act of terror because they think that Fadi
might have affiliations to some terrorist cells. At this moment, Muna is totally broken. She
can never imagine that her innocent angel experiences this painful situation. She is now aware
more than any other time that hostility and bias are directed to Arabs more than any other
ethnic-diversity.
Thirdly, the desire to take revenge from the American guy exacerbates the situation of
Fadi. When he knows that the American guy causes his mother to fall down, he decides to
wage another fight with the American guy. At this time, the fight takes a serious case. The
American family considers as a terrorist attack. Their words in the police station indicate that
Fadi has extremist ideas since he always justifies the terrorist acts. Moreover, when the
American students write the word “ Alkada” on Salma‟s car, Fadi feels proud and keeps it.
Thus, his behaviour has been misinterpreted by the administration of school. They think that
he has affiliations with some terrorist cells. In this respect, Fadi has been accused of a terrorist
act. The American law , unfortunately, has become sever in such situation. At this time, the
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only American friend of Muna, the lawyer, comes to light and defend Fadi. His words in the
police stations inject new blood; Fadi can leave the police station on the condition that this
lawyer holds responsibility. The following conversation shows to what extent he feels
sympathy with Fadi:
“ The lawayer : Look ! he is a young boy of 16.”
“ The police : You know . This‟s a special case. And you know what is going
on outside.”
“ The lawyer: If this is the case, I can hold the responsibility.”
This victorious stand gives Muna much more hope to carry on her own life in America. She
becomes more enthusiastic to believe in her dreams and see America from another angle.
Truly, what Muna sees since her early arrival is not positive but her contact with this lawyer
changes her reading of the events. The final conversation with her son is very symbolic. It
strongly her strong will to prove herself in the American society. This conversation tries to
back up this idea:
“ Fadi : the reality is that we don‟t belong to this place”
“ Muna: If we don‟t belong ….. we have the right to be here like anybody else”
“ Fadi: This place sucks.
“ Muna : Every place sucks. If these boys bother, I want you to stand tall and
be proud of who your are.”
“ Fadi: So what ?
“ Muna : No. Teach yourself not to doubt in your own identity. Resist”
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In this context, Muna stronglt voices out what many Arab-American would say to the
American people. Her words are very expressive and wide-ranging of many hidden or
oppressed ideas of a large number of Arabs in America. Meanwhile, it is a message to the
whole world; this message will make the whole glob listen to their echoes of hardships.
On the Other hand, Dabis successfully involves a number of scenes and captions that
indicate the possibility for a better future between all social mosaic of America. The First one
can be seen by the intimacy that prevails in the relation between Salma and the black guy in
spite of their different races. Love again plays its role of unifying people regardless of their
origins. In addition, Muna and the lawyer are both divorced. Although the film does not
indicate openly their emotional attachment, it is amply clear through their mutual
understanding and desire to help and stand by each other. Moreover, the headmaster of Fadi‟s
school offers immense help to Fadi. He lets him study in the convenient class because he
recognizes his intelligence. Indeed, these aspects are very impressive. They all overlap to give
glimpses of hope.
To conclude, the movie really provides a huge number of realistic images. These
images powerfully shed light on the different sufferings that Arab-American students undergo
in his educational institutions. Dabis succeeds to develop the characters of Fadi and Salma to
reflect the woes of this particular stratum of the Arab-American community. Meanwhile, she
has developed a counter-discourse that opens new outlets of dialogue between these
communities.
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Conclusion
In short, this academic work is considered as an attempt to scrutinize the process of
cultural stereotyping of Arabs and Muslims in Hollywood film industry and analyse the
myriad influences of this process upon the Americans‟ perception. One of the major issues
of this research has been to prove that the widespread bias which Hollywood films abuses
towards the Arabs and Muslims for many decades has played a significant part in the
creation of an unhybrid space. It can be deduced then from this research that postcolonial
critics like Edward Said , Homi Bhabha, Ellah Shohat and many other cultural critics have
contributed to examine the different mechanisms that feature the relationship between the
coloniser and the colonised. Through the postcolonial concepts, media researchers succeed
to analyse the issues of representation and its relation to cultural stereotyping.
Moreover, Hollywood film industry and cultural stereotyping have been important
issues in postcolonial theory. Hollywood , indeed, is considered as cultural apparatus . It
plays an important role in the discursive formation whose dynamics are among the priorities
of postcolonial critics. Thus, to adopt postcolonial theory and cultural studies are a relevant
choice to this academic study. Especially, The films under study have dealt with the
implications of the cultural encounter between the East and The West. So, those films have
been analysed according to many different postcolonial perspectives.
For this reason, five films have been chosen as case studies. They have been split into
two classes. The first one is regarded as an exemplification of the orientalist discourse as
long as the films are rich of the stereotypical images of Arabs. Rules of Engagement (2000)
,The Kingdom (2007) , Traitor (2008 ) serve to back up this choice. The second class is
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about the depiction of the numerous aspects that characterise the current relation between the
East and the West . The best films ever produced in the recent decade are the following :
AmericanEast (2008) and Amreeka (2009).
As far as the results of this study is concerned, it can be said that the conventional role
of the orientalist discourse still operates in the modern American film industry. It has
adopted the same line of misrepresenting Arabs and Muslims. The first three films adopt the
same dynamics of stereotyping. They all depend on demonizing the Arabs and Muslims by
depicting them as fanatics and terrorism. For space , the selected films represent the Middle
East as a backward place which is full of terrorists and savage people except The
Kingdom(2007) which show SA as a modern place in terms of buildings and equipment.
Concerning gender, the three films agree upon the portrayal of the Arab as the silent Other
of the Arab men. They are always silent except when conflicts against the West are waged.
At this time, she voices out her right to defend her country. On the other hand , both
AmericanEast (2008) and Amreeka (2009) reflect the high tension that exits in the United
States of America as contact zone between the Arabs and Americans. Remarkably, the five
films, despite the numerous stereotypes and extreme tension they visualize, give some signs
of hope about a peaceful co-existence of the Arabs and Americans in one space.
Certainly, this study is far of being perfect. The study involves many limitations. For
example, the stereotyping of Arabs or the Orient can be discussed and analysed in singles
theses. In other words, each one of them can take one thesis or more. So , my study has not
covered those important elments sufficiently. There are still many things to say about each
one. Moreover, it is neccessary to mention that because of time constraint, many issues like
religion, culture, and politics have been neglected
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At the end, I have tried to make this research different from the previous work. In
order to realize this purpose, my study has drawn a link between the hollywood stereotypes
of Arabs and its effects upon the Arab-American community.
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Filmography :
Amreeka . Dir. Cherien Dabis Perf. Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia
Shawkat, Yussuf Abu-Warda . National Geographic Entertainment , 2009. Film.
AmericanEast. Dir. Hesham Issawi Perf. Sayed Badreya ,Tony Shalhoub as Sam Michael
Shalhoub Sarah Shahi Chritine Kuludjian Tim Guinee . Anant Singh , 2007. Film.
Rules of Engagement . Dir. William Friedrik. Perf Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L. Jackson and
Guy Pearce. 2000, Film
The kingdom, Dir. Peter Berg. Per. Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper and Jennifer Garner. Universal
Pictures, 2007. Film.
Traitor . Dir. Jeffrey Nachmanof . Per . Don Cheadle Guy Pearce and Said Taghmaoui.
Overture Films (US) Paramount Pictures , 2008. Film.
Bibliography :
Humez, Jean M., “Gender, Race and Class in Media - A Text Reader.” Sage Publications,
Thousand Oaks, London and New Dehli 2003 . Pdf file
Lewis, Reina. Gendering Orientalism. London: Routledge, 1996
Said, Edward . Orientalism . New York : Penguin, 1978.
Alaswad, Saleh. “Hollywood Shoots the Arabs : The Construction of The Arab in American
Culture” Diss . Temple University: 2000 print
Shaheen, Jack . Reel Bad Arabs : How Hollywood Vilifies A People. NY : OBP , 2001.
104
Shaheen , Jack. Guilty Verdicts of Arabs after 9/11 . Massachassette: OPB, 2008.
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Amjad Majd