Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People Paperback – December 2, 2014

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Dr. Shaheen's book in an eye-opener when it comes to exploration of the vilification of Arabs in Hollywood films, however it is a must read for all Americans. What's shocking is the consistency by which Hollywood has depicted Arabs as evil or backwards since the inception of film, and all of this prior to the events of 9/11. In example after example, Dr. Shaheen shows how Arabs are constantly depicted as terrorists, stupid, greedy, megalomaniacs, misogynists, backwards or just plain evil. Equally disturbing is the dearth of any positive Arab characters in films such as fathers, mothers, doctors or heros.

Dr. Shaheen doesn't make the argument that all portrayals of Arabs should be positive, just that there need be a balance. Like it or not, Hollywood's films contribute to perceptions throughout the world. Aside from the barrage on the self-esteem of young Arab-Americans, stereotypical portrayals such as this are dangerous as they justify violence and civil rights violations that will eventually affect all Americans.

To think this book only affects Arabs and Arab-Americans would be a mistake. Once civil liberties are violated for one group, others will follow. I highly recommend it.

Wow this book had me seated for days. And I could not put this book down it simply just gave answers to how this Hollywood culture had given Arabs and Islam a evil face. Long ago when going up, I always thought of why movies had made Arabs and Muslims look like they was all evil. But researching and surfing the net I came across this book and when found, I purchased this book. Also this book gives list of thousands of names for movies that had depicted Arabs and Muslims as evil villains. And gives description of every movie.

An excellent book that goes into depth about the hundreds of depictions of Arabs and Muslims in Hollywood film. Each listing has a brief synopsis of the movie and a relevant scene showing the trope. It's a good read, an easy read to follow, and evenhanded (it lists movies that have a positive depiction of Arabs or Muslims along with movies that are quite racist). It has a Best and Worst list as well, and the author makes a persuasive case.

Stereotypes are created not born. Living in a post-9/11 world and the attitudes that Americans have on Islam, Muslims, and Arabs, we can see how Hollywood has place a bit of a role. Jack Shaheen catalogues over 900 films, most of which have negative stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims. With movies and other media being constantly consumed by the masses, when something it shown to them over and over again, it becomes ingrained into the psyche. As for the reviewers who say that the stereotypes are the truth are probably that 13 % who hate Arabs and Muslims no matter what. We cannot blame an entire religion or race for the acts of a few. This book exposes the danger of presenting stereotypes in films and how a people get villified for it.

I am amazed as I read this. How much have I missed. Movie after movie, that I've seen, long before I became culturally aware of Arabs and anti-Semitism and the beauty of that culture and the awfulness of racism. And I did not know. But Shaheen lays it out too clearly to contradict, in an introduction that lays out the philosophical base for his arguments, and then in copious notes on 900 different movies. And suddenly I realize that the Black Stallion, a movie I loved as a kid, stigmatizes Arabs. Suddenly I realize those Porky Pig cartoons where he's a legionnaire are anti-Semitic. Suddenly I realize that Back to the Future really engages in the classic stereotypes of the evil, bad, terrorist Arab. And I mourn.

As Shaheen makes it clear, it is not that he is arguing that Arabs should never be portrayed as the bad guys. It is only that, when we see them in the movies, they almost always are. And when they're not, we see only a stereotype, of a greedy, lust-driven Arab surrounded by a harem, which has nothing to do with real harems but everything to do with American preoccupation with sex, and perhaps reveals more of who we in the West are than who the Arabs are.

This isn't the kind of book you read cover to cover- it's a resource book, and extremely extensive in the information and racism in each movie presented. It's ideal for picking up right before you watch a video, or right after, to contemplate another perspective than that of the movie, and to discuss. But there are some times I think when Shaheen misses. He lambastes farces, like Ishtar, which are true to the nature of a farce, and poke fun at Arabs and song-writers and the CIA and camels and the West- everyone in the movie. At other times I think he misses the point of a movie made in American culture, like The Siege. While Arabs are the terrorists in The Siege, it is quite clear that Bruce Willis, the military leader, is the true bad guy, and the greatest tragedy in The Siege is when Americans decide to remove freedom in place of security, as Benjamin Franklin said, "Any society which gives up it's freedom for the sake of security, deserves neither." The movie is writ on the backbone of our collective shame for what we did to the Japanese in World War II; and written on the collective forgetfulness we have as we now do the same thing to Arabs.

But small points, on a few movies. Overall, it is impossible to come away from this book with the thought that Hollywood is at all equitable in it's treatment of groups, especially Semites. It is impossible to view movies the same way again. I wait with dread the next great production of Hollywood, where out of nowhere, Arabs will again appear as the caricatured, ignoramus villains- perhaps the bad guys in Ironman, perhaps responsible for all of Indiana's troubles in the next Jones installment. I am left with sadness, and a question I do not have an answer to: Which is worse- that there are 900 movies portraying Arabs, and 50 portraying them positively; or that the majority of movies I have seen in my life are on Shaheen's list?

I myself am not Muslim or Arab but I understand, feel and hear the daily horrid stuff said about Muslims and Arabs. Reel Bad Arabs is a thick book with a good introduction into what land Arabs are from, their religion (being Arab and Muslim are two different and distinct things - Arabs can be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc.), and movies from the early 1900s to the present that show Arabs in an awful way. My only critique for this book and in general is that more needs to be done to promote tolerance towards Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians. Usually people who have stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims are not intelligent enough to read a book, something more needs to be done. Not only are Arabs shown in a bad way in movies, it is the same thing on TV, newspapers, magazines, etc. Mr. Shaheen should also detail how Muslim people are always dehumanized in the media - we literally can't hear Islam without terrorist, fundamentalist or something along with it. Covering all of that stuff from 1900s to present would have taken forever though.