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Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People
A groundbreaking book that dissects a slanderous history dating from cinema's earliest days to contemporary Hollywood blockbusters that feature machine-gun wielding and bomb-blowing "evil" Arabs.
Paperback, 592 pages
Published
July 28th 2001
by Interlink Publishing Group
(first published July 2001)
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Mar 29, 2007
Tara
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who like blow em up movies
Shelves:
non-fiction
the book is actually titled Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Villifies a People.
you should read this book if you've ever watched movies where there are "terrorists" because theres a good chance they were "arabs"
in the first part of the book the author discusses the main arab stereotypes in movies, the majority of the book is a huge list of movies with a short discription of the racism towards arabs involved in the movie. it has a list of the worst offenders - back to the future and true lies being...more
you should read this book if you've ever watched movies where there are "terrorists" because theres a good chance they were "arabs"
in the first part of the book the author discusses the main arab stereotypes in movies, the majority of the book is a huge list of movies with a short discription of the racism towards arabs involved in the movie. it has a list of the worst offenders - back to the future and true lies being...more
Contains a lot of interesting information. While I respect the amount of research that must have gone into this project, I was hoping for more of a detailed analysis on some of the specific themes/categories that were mentioned in the introduction.
Instead the book consists of an alphabetical list of movie titles with a few notes for each entry stating the basic plot and how Arabs were portrayed. I think the book might have worked better if it was laid out thematically, or even chronologically,...more
Instead the book consists of an alphabetical list of movie titles with a few notes for each entry stating the basic plot and how Arabs were portrayed. I think the book might have worked better if it was laid out thematically, or even chronologically,...more
This book is really more of a research tool or at the very least a document of Arab and Muslim stereotypes promoted in over 900 Hollywood films dating from 1999 to the silent era. I read the 35 page introduction and scanned the alphabetized entries by Shaheen (looking for my favorite and least favorite movies). The material is arranged by film title and contains a brief bullet outline of the instances in each movie where Arabs or Muslims are seen either as a stereotype, are maligned, or are repr...more
This is a very good book.. It's more of an encyclopedia of American movies that show Arabs and how Hollywood stereotype them, starting the silent cinema era! So you can search it for a certain movie but you can't just read it all..
But what is really interesting and very important is the introduction of the book.. It can be a book itself, and it contains very interesting notes on the stereotyping matter overall, and for Arabs in particular.
But what is really interesting and very important is the introduction of the book.. It can be a book itself, and it contains very interesting notes on the stereotyping matter overall, and for Arabs in particular.
This is pretty much an encyclopedia of filmic stereotypes of Arabs from the inception of Hollywood to the early 21st century. I can't imagine how long it took Shaheen to watch all of the films. I'd be shocked if he didn't go through at least two TVs. It's a wonderful reference.
There's also a good documentary by the same title.
There's also a good documentary by the same title.
Encyclopedic tracing of every depiction of Arabs in Hollywood films. Amazing book, by an amazing scholar who has dedicated his life to archiving such negative racist portrayals of Arabs. Read "Guilty" the book he published post-9/11, equally amazing.
Oct 21, 2008
melissa/missy
marked it as to-read
We watched Shaheen's documentary (same title) in my film class last night, and I felt like my eyes were completely opened. I've always considered myself very sensitive to racial stereotypes and prejudices, but I couldn't believe how many movies contain anti-Arab messages that I had never even noticed. The images are so pervasive, it's scary (thank you, Disney), and extremely socially relevant. I highly recommend the documentary, but I'll warn you that there is a lot of violence (since it contain...more
Aug 09, 2012
Richard Prins
marked it as to-read
This is a good book! I'm glad it's been made because a lot of people never notice the unfair portrayal of Arabs because we're so used to it. I never thought Aladdin was racist until I'm old enough to understand it. Aladdin was one of my favorite movie as a child. Now I feel weird about loving the movie so much.
Introduction is a must-read. More of a prolegomenon for future research on the 'Arab' in Hollywood. Though the analysis isn't quite there, the research is tremendous and offers the groundwork for future projects.
Jul 04, 2008
Bob
added it
shows the misrepresentation of arabs throughout the history of film
May 16, 2013
Noura
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Mar 28, 2013
Muhammad Kamal
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Mar 26, 2013
Rana Razek
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Mar 24, 2013
Gabriel
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Mar 18, 2013
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Feb 04, 2013
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Jan 26, 2013
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Jan 19, 2013
Shahad
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Internationally acclaimed author and media critic, Dr. Jack G. Shaheen, is a committed internationalist and a devoted humanist. A Pittsburgh native and former CBS news consultant on Middle East Affairs, Shaheen’s lectures and writings illustrate that damaging racial and ethnic stereotypes of Asians, blacks, Native Americans and others injure innocent people. He defines crude caricatures, explains...more
More about Jack G. Shaheen...
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