Going through Wikipedia, this is what I found: :dev:

Stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotypes_of_Arabs_and_Muslims)

Some interesting quotes:

"the three B syndrome" : "Arabs in TV and movies are portrayed as either Bombers, Belly dancers, or Billionaires"

Shaheen writes that "television's image of the Arab is omnipresent [and] is becoming a part of American folklore." He also writes that Arabs have "consistently appeared in American popular culture as billionaires, bombers, and belly dancers."

Laila Lalami offers a 12-step guide to making a successful Arab-bashing movie, including such items as "the villains must all have beards" ,"they must all wear keffiehs" ,"they must all have names like Ali, Abdul or Mustapha" and "have them threaten to blow something up."

:6: Oooh, Fear us!

ignorant ppl, they just wanna make profit

Reading through some of it made me laugh, it's sad that some people think of us that way. We also have people over here who believe that the entire Westerners drink, sleep around and believe that majority of them called "B"aul or Judi =l

Yeah you're right, just for the money of course. But the question is, do they just make these things up? ...

Or are there Arabs who show themselves to the West as arrogant rich people who fly all the way to the West just to spend their money on things that they will be hanged for in their own country?

I mean, there are people like that around, but of course in these movies they are exaggerating for the audience.

Haha, Charm. And Mary!

LOL Mary :XD: my bad!

I don't think they are exaggerating when it comes to the money issue, I lived in the UK two years ago and I saw some examples of that.

That's quite spot on, I'd say.

Stereotypes make the world go round - it's just a phase like every single other movie stereotype. There's always going to be a group of people who are portrayed badly, and when that stops, it's not because people stopped being racist, but because they've moved on to the next group.

Other movies of the 1920s share a common theme of power-hungry, brutal Arabs ultimately defeated by white westerners:

The Song of Love (1923)[1]
A Cafe in Cairo (1924)
The Desert Bride (1928)


Since 1923. When will they stop showing us so much love!

edit:

How rude of me. I forgot older movies. Both The Sheik 1921 and The Son of the Sheik 1926 represented Arab characters as thieves, charlatans, murderers, and brutes.

Wow, if they went on with it they would've made great series: The grandson of the Sheik, The great grandson of the Sheik ... etc.

they just show arabs as terrorists in movies who come runnin at them yelling "Allah u Akbar" and get shot. And yes all of them or most of them are bearded.

I think for profit they show, but also, the media is turned towards us as being bad guys! they follow the media, in which ppl believe in very strongly, and portray similarities which will make ppl want to see more.

Where is the love? In the end everyone is going to die! Its better to love and die, not hate!

Laila Lalami offers a 12-step guide to making a successful Arab-bashing movie, including such items as "the villains must all have beards" ,"they must all wear keffiehs" ,"they must all have names like Ali, Abdul or Mustapha" and "have them threaten to blow something up."
who the **** does this this Laila think herself? a non arab? that would be better though! a diseases from within is a bigger problem than the american media.

Laila Lalami isn't giving them ideas or anything, she's just making fun of the situation.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-600397827976179049

Warning: contains swearing. :omg:

Stereotypes!!

It's everywhere.. the good thing of our steotypes that they are not true.

People think that we are almost bad in everything.. as also think we are all soaking rich.. they think all our womens do not drive and don't go to school!!.. and think our life is tasteless and has no enjoyment .. but once those people try to open their eyes and visit our countries, they will see the opposite.

The same thing with us who never been abroad *I used to be one of them* , we had this idea about the west.. like they are the cleanest people on earth.. very advanced.. 100.99% civilized in everything.. they are on time.. they treat everyone equally.. BUT once we opened our eyes and visited their countries we *or at least I* found the opposite.

Actually, people in the UK have noticed that in American action movies, the evil mastermind is normally English, preferably disfigured in some way with some sort of sexual dysfunction to add character.

Oh well, I'll grow my beard a bit more again, and then maybe I'll make it in Hollywood as a composite character "super-villain". The bad guys are always more interesting anyway. F*** you Bruce Willis, Wesley Snipes, Steven Segal and all you other muppets......I WILL KILL YOU ALL....MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!

^ Yep, definitely a bearded Arab. I bet you even played with those fire crackers as a kid. The horror.

Jaffar from Aladdin was the bad guy, he had a beard. Aladdin, the good guy, didn't have a beard.

So not only movies, even cartoons

ToomuchaT, see our stereotypes on the West are mainly good. Just like you said: Clean and tidy, always on time, well educated and all have great manners.

I'm not sure about that Um K! I think Charm;s stereotypes are closer to the mark....


...oh no...actually what Charm said are facts, your mythical stereotypes are bang on!

Oh wow, now we're not better than them. Except that we don't show that in our movies.

I'm with Charm, that's how we see them. But also what ToomuchaT added is true, maybe not for people living in Muscat, as they see foreigners all the time.

ToomuchaT, see our stereotypes on the West are mainly good. Just like you said: Clean and tidy, always on time, well educated and all have great manners.


What's the credit for not being what you are known of??

No, I think you're right Um K, I've heard both types of opinion, and they both have an element of truth....just like there is an element of truth in most stereotypes.

Anyway, only dumb people believe what they see in the movies. And children, so don't let them watch "Barney" because he's evil.

... we had this idea about the west.. like they are the cleanest people on earth.. very advanced.. 100.99% civilized in everything.. they are on time..

That's only true of Switzerland.

It might be unintentional, maybe we can't help but take an idea (be ig negative or positive) of a certain country or people just by watching something about them on TV.

When a person watches series from a certain gulf country, they'd believe the things they're watching are really in that country.
Maybe it is wrong, but when you ask people from that country about it they'd say: Yes, unfortunately, these things are true.

Maybe this has nothing to do with the thread, since the thread is about OTHERS displaying us in a certain way. Whereas in the exampels I brought up the country itself is displaying itself that way.

But what I meant to say is that TV, or media in general, gives the viewer some sort of idea on what they're watching even if they try not to be that way. Something subconscious.

Like stereotypes of Oman in other GCC countries. Ones I have heard are:

"simple people"
"not developed like the GCC"

and the super-popular

"they are all witches"!!!!

mimo :inno: not all Omani's are witches!

UmKhalid you are right I guess people build their ideas by what they hear or see without making sure that the information they are getting is true (media effect) and even if they did some tend to generalize alot even though they know that not all people say for example are (green from the country of San Tik) xD I guess it's like denying the facts they already know? Is it because they are scared?

Am not sure what are the reason behind that but am guessing that when people fear others they start drawing a negative image about them so everybody else can see them that way too!.....

I guess seterotypes are part of the human behavior sometimes it's easy to correct the wrong info's and others there is just no hope!

Now why would the movie makers in Hollywood make a movie about regular old Arab folks? No offense, but that is about as exciting as a movie about regular old Canadians.

Movies need provoking characters. Duh!

And like being portrayed as Billionaires is offensive? Come on. And Belly dancers? People in the West actually like belly dancers so what is the problem?

The only real negative Arab stereotype found in movies is the terrorist, which is not exactly make believe.

It's not like anyone thinks, "Oh my god, they are all Terrorists!!!"

And also there really are a lot of Jews in Hollywood. And the Arab world does not exactly make the Jews feel good about themselves. I don't think it is deliberate, but don't expect sympathy.


And not every portrayal of an Arab is negative. Wasn't Indiana Jones's sidekick in the 1st and 3rd movies an Arab? There is some character on the show Lost which is an Iraqi. In the Jewel of the Nile, they team up with Bedouins. There are plenty of examples of neutral or positive images.

Stereotypes make the world go round - it's just a phase like every single other movie stereotype. There's always going to be a group of people who are portrayed badly, and when that stops, it's not because people stopped being racist, but because they've moved on to the next group.

Ditto. Arabs are not the only people who are stereotyped.:yes: