By HAJER NAILI
Hajer is a French journalist currently living in New York.
July 5, 2011 3:52 PM
Courtesy Of "Illume Magazine"
The Arab culture is in the spotlight at the Race and Hollywood project developed by Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Every Tuesday and Thursday nights in July, the event focuses on the diverse portrayals of Arabs in cinema.
Dubbed Arab Images on Film, the series aims to offer insight into the Arab culture as depicted on screen, by focusing on topics that include early films, epic stories, depictions of Arab sheiks and Arab women, Arabs portrayed as villains or the subject of ridicule and movies that provide an even-handed look.
Host Robert Osborne is joined by internationally acclaimed professor, author and Middle East media consultant Dr. Jack G. Shaheen to introduce a wide range of films and provide extensive insight into Hollywood's ever-changing attitude toward Arab people.
"With Race & Hollywood: Arab Images on Film, we're setting out to track the history of Hollywood's relationship with Arabs in cinema and how it has evolved to where it is today. We hope this series provides a thought-provoking look at a very timely and important topic." Osborne said.
Among the notable works featured in the Arab Images on Film collection is the award-winning Gulf War action drama Three Kings (1999), starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube.
Other legendary movies will be screened such as Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), the Libya-set dramas Lion of the Desert (1981), starring Anthony Quinn, who also played in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), a movie featuring as well Peter O’Toole and the Egyptian actor Omar Sharif.
Dr Jack G. Shaheen writes in his book, Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, "Arabs have too often been viewed as backward, barbaric and dangerously different through Hollywood's distorted lens. Unfortunately, these stereotypes are now deeply ingrained in American cinema."
However not all cinematic portrayals of Arabs are negative he says. "While it is true that some filmmakers have vilified the Arabs, others have not… Some contested harmful stereotypes, displaying positive images - that is, casting an Arab as a regular person...to paraphrase an Arab proverb, Eed wahdehm a fiha tza'if, one hand alone cannot clap. Believe me, by working together, we will shatter the stereotype."
Arab Images on Film is the sixth installment of TCM's far-reaching and culturally significant Race & Hollywood project, an ongoing exploration of cinematic portrayals of different racial and cultural groups. The series will close on Thursday, July 28, with a night of films made outside Hollywood.
Dubbed Arab Images on Film, the series aims to offer insight into the Arab culture as depicted on screen, by focusing on topics that include early films, epic stories, depictions of Arab sheiks and Arab women, Arabs portrayed as villains or the subject of ridicule and movies that provide an even-handed look.
Host Robert Osborne is joined by internationally acclaimed professor, author and Middle East media consultant Dr. Jack G. Shaheen to introduce a wide range of films and provide extensive insight into Hollywood's ever-changing attitude toward Arab people.
"With Race & Hollywood: Arab Images on Film, we're setting out to track the history of Hollywood's relationship with Arabs in cinema and how it has evolved to where it is today. We hope this series provides a thought-provoking look at a very timely and important topic." Osborne said.
Among the notable works featured in the Arab Images on Film collection is the award-winning Gulf War action drama Three Kings (1999), starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube.
Other legendary movies will be screened such as Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), the Libya-set dramas Lion of the Desert (1981), starring Anthony Quinn, who also played in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), a movie featuring as well Peter O’Toole and the Egyptian actor Omar Sharif.
Dr Jack G. Shaheen writes in his book, Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, "Arabs have too often been viewed as backward, barbaric and dangerously different through Hollywood's distorted lens. Unfortunately, these stereotypes are now deeply ingrained in American cinema."
However not all cinematic portrayals of Arabs are negative he says. "While it is true that some filmmakers have vilified the Arabs, others have not… Some contested harmful stereotypes, displaying positive images - that is, casting an Arab as a regular person...to paraphrase an Arab proverb, Eed wahdehm a fiha tza'if, one hand alone cannot clap. Believe me, by working together, we will shatter the stereotype."
Arab Images on Film is the sixth installment of TCM's far-reaching and culturally significant Race & Hollywood project, an ongoing exploration of cinematic portrayals of different racial and cultural groups. The series will close on Thursday, July 28, with a night of films made outside Hollywood.
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