For more than a century Hollywood has depicted certain “others” as innately strange and dangerous. The popular caricature of the average Arab is as mythical as the old portrait of the Jew. He is robed and turbaned, sinister and dangerous, engaged mainly in hijacking airplanes and blowing up public buildings. From the earliest days of film on up to the present the image of the Arab as a villain has prevailed in most Hollywood productions He is what he has always been – the cultural “other”. The stereotypes are deeply ingrained in American cinema. Filmmakers have collectively indicted Arabs as public enemy number one – brutal, heartless, uncivilized religious fanatics terrorizing civilized Westerners. This paper argues for the existence of a genre of films termed the ‘eastern’ that deals with the Middle East. It will be shown that the kinds of images that are present in these films are more than just a random repetition of stereotypes. Films belonging to this genre share a number of character types, narrative elements and locale which will be dealt with in detail. Subgenres of the ‘eastern’ will then be identified and the connection between the formation of new subgenres and specific historical events or encounters will be worked out. Films being covered will range from as early as 1921 (The Sheik) up to the present. Due to the length of this paper I can only cover a very limited selection of films. Nevertheless, the films being dealt with will be representative for their genre and for their time so that in the end a
chronological history of the stereotype should be established. I will not deal with films set in Asia, since they do seem to share a number of narrative elements with the ‘eastern’, but do not appear to form a specific generic tradition. Besides that, different historical experiences have influenced Western expectations about China, Japan and India.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Narrative Elements
3 Character Types
3.1 Villains
3.2 Sheikhs
3.3 Maidens
3.4 Egyptians
3.5 Palestinians
4 Subgenres and Landmark Fiction
5 Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines how Hollywood cinema has consistently depicted Arabs through a specific, recurring set of negative stereotypes. It aims to define the "eastern" as a distinct film genre by analyzing its prototypical narrative attributes and character types, while investigating how historical events have shaped these persistent cultural representations.
- The construction of the Arab as the cultural "other" in American film.
- Identification of ten recurring narrative attributes found in the "eastern" genre.
- Detailed analysis of five common character archetypes, including villains, sheikhs, and maidens.
- The influence of "landmark" historical events on the formation of cinematic subgenres.
- A critical review of the systemic misrepresentation of Middle Eastern populations in Hollywood.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Sheikhs
Shaikh (also rendered as Sheik, Shaykh or Sheikh) is a word in the Arabic language meaning an elder or a revered old man. It has come to be used to mean a leader or noble, especially in the Arabian Peninsula, where Shaikh became a traditional title of a tribal leader. The title is often more informally used to address learned men as a courtesy. Throughout the Arab world people address Muslim religious leaders as sheikhs, to show respect.
In Hollywood movies, however, a completely different meaning or image is attached to the word. Instead of presenting sheikhs as elderly men of wisdom, moviemakers of the 1920’s created a dark, evil-minded, hook-nosed potentate, whose only intent was to capture another pale-faced blonde for his harem. “The perverted Sheikh can often be seen snarling at a captured blonde girl... [and saying] ‘My men are going to kill you, but they like to amuse themselves before.'"
In the well known and already mentioned film The Sheik, which laid the foundation for this image and created a whole subgenre which will be dealt with in detail in chapter 4, Sheikh Ahmed (Valentino) looks at Diana, the captured British blonde and says: ”When an Arab sees a woman he wants, he takes her!” The prototypical Sheikh “disregards Arab women, preferring instead to ravish just one Western woman.”
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter introduces the prevalence of the "Arab as villain" stereotype in Hollywood and establishes the paper's argument that these films constitute a specific "eastern" genre.
2 Narrative Elements: This section identifies ten prototypical narrative attributes, such as abduction and induction, that define the structure of films depicting the Middle East.
3 Character Types: This chapter analyzes five recurring archetypes—villains, sheikhs, maidens, Egyptians, and Palestinians—and explores how they reinforce negative cultural misconceptions.
4 Subgenres and Landmark Fiction: This chapter explores how specific historical "landmark" events influence cultural expectations and the subsequent development of cinematic subgenres like the "terrorist eastern."
5 Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the findings, arguing that these stereotypes are systematized defamations and calling for greater awareness of this cinematic misrepresentation.
Keywords
Hollywood, Eastern genre, Stereotypes, Arab identity, Orientalism, Cinema, Narrative elements, Character types, Villain, Sheikh, Landmark fiction, Cultural representation, Middle East, Film history, Misconceptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The work explores how Hollywood has, for over a century, systematically portrayed Arabs using a recurring set of negative stereotypes, establishing them as the cinematic "other."
What are the central thematic fields covered in the study?
The paper covers narrative genre analysis, character archetypes, the impact of colonialist discourse on film, and the link between historical real-world events and fictional narratives.
What is the primary objective of the paper?
The primary goal is to identify and define the prototypical elements that constitute the "eastern" film genre and to demonstrate that these images are not random, but deeply ingrained constructs.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The study utilizes a genre-theoretical approach combined with film history and cultural studies to deconstruct how stereotypes are developed, repeated, and reinforced in cinema.
What is addressed in the main body of the work?
The main body breaks down specific narrative attributes, analyzes five distinct character archetypes, and examines how landmark events led to the creation of specific subgenres like the "foreign legion" and "terrorist eastern" films.
Which keywords characterize this study?
Key terms include Hollywood, Eastern genre, Stereotypes, Arab identity, Orientalism, Cinema, and Landmark fiction.
How did the 1973 oil crisis change the cinematic depiction of the "Sheikh" character?
The study notes that post-1973, the image shifted from the "slothful" sheikh to the "inscrutable bully," reflecting contemporary American anxieties about wealth and economic power.
Why are Palestinians portrayed in a specific way compared to other Arab characters?
The paper argues that the depiction of Palestinians is particularly blatant, almost exclusively focusing on their roles as "international killers" and terrorists, while almost entirely ignoring their historical plight or status as victims.
- Quote paper
- Benjamin Klaus (Author), 2005, The Image of the Orient in Selected Hollywood Movies - The History of a Stereotype, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/36372
