'Reel Bad Arabs'

The clip Reel Bad Arabs was very impressive. Its messages were strong, insightful, and true. Most of the films used to present the negative Arabic stereotypes were ones I never saw or even heard of. However, Disney's Aladdin was a film I grew up with. In fact, I even had somewhat of a crush on Aladdin. At any rate, I never, while watching the film as a child, registered the beginning lines of the film: "...from a far away place...where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face. It's barbaric, but hey, it's home." I wonder what my stepfather, who is Lebanese, thought of all this. Also, who refers to their home as a far away place?? It can't be far away if you're living there.
I also ask myself what kind of actors take on these degrading roles? Are they Arabs themselves? I'm sure in some cases yes, but often not. In Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, for example the Palestinian Jesus is played by James Caviezel, an U.S. American christian. I don't know what is worse: someone of a different ethnicity degrading you, or someone degrading their own? Something interesting in regards to that are the actors' Arabic accents. They are often too gutteral and exaggerated in all sorts of ways. It is very painful when one's accent is being ridiculed.
A film that was not portrayed in this short documentary, one that I remember watching in 6th grade or so and saw as quite awful, even though it's based on a true story is Not Without My Daughter (1991), directed by Brian Gilbert. It milks the stereotype of the aggressive and possessive Iranian husband and his oppressed, white, U.S. American wife. At the end of the film the American flag takes over the screen....
A strong message in Reel Bad Arabs is that "politics and Hollywood's images are linked." Those politics do not 'only' refer to the politics of the United States, but many other countries and regions too. These movies are released and seen all over the world. My hope is that many people can see and study the cultural phenomenon presented in Dr.Jack Shaheen's film, and to be sensitive to its subject by changing the way they view and support the media that exploits these stereotypes.