Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People

oldreliable67 · 10-23-07, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Hill

The "violence" being carried out in Iraq is overwhelmingly carried out, paid for, supplied, and encouraged by the US Occupation.

Here is an excerpt of an interview of an American Colonel by Victor Davis Hanson that explains how the US carrying out, paying for, and otherwise encouraging violence in Iraq:

Quote:

Hanson: Trying to stabilize an area the size of San Francisco is more than just a military enterprise; what type of experts, civilians or military, do your forces work with to restore the social fabric of the district?

Gibbs: That’s a great question. We have a variety of military, civilian, and even professional American law enforcement subject matter experts assisting us in not only making Rashid more secure, but in improving the overall quality of life for its citizens.

Our Brigade Special Troops Battalion has done tremendous work in managing and coordinating the essential services projects we have ongoing in our operational area. These cover a wide range of areas from water, electricity, sewage, medical clinic and school refurbishments, sanitation and trash collection, to infrastructure improvements, such as the rebuilding of roads, reinforcement and protection of marketplaces, and upgrades of government and civic facilities. All go toward making everyday life better for the Iraqis who live here.

We’re also helping neighborhood and district governments to run efficiently thanks to the efforts of our embedded provincial reconstruction team, which consists of both members of the U.S. State Department and soldiers. They’ve helped teach strategies for running productive meetings, and are actively assisting in the development stimulation of the economy through a carefully managed micro grants and mentorship program with business leaders and commercial enterprises across Rashid.

We also have Iraqi cultural advisers who work hand in hand with us to further enhance our understanding of Iraq and the people we’re coming into contact with each day. The old saying that knowledge is power is especially true in this environment, and one act or event on our part that could potentially offend host nation sensibilities is the kind of thing that our Human Terrain Teams and Iraqi Advisory Task Force personnel are helping us to avoid.

I’m extremely pleased at the positive direction we are going here in Rashid — our soldiers and leaders are magnificent! While I’m proud of the work the brigade has done, we also recognize that there is much to be done.

There is much more. Read the whole thing, here.

Lerxst · 10-24-07, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Hill

Ah yes, a gang flame attack. You know your post really lit some tails when the whole pack starts yowling. I don't get into p*ssing matches with skunks, so I'll just say watch the movie trailer and keep watching the MSM for how Muslim countries are portrayed. You'll see how right I am. Continue the Yapfest

This isn't a dogpile. It's a collective opinion based on the litany of bull**** you post almost daily. Really, it's inane because it is so far from reality that it's almost not worth the time to read. But we do, out of respect for the fact that you took the time to post it, and then we get pissed that you robbed us of three minutes of our life. And then we have to repay you somehow. There is no basis for intelligent argument here, so we resort to some light flaming, hoping you will learn your lesson. But you never do.

Joe Hill · 10-24-07, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reverend_Hellh0und

Buh-bye

So you have two methods of egress when you are caught prevaricating now.....

You have two methods of dodging when you can't deny the veracity of the post now? Going off theme and ad Hominem

Joe Hill · 10-24-07, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffMerriman

This isn't a dogpile. It's a collective opinion based on the litany of bull**** you post almost daily. Really, it's inane because it is so far from reality that it's almost not worth the time to read. But we do, out of respect for the fact that you took the time to post it, and then we get pissed that you robbed us of three minutes of our life. And then we have to repay you somehow. There is no basis for intelligent argument here, so we resort to some light flaming, hoping you will learn your lesson. But you never do.

Making no attempt to respond to the post cited or the film content is the first sign that your pack-flaming the un-PC messenger is a cheap Rovian tactic that fools nobody, and not really worth answering. But since I am relatively new here, I'll take the trouble to hose you down send you scampering. Come back when you have a legitimate on-theme answer to the post. so far all I've seen is a lot of howling and dust throwing and dodging. Grow up.

Joe Hill · 10-24-07, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VTA

Mossadegh was not not President, he was Prime Minister and cozying up with communists. The Shah appointed him, then Mossadegh tried to overthrow him.

That's a deep story, and of little relevance to the average Iranian citizen today.

The average Iranian citizen has not forgotten SAVAK torture and death squads. The Shah was hated by the populace...thus the Revolution. "Deep" story includes how the US and UK conspired to overthrow Mossadegh when he moved to nationalize the oil.

Quote:

Plot to depose Mossadegh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossade...pose_Mossadegh

Soldiers surround the Parliament building in Tehran on 19 August 1953.The government of Britain had grown increasingly distressed over Mossadegh's policies and were especially bitter over the loss of their control of the Iranian oil industry. Repeated attempts to reach a settlement had failed.

Unable to resolve the issue singlehandedly due to its post-World War II problems, Britain looked towards the United States to settle the issue. The United States was led to believe by the British that Mossadegh was increasingly turning towards Communism and was moving Iran towards the Soviet sphere at a time of high Cold War fears.
Acting on the opposition to Mossadegh by the British government and fears that he was, or would become, dependent on the pro-Soviet Tudeh Party at a time of expanding Soviet influence,[15] the United States and Britain began to publicly denounce Mossadegh's policies for Iran as harmful to the country.

Operation Ajax
In October 1952, Mossadegh declared that Britain was "an enemy", and cut all diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. In November and December 1952, British intelligence officials suggested to American intelligence that the prime minister should be ousted. The new US administration under Dwight Eisenhower and the British government under Winston Churchill agreed to work together toward Mossadegh's removal. In March 1953, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles directed the US Central Intelligence Agency, which was headed by his younger brother Allen Dulles, to draft plans to overthrow Mossadegh.[7]

On April 4, 1953, CIA director Dulles approved US$1 million to be used "in any way that would bring about the fall of Mossadegh." Soon the CIA's Tehran station started to launch a propaganda campaign against Mossadegh. Finally, according to The New York Times, in early June, American and British intelligence officials met again, this time in Beirut, and put the finishing touches on the strategy. Soon afterward, according to his later published accounts, the chief of the CIA's Near East and Africa division, Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. arrived in Tehran to direct it

The plot, known as Operation Ajax, centered around convincing Iran's monarch to use his constitutional authority to dismiss Mossadegh from office, as he had attempted some months earlier. But the Shah was uncooperative, and it would take much persuasion and many meetings to successfully execute the plan. Meanwhile, the CIA stepped up its operations. According to Dr. Donald N. Wilber, who was allegedly involved in the plot to remove Mossadegh from power, in early August, Iranian CIA operatives pretending to be socialists and nationalists threatened Muslim leaders with "savage punishment if they opposed Mossadegh," thereby giving the impression that Mossadegh was cracking down on dissent, and stirring anti-Mossadegh sentiments within the religious community

Joe Hill · 10-24-07, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Hill

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People
Friday, October 19th, 2007

Democracy Now! | Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People

Where are the human images of Arabs and Arab Americans? That’s the topic of a new film called “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People.” The book and the film explore the American cinematic landscape to reveal a stark pattern of Arab stereotyping and its disturbing similarity to anti-Semitic and other racist caricatures through history. We play excerpts of the film and speak to acclaimed media critic Jack Shaheen, author of the book it’s based on.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s based on a book by the same name by acclaimed media critic Jack Shaheen. Both the book and the film explore the American cinematic landscape to reveal a stark pattern of Arab stereotyping and its disturbing similarity to anti-Semitic and other racist caricatures through history.
We’ll be joined in the studio by Jack Shaheen, but first I want to play some excerpts from the film version of his book. It’s directed by Sut Jhally, and the New York Premiere of the film was at the Cinema East Film Festival on Thursday.

“Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People.” produced by the Media Education Foundation
Jack Shaheen joins me now in the firehouse studio in New York.

Jack Shaheen. Award-winning media critic and author of ‘Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People.’ He is also Professor Emeritus of Mass Communications at Southern Illinois University and was a former consultant on Middle East affairs for CBS.

AMY GOODMAN: We're going to turn right now to the images, the human images, of Arabs and Arab Americans. Where are they? That’s the topic of a new film called Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. It’s based on a book by the same name by acclaimed media critic Jack Shaheen. Both the book and the film explore the American cinematic landscape to reveal a stark pattern of Arab stereotyping and its disturbing similarity to anti-Semitic and other racist caricatures through history.

In a little while, we’ll be joined by Jack Shaheen, but first I want to play some excerpts of the film version of his book. It’s directed by Sut Jhally. The New York premiere happened this week at the Cinema East Film Festival on Thursday. See the clip: REEL BAD ARABS | Featuring Dr. Jack Shaheen

JACK SHAHEEN: For years, I have looked at how we -- particularly, when I say “we,” image makers -- have projected Arabs on silver screens. In my latest book, Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, I looked at more than 1,000 films, films ranging from the earliest, most obscure days of Hollywood to today's biggest blockbusters. And what I tried to do is to make visible what too many of us seem not to see: a dangerously consistent pattern of hateful Arab stereotypes, stereotypes that rob an entire people of their humanity.

All aspects of our culture project the Arab as villain. That is a given. There is no deviation. We have taken a few structured images and repeated them over and over again. Whether one lives in Paduka, Kentucky or Wood River, Illinois, we know basically the same thing. We know the mythology -- the mythology, namely Hollywood's images of Arabs.

We inherited the Arab image primarily from Europeans. In the early days, you know, maybe 150 years, 200 years ago, the British and the French who traveled to the Middle East, and those who didn’t travel to the Middle East, conjured up these images of the Arab as the Oriental other. The travel writers, the artists, who fabricated these images and who were very successful, as a matter of fact -- and these images were transmitted and inherited by us. We took them, we embellished them, and here they are. Cont'd. . . The MSM lapdog media continues its Islamophobic Goebbels-like propaganda images in the buildup for war against Iran. During "discussions" on the subject, film clips are shown of goose-stepping N. Korean regiments (?), a loud anti-American demonstration somewhere in the ME where a flag is burned, and war footage from the Iran-Iraq War. Nowhere do we see Iranians as peaceful everyday families minding their own business.

I wouldn't call it fascism exactly, but a political system nominally controlled by an irresponsible, dumbed down electorate who are manipulated by dishonest, cynical, controlled mass media that dispense the propaganda of a corrupt political establishment can hardly be described as democracy either: Edward Zehr

Okay, back to the topic. Anyone want to watch the film (which I didn't produce) and read the DemocracyNow article (which I didn't write) and make an intelligent comment I'll respond, but ad hominems will be ignored.

Lerxst · 10-24-07, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Hill

Making no attempt to respond to the post cited or the film content is the first sign that your pack-flaming the un-PC messenger is a cheap Rovian tactic that fools nobody, and not really worth answering. But since I am relatively new here, I'll take the trouble to hose you down send you scampering. Come back when you have a legitimate on-theme answer to the post. so far all I've seen is a lot of howling and dust throwing and dodging. Grow up.

Given the nature of your OP I'd say calling you down is "on theme." The minute you post something even remotely objective and not loaded to busting with conspiratorial rhetoric you'll see more intellectual interaction. Until then, you'll get what you rightfully deserve.

Unmitigated disdain.

Reverend_Hellh0und · 10-25-07, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffMerriman

Given the nature of your OP I'd say calling you down is "on theme." The minute you post something even remotely objective and not loaded to busting with conspiratorial rhetoric you'll see more intellectual interaction. Until then, you'll get what you rightfully deserve.

Unmitigated disdain.

No sh!t.. this guy posts nothing but the most extremist propaganda and annoying pictures then refuses to prove his claims, then accuses people of going "off theme"......

VTA · 10-25-07, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Hill

The average Iranian citizen has not forgotten SAVAK torture and death squads. The Shah was hated by the populace...thus the Revolution. "Deep" story includes how the US and UK conspired to overthrow Mossadegh when he moved to nationalize the oil.

I know all this, as well as the Iranian population that wishes to get on with living, while a faction of ideological retards wish to wail over half a century old garbage.

It's old news, deeply rooted in the 'Supreme leaders'' inability to look forward and it's constant bid to create legitimacy for it's constant bad behavior.

oldreliable67 · 10-25-07, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reverend_Hellh0und

No sh!t.. this guy posts nothing but the most extremist propaganda and annoying pictures then refuses to prove his claims, then accuses people of going "off theme"......

His posts appear designed to attract flames, not to make any kind of serious point or to engage in any serious discussion. It is the lefty bloggers version of the well-known demonstrators tactic of baiting the police into a response, while making sure there is a video camera on and running to catch it all on tape, then running to the media outlets shouting "police brutality."

Note that the majority of his posts contain very little, if anything of substance, written by him. Its almost all photoshop and mostly drivel from lefty sources, along with a few more creditable sources mixed in.

To his credit, so far he has been pretty good at it. Many have responded to his garbage, while he, no doubt, has sat back and gleefully watched the responses. Seems to me that the best approach to this type of poster is to, when you can, contain yourself and just consider the source. When he posts something worthy of consideration (which ain't often) then jump in.

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