So recently I was confronted with the question: why make such a big deal about movies dealing with the Arab and Muslim world? Aren’t people smart enough to realize that they have been misled by cinema, and aren’t they notoriously suspicious of visual media anyway?
I would disagree – What propagandists have understood so well since cinema’s earliest days is that cinema is one of the best ways to assimilate people culturally. Every director and producer has some hand in shaping our opinions or at least our understanding of the world. The more realistic the film and the less educated the audience, the more influence cinema has. At worst, it can be a mechanism for “thought control.” All cinema inherently promotes some sort of value system, and informs the way we look at the world. These concepts, even when posed as fiction, affect the viewer. Sure, a small segment of cinema is so unrealistic that it will never inform a person’s belief system or worldview. However, the majority of mass-media, including cinema such as “The Last Samurai” and “Hidalgo” have messages and promote concepts… These concepts are far more influential when the viewership has little knowledge of the subject matter before the film… For instance, who is to say that Riyadh from Hidalgo is wrong when he says that “it is written” that a father must drown his daughter if she “committed lewdness”? It just gets worse when cinema just amplifies stereotypes…
I recommend a book called “Reel Bad Arabs” by Jack Shaheen that documents the negative portrayal of Arabs (and by extension Muslims) in Hollywood over the last century.
I am looking for a solid defense of why cinema matters… and how it matters… I will get back to this blog soon. Until next time –
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