Has Hollywood Been Unfair to Muslims?
A new movie takes aim at an alleged epidemic of on-screen Arab bad guys and woes of Arab-American actors.
Hopes that AmericanEast would take a subtle look at Islam and its integration with U.S. culture fly out the proverbial window in the film’s opening minutes.
A young boy asks his father why he’s a Muslim and, a minute later, if they can buy a Christmas tree. All the while, a radio news bulletin informs them of the latest arrests involving Islamic radicals.
AmericanEast, released last week on DVD, has little time for nuanced storytelling. But bombastic tales can be just as rewarding as quiet ones, and for a while East succeeds on those simple terms.
But the movie stumbles along with its crush of supporting storylines and wraps with a scene that evokes Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. The film’s descent into chaos lacks Lee’s fevered approach to racial topics — and its entertainment value.
Sayed Badreya plays Moustafa, the kind-hearted café owner who believes in the American dream with a fervor few of his Arab-American peers, or any other immigrant group, can match. His faith is complicated on a number of fronts. His son questions why he can’t be just like everyone else at school. His sister bristles at the arranged marriage set before her. The conversation in his café too often turns to politics which threatens to chase customers away.
One of the café’s regular diners (Anthony Azizi) spouts anti-American and anti-Israel nonsense while casting suspicious eyes on any Jew in sight.
These sequences are as heavy handed as you might expect, but they have the snap of the debates which raged in the two Barbershop features. Here, the ideological back and forths are forgivable, and occasionally entertaining.
But it’s hard to excuse the approach when it takes over the rest of the story.
AmericanEast packs in more subplots than it can support, including the woes of a fledgling actor named Omar (Kais Nashif) who can only get work as a “terrorist” in TV and films.
Parts for Arab-American actors, and for many minorities in Hollywood, truly are in short supply, but to say there’s been a rush of Arab baddies on the big screen since 9/11 is simply inaccurate.
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Christian Toto is a freelance writer and film critic for The Washington Times. His work has appeared in People magazine, MovieMaker Magazine, The Denver Post, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Scripps Howard News Service. He also contributes movie radio commentary to three stations as well as the nationally syndicated Dennis Miller Show and runs the blog What Would Toto Watch?
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46 Comments
1. Juke:The fact that there is an “Arab culture” in this country is a betrayal to the people who actually built the country.
Multiculturalism only brings anger & violence.
Jan 26, 2009 - 5:25 am 2. Mimi:I just saw Traitor with Don Cheadle. it goes out of its way to tell us that muslims are good, that not all are extremists, and that there are some christians who are violent extremits.
When muslims say they are being misrepresented, what they mean is their views should be endorsed. Most of americans do not say that all muslims are jihadists. In fact, we are desparate to believe that that is not so. What they are really complaining about is the fact that we do not agree with their values or politics. They want Hollywood to take the same position regarding the west and israel that they do. Well, that may come.
Jan 26, 2009 - 7:04 am 3. Christian Toto:Mimi,
Traitor is a great example of how Hollywood deals with Islamic terrorism. I applauded the film’s very existence because so few take the subject seriously … or even bring it up. But “Traitor” did just what you wrote … bending over backwards to please those who might find it offensive. Meanwhile it didn’t mind offending those in the west.
Jan 26, 2009 - 7:52 am 4. racyronfromhollywood:Islam is mired in violence, Muhammed was a warrior, raider, slaver, rapist, and had many wives (not all willingly). Its Crescent IS the Scimitar. It has waged war upon EVERYONE since it began. Every city fell under duress of terror, of siege. Christians & Jews were forced to convert or be enslaved or die. Any Christian or Jew who was accused of murder, was hooked then thrown over castle walls to hang to die. Each year, Christian fathers were forced to take their sons to the market, the Jihadists would pick the strongest and conscript them for the next war. Forcing children to kill. These are all reflected in todays Islam, in its society. None are free. And Liberals are rewriting its history. Why? Because they are afraid of them. Look at the borders of the 57+ Islamic States to today, all are mired in terror, civil war, and Christians who, beaten down, decide to openly fight back, are then called out on it. That is what is happening.
Jan 26, 2009 - 8:09 am 5. kishke:Oh, boo hoo. The Muslims are whining again. If only Hollywood would show them as they really are. If only.
Jan 26, 2009 - 8:17 am 6. therealist:And a big thank you to Hollywood for helping me understand the real victims of terrorism – people who have to endure extra scrutiny from law enforcement.
Jan 26, 2009 - 8:22 am 7. narciso:Actually the Kingdom, was the only film that really dealt with the reality of Wahhabi/Salafi inspired jihadism and anti-Americanism in the form of a CSI tale. It even illustrated the jihadi rehabilitation effort that turned out to be a miserable failure with Mr. Shihri. The opening attack, was based on an actual event in 2003, the set piece is a gunfight right out of
Jan 26, 2009 - 8:37 am 8. Maura:Bad Boys, in the Riyadh suburb of Al Suweidy,
where they found the beheaded body of Paul Johnson, the kidnapped Lockheed engineer.The film is ultimately undermined with a retroactive moment of moral equivalence with unbalances the premise of the story.
When the number of muslim villians in films equals the number of christian villians in films I will consider the “unfair treatment” argument.
Hollywood is pretty gutless. It’s pretty ironic when you realize that so much of what radical islamists hate about our culture has been exemplified by our film and music celebrities.
Jan 26, 2009 - 8:56 am 9. Bosch Fawstin:Has the *Muslim* world been unfair to non-Muslims? is *the* question here.
Jan 26, 2009 - 8:58 am 10. Hank Scorpio:Can someone explain why muslims are so touchy?? I mean someone draws a silly cartoon and there are riots and murders. Is there any other punishment in Islam besides death??
Can someone make a boo-boo and continue to remain upright and exchange oxygen??
I’m waiting for someone to make a film that doesn’t feel the need to apologize to muslims much like the miriad of films that tear apart Christianity.
Do yourselves a favor, watch this to temper all the moral relativism displayed in Hollywood these days….
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=216_1207467783
Jan 26, 2009 - 9:03 am 11. Delia:I am an INFIDEL because I don’t follow the teachings of the Qur’an.
Lie/cheat/kill for your religion.
Nuff said?
Jan 26, 2009 - 9:17 am 12. Bless Israel:Incredible. We should be worried about offending the followers of this sick religion. Everyday you can read about them killing anyone and every one who is not muslim. Hell they even kill muslims who follow differrent forms of it. Islam is not a religion of peace, The very meaning of it is submission. And they will not stop until they have destroyed the entire world and it is ruled by Islam. And we should be worried about offending them? I fanything we should be warning everyone every day the truth!!
Jan 26, 2009 - 9:49 am 13. fred:I’m a former Marxist who knows and understands cultural Marxism/multiculturalism’s intellectual roots better than the people who embrace it and know not the provenance of it.
I know just how intellectually lazy these people can be. Thus, it has never been any surprise to me that it is rare that a liberal/Leftist would read the Islamic scriptures (Qur’an), traditions (ahadith), and the example of the Prophet (”Reliance of the Traveler”). They know only platitudes and very flawed generalities about Islam, so they tend to defend jihad as a kind of rebellion against oppression.
The real oppression IS Islam. It is a vicious cult cobbled together by a malignant narcissist, personality-disordered Muhammad and put into the mouth of a sock puppet deity. But don’t take my word for it. Start digging into the sources I mentioned. Go on over to Robert Spencer’s jihadwatch.org. Get involved in an active learning process about Islam. Do not rely on the MSM or Hollywood for this information, because you will fall victim to “the blind leading the blind.”
Jan 26, 2009 - 10:06 am 14. Mimi:Scorpio,
Jan 26, 2009 - 10:11 am 15. Bonnie_:why are muslims touchy? for the same reasons christians used to be touchy. people are like that. We were finally taught not to be like that. Now we are being taught that it is okay for some people to be like that. In that case, should I also be wounded enough to kill when someone insults christians or mocks Jesus or Mary. Liberals assume that our tolerance will continue while at the same time we respect others intolerance and muffle our speech for their sake. And this is precisely what is going on in Europe, with people being prosecuted for saying negative things about Islam, in Holland. Will we stand for it? That remains to be seen.
So. How did Mustafa’s daughter deal with being sold into an arranged marriage? Did Mustafa murder her or have his son do it for him?
One wonders how these accepted Muslim practices are handled in a light, family friendly film.
Jan 26, 2009 - 10:36 am 16. Robert:“Has Hollywood Been Unfair to Muslims?”
Well, the movie (Slumdog Millionaire) that is going to win BEST PICTURE at the OSCARS is about a Muslim kid (although he is not practicing) and his life.
It is also a wonderful movie and the best film I saw from last year. I recommend everybody go an see it.
Jan 26, 2009 - 10:39 am 17. Amalfi:The facts of life: Islam allows only three ways in which the true believer can confront the infidel: Conversion, submission or death. There is no option for peaceful coexistence. The infidel ignores this at his peril.
Jan 26, 2009 - 10:58 am 18. Leatherneck:I bet CAIR, an un-indited co-conspirator, the Fort Dix six, the Somalia youths who left to find Jihad, etc… would have issue with the negative press Islam continues to receive.
Perhaps, it is just a misunderstanding.
Sarc/off
Jan 26, 2009 - 11:18 am 19. Zinfadel:“There is no option for peaceful coexistence.”
“Sharia: The Movie”
Michael Moore’s “American Sharia”
“Sharia Idol”
“72 Virgins: The Movie”
“One wonders how these accepted Muslim practices are handled in a light, family friendly film.”
Bert and Ernie’s Shahada Street
Jan 26, 2009 - 11:39 am 20. Zinfadel:Barney’s Intifada
Dora’s “Death to Zionists”
Bob the Bomb-Builder
“There is no option for peaceful coexistence.”
“Remains of the Day: the Untold Story of Martyrs for Allah”
Jan 26, 2009 - 11:46 am 21. Christopher Smith:I wonder why people are ripping on it so much? My grandfather fled germany before WW2, joined the army and met the same crap after he came back from fighting Nazis that the muslims are facing now. He would sit and tell stories of how people would break into his house, try to kill him in the middle of the street and how he felt like his children weren’t safe in public.
You don’t agree with it thats fine, but they came here for the same reasons our grandfathers and their fathers did. To escape something something terrible and make a life that is both safe and prosperous.
*Now onto the movie*
So I went to see it and HOLY CRAP boring. It tries to be CRASH, the movie where a bunch of people get in a car crash and find out that they all have a predisposition towards flagrant racism even though they swear their colorblind through the whole movie.
The difference is that CRASH is entertaining. AmericanEAST gets an A for effort but my god it was boring. I feel asleep about 20 minutes in and woke up at home. My boyfriend said I was starting to snore (yes holy crap a gay conservative, I’m waiting for at least one persons head to pop).
All in all it has a great concept but fails horribly in execution. I hope they try again just without the suck.
Jan 26, 2009 - 11:54 am 22. martini-henry:Where is the accurate film/bio about the life of Mohammad?…yeah, right…don’t hold your breath.
Jan 26, 2009 - 12:09 pm 23. Jillian:Hollywood has been very unfair to Muslims.Not nearly enough highly realistic movies about terrorists who turn out to be Mormons or Pentecostals, just like in real life
Jan 26, 2009 - 12:16 pm 24. Leatherneck:Jillian,
Lol!
Jan 26, 2009 - 12:28 pm 25. BERLET98:I don’t know about Hollywood, but apparently Minneapolis has been unfair to some Muslims:
Where Have All the Somalis Gone?
Another story getting little play in the very news-selective mainstream media is the mysterious disappearances of dozens of young immigrants from Somalia who had been living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area. CNN, Newsweek and the LA Times have finally seen fit to cover the two month old story: http://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2008/11/26/holy-cow-now-40-young-somalis-are-missing-in-minnesota/
The story hit (some) wires in late November, most notably on the Fox News Channel, that up to 40 Somalis have simply upped and disappeared without even a fond adieu even to their parents. One, a naturalized United States citizen, reappeared as a suicide bomber in Somalia.
Not mentioned in any of the stories that I have seen is the possibility that at least some are not journeying back home, a long and expensive trip for the mostly impoverished Somalis, but are being trained here and in their other adoptive nations for domestic jihad, or struggle mandated by the Qur’an and Allah.
The fear of the conventional wisdom is that they are being recruited to participate in jihad in their native Somalia which is torn by upheavals between what government there is in that country and Islamic insurgents bent on establishing an Islamic state there: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11783918&Itemid=0.
That story goes further, referring to reports that similar disappearances are occurring worldwide where Somalis have gone to seek a better life, in Europe, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia.
Sorry, but I can’t work up much fear that all headed back to blow themselves up in Somalia after being accorded the privilege of living in America or elsewhere where their lot in life had to have been a vast improvement, no doubt subsidized by Americans, Europeans, et al.
Muhammed Atta and his band of merry murderers may not have been Somalis but they were Islamic jihadists. Could the next 9/11 be in the planning stage and will the ranks of the next wave of terrorism here be supplemented by Somali recruits?
The FBI is said to be on the case but the FBI also knew in advance about Atta.
Jan 26, 2009 - 12:33 pm 26. Austin:(http://genelalor.com)
Jillian,
You bigot, I am Mormon and I would love for you to provide an example of a real story where the terrorist ended up being LDS, not fundamentalist Mormon. Please don’t cite the played out Mountain Meadows Massacre story from 150 years ago.
Jan 26, 2009 - 12:41 pm 27. Dan Irving:It’s hard to tell Austin, but I think Jillian forgot his/her /sarcasm tag.
Jan 26, 2009 - 12:48 pm 28. Delia:From holy underwear (Mormons) to burkas (Muslims)… Religion gets it wrong 9 times out of ten (my own stats, na-ha-na).
If people practiced half of what they preached there wouldn’t be need for arguments over religious doctrine. Pray to your God, pray for your enemy but don’t shove your religion onto someone else. Is that too much to ask?
My God is a kind one and he/she has a wicked sense of humor.
I s’pose I just opened up a can of worms. I better put on my flame-proof thong!
Jan 26, 2009 - 12:51 pm 29. Little Banana:Austin, enough with the knee-jerk reaction. It’s patently obvious that Jillian is being sarcastic.
Jan 26, 2009 - 1:01 pm 30. Delia:Little Nanner, that’s what I got out of it too. I assumed Jillian was just being snarky. I got a chuckle anyhoo.
Jan 26, 2009 - 1:11 pm 31. Ronald:Delia,
The only problem I have with your comment is that you don’t include the religious zealots of left leaning liberal wacko’s. These guys have more faith and fervor than Muslim exremist, crooked gay bashing protestants and catholic molesters put together. (I don’t include mormon’s because Tom Hanks said they are Un-american)
The lefty wacko’s wax poetic on the war on Iraq and how the evil American Military Machine is destroying “our” good name around the world, yet they are ready to nuke anyone who dares cut down a tree, vote no on gay marriage or have an opinion contrary to “popular culture”.
Consider the can of worms opened………….
Jan 26, 2009 - 1:35 pm 32. Amalfi:–Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve. (8.55)
– The unbelievers are your inveterate enemy. (4:101)
– Mohammed is God’s apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. (48:29).
– It is unlawful for a believer to kill another believer, accidents excepted. (4:92)
– Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. (5:51)
– Make war on them (non-Moslems)until idolatry shall cease and God’s religion shall reign supreme. (8:40)
– Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God’s religion reigns supreme. (2:193)
– The true believers fight for the cause of God, but the infidels fight for the devil. Fight then against the friends of Satan. (4:76)
– We will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. (3:151)
– I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers. (8:12)
Muhammad, who all religious Moslems are required to consider the perfect model to follow, said this:
“You (i.e. Muslims) will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, ‘O ‘Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.’ ”
“I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,..”
“Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him.” Vol. 9:57
“No Muslim should be killed for killing a Kafir”
There are many more quotations like these from the Koran and the sayings of Muhammad (Hadith).
Jan 26, 2009 - 1:56 pm 33. Delia:Ronald,
“The only problem I have with your comment is that you don’t include the religious zealots of left leaning liberal wacko’s.”
*Giggles like a school girl*
Religion and left = oxy moron.
Much? A muchhhhhh too much, babyyyyyyyyyyy!
Is it getting wormy in here or is it just me, dahlink? *fans self and bats eyes*
Well, the lefties want their own brand of CULT that’s fer sure.
Kill your babies.
Give up your freedoms.
March in line or be shot by the new Policia.
Be ashamed of being white.
Black is the new Teflon.
My nightmares consume me too much.
I seriously need to lighten up.
Jan 26, 2009 - 2:00 pm 34. Jim:Hollywood has been very unfair to Muslims.Not nearly enough highly realistic movies about terrorists who turn out to be Mormons or Pentecostals, just like in real life
LOL
Actually, I would imagine that you could probably count all the movies made by Hollywood that had a noticably Mormon character in it in the last 25 years on one hand…and still have a few fingers left over.
Especially a movie with the story set in “today”…
Jan 26, 2009 - 3:33 pm 35. Flubber:I would be nice if Hollywood noted, just once, that the Crusades didn’t happen because a bunch of bored Barons were sitting around one day and said, “Hey, let’s go kill us some ragheads.”
Jan 26, 2009 - 4:26 pm 36. AtheistConservative:Islam had been fighting a war of conquest across the Middle East that had lead to the deaths and enslavement of millions of Christians, had taken over Iberia, and had pushed into Europe all the way to the Gates of Vienna.
The Crusades were a response to centuries of brutal Islamic conquest, not a whim.
I’m so tired of reading & hearing this nonsense.
This is exactly the problem affecting the movie Taken. Look at any critic aggregator like Rotten Tomatoes and you’ll find at least half of the mealy-mouthed white critics complaining about how horribly ‘racist’ and ‘culturally insensitive’ it is to have non-white bad guys.
Does crime not exist anywhere in the world without a white hand directing it?
I’m so tired of people taking the safe route of having a shadowy corrupt greedy white guy secretly pulling the strings (look at any season of 24 for this tip to ‘cultural sensitivity’). There are bad people out there, and they are of every color and ethnicity.
If you want a more positive image portrayed of your group, DO MORE POSITIVE THINGS. Or WRITE MORE POSITIVE STORIES.
But stop feeding this beast by pretending it deserves any consideration.
Jan 26, 2009 - 5:51 pm 37. Delia:Have a heart, Ya’ll.
Can’t we find a way to paint 9/11 into a romance?
Remember that movie, “Not without my daughter?” Maybe we can make that a musical.”
“Not without my (let’s rap) dot-dot-dotta! Yo you!”
Jan 26, 2009 - 6:06 pm 38. Thomas:There is a revealing article in the left-leaning German magazine SPIEGEL English edition:
Survey Shows Alarming Lack of Integration in Germany
“But immigrants from Turkey, the second biggest immigrant group in Germany making up almost 3 million people, are very poorly integrated.
Is Muslim Faith a Hindrance to Integration?
What does that mean for integration? Does Islam, the faith of most of the Turks living in Germany, prevent immigrants from finding their way into German society?”
More at:
Jan 26, 2009 - 8:57 pm 39. Danny:http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,603588,00.html
Well ironically a large number of the parts showing “bad arabs” have actually been played by Israelis….
Jan 26, 2009 - 9:00 pm 40. Delia:39. Danny:
Well ironically a large number of the parts showing “bad arabs” have actually been played by Israelis….
~
I’m Finnish/Irish origin but could easily pass for a German Nazi in a movie.
Your point, oh brilliant one? I mean…really. That was effing LAME.
Jan 27, 2009 - 12:23 am 41. Danny:#40, point was that the DVD apparently is making that the only roles muslims can get are as terrorists whereas most of the terrorists – and Sadam Hussein – in films are actually Israelis not muslims. What did you think i meant?
Jan 27, 2009 - 7:54 am 42. myth buster:Of course all terrorists have their sympathizers. They couldn’t accomplish anything without useful idiots looking the other way. Look no further than our own intelligence bureaus who actively undermined and contradicted President Bush with information that was clearly false (Iran not trying to build a nuke, etc). As far as complicit people being in our government, 24 is dead on.
Jan 28, 2009 - 10:24 am 43. Lynn:Omar Shariff played some great parts in movies. Maybe he just did a better job of acting and choosing his roles.
Jan 29, 2009 - 6:37 am 44. akhter:It just dosen,t matter, the fact is despite all the negativity Islam enjoys a unique position in USA today, the fastest growing faith and especially amongst the women,can any one imagine just after 9/11 38,000 people entered Islam in one year, come on Hollywood, and the [Jewish controlled] media , you are not doing your job right ,or maybe you are, haha ???
Jan 29, 2009 - 1:15 pm 45. Craig:Don’t be too ecstatic Akhter; there were just as many people who were turned away from Islam when 9/11 demonstrated its true nature, including myself. I was giving thought to converting, especially since my only information on Islam was from the “Jewish controlled media.” After 9/11 I read translations of Islamic foundational texts, and had the opportunity to speak to a Salafi imam. He gave me a short lecture about Islam’s eternal hostility towards the kafir, and my responsibility to extend that hostility towards my own family. When I questioned him about freedom of conscience and religion, he assured me that they were unIslamic innovations meant to “place disbelief on the same level as belief.” Exposure to authentic Islam, and not the media illusion, cured me of my desire to find spiritual sustenance from such a poisoned source. Gloating comments such as yours only exposes the casual bigotry found in Islam. It certainly explains the murderous actions and totalitarian goals of groups like Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Toiba.
This is the end of the golden age of Islam within “the West.” There is always a certain segment of the population who will initially flock to totalitarian ideologies when given the chance. Luckily, such groups are not only unable to hide the the deaths that they cause, they revel in it. Although the modern media attempted to minimize the religion of the Mumbai gunmen, they could not hide the fact that they were muslim. Lashkar-e-Toiba clearly states that it sees Kashmir as only a small opening engagement, leading up to the eventual reconquest of India and the subsequent purging of the Hindu faith (along with any Hindu who refuses to convert). Finding out the truth about LeT was not difficult, and allowed me to reject arguments that stated that Hindu oppression of Indian muslims was the cause of the attack.
Like Australia’s David Hicks, who fancied himself a holy warrior and devout muslim convert, most of your fair-weather friends will abandon you when conditions become less hospitable. The increasing restrictions on freedom of expression; the persecution of people such as Mark Steyn and Gert Wilders who try to exercise this right and the deaths of people like Theo van Gogh have not been appreciated. Anti-terrorism legislation in the USA, and increasing popularity of right-wing groups in Europe are the tip of a very large iceberg. We are no longer able to overlook the tactics it is willing to embrace to achieve its goal of exterminating disbelievers.
Jan 29, 2009 - 9:42 pm 46. Daisy:hi there.
say hello to hitler when you meet him in hell.
May 22, 2009 - 12:04 pm