Amanda Abedin

Abstract

       Racism in society has always been a major issue when it comes to a person’s skin color, ethnicity, and religion. There are millions of different views that people believe in and hold values to and practices that they follow, but also judge others on what they hold value to. As it is difficult for people to understand every view of every religion, it is important to shed light on false assumptions and the reality of what a religion may consist of. The topic of Muslim portrayals in society is essential to being studied because many people have created biases towards this religion in particular because of what has gone on in the past. I studied the different ways that Muslims are portrayed in films. I used a content analysis to interpret the findings and the data I used consists of seven films: Lone Survivor, Rules of Engagement, Aladdin, Arabian Nights, American Sniper, Syriana, and Zero Dark Thirty. The major findings that came from this study were three main themes: Muslims are portrayed as terrorists, Muslim women are sexual but silent, and Muslims are often wealthy bad guys.

 

Introduction

         “Islamophobia” is said to be “an exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from social, political, and civic life” (Wajahat 2008). The simple fact that this term was created and is used by individuals every day, shows that racism is not only an issue when it comes to a person’s skin color, but also to the beliefs and values that they hold. With all of the issues that have risen between Islam and other religions, it is important for people to understand the different sides of Islam. While some followers of certain religions give non-followers reason to believe only negative or only positive aspects of that religion, it is vital for a well-rounded society to understand all sides of any religion in society. There are many Muslims who are faithful but are in no way terrorists or extremists out to cause harm and violence to those who do not share the same values, and vice versa. The media has its way of swaying a person’s opinion on almost anything, but religion is something that is commonly misinterpreted because of the depictions that are shown through media forms. In this study, I will analyze films to show the different depictions of Muslims in the world and how it effects society’s view on the religion as a whole.

Literature Review

            Many films portray Muslims as only extreme, psychopathic terrorists when showing real events that have happened in the past – constantly swaying people’s view on Islam. In Akbar Ahmed’s article “Hello, Hollywood” (2002), the films “True Lies” and “Executive Decision” are analyzed with the purpose of displaying the ways that Muslims are shown in an “Islam equals terrorism” image. Ahmed (2002) explains that people in all different societies view different religions and cultures in different ways. As places like Africa and Asia view films that glorify sex and violence and relate them to America, America sees films that show detailed terroristic events and relate them to Muslims. Films such as these have conditioned the American public to expect the worst from a civilization depicted as “terrorist”, “fundamentalist”, and fanatic” (Ahmed 2002). With Ahmed’s findings of Muslims being constantly depicted as terrorists, he discusses what can be done through Hollywood to make amends for contributing negative images and move the world towards more understanding. It should be understood that films do not show all sides of a social group. “Hollywood is an important piece of the jigsaw puzzle that makes up our turbulent, dangerous, and interconnected world” (Ahmed 2002). In a separate study done by Daniel Mandel (2001) on the same films, as well as Three Kings, he discusses how “Islamist violence is distorted and that Muslims and Arabs never appear in sympathetic roles”. This was seen through the main characters – “Aziz” in True Lies and “Hasan” in Executive Decisions” as they use their Islamic religion as an excuse to bomb the United States. This implies not that many Muslims and Arabs are anti-American terrorists, but that many anti-American terrorists are Muslims and Arabs (Mandel 2001). These films “ignore the fact that there are followers of Islam who do not believe in terroristic acts as a way to prove their beliefs and values” (Mandel 2001).

            With films not possibly being able to show all sides or values of any religion, it is easy to make assumptions about the well-being or struggles that a social group faces and why they do. In a study done by Sabine Schiffer (2011), the film Not Without my Daughter was analyzed for depictions of women in the Muslim society and how an individual of differing beliefs would see them. It was seen that “Islamic women are often framed in their discourse as the more dominant person in the relationship” (Schiffer 2011), when in reality of the Islamic familial setting, the husband is the more dominant. Schiffer’s study (2011) explains that in films, women are often depicted in a bettering, framed discourse of their everyday life which consequently turns away the issues that women actually do face in some Islamic societies. This supports the previous findings of Islam as a whole often being depicted in false ways through films. Another study on Muslim women in films was done by Shankhamala Ray (2012). The films that she analyzed were My Tehran for Sale, Lemon Tree, and Bol and showed the many different ways that Muslim women are depicted through the media and how they were responded to in real life or how they actually behave. In My Tehran for Sale, it was the real life occurrences of a young, urban artistic woman who was not allowed to show any form of expression. It was later noted that she was punished for the way she acted in this particular film. Through her analyzing The Lemon Tree, it was seen that the film displayed a “typical stereotype” of Muslim women that highlighted the “regressive attitude of a male-dominated society that offered no liberty to women in choosing life-partners, refusing reproduction, gaining education or working independently” (Ray 2012). This study contradicts the previous one by Schiffer that was discussed as it shows the hardships that Muslim women face and how they combat them. Ray’s study explained that films show Muslim women’s hardships, but as they combat them, the movies displayed the “courage, honesty, warmth, and spirit of womanhood” (Ray 2012).

Studies have also been found on films that depict the real-life portrayals on Muslims in a non-Islamic society. Belinda Balraj (2014) analyzes My Name is Khan in her study and discusses how even at present times, the media links any act of violence to Muslims and Islam as well as the actual struggles that innocent Muslims face. With the main character in the film, Khan, who suffers from autism and dresses in an Islamic fashion and has an Islamic appearance it is seen that it is not the autism that causes victimization and oppression towards him but the fact that he is Muslim. “The movie does portray Muslims as ‘the other’ whereby just by having the name Khan, one is seen as a terrorist” (Balraj 2014). Balraj (2014) concludes that gate keepers or editors should play a pivotal role in selecting representations that are appropriate for viewers without judging a religion or person in particular.

Methodology

            In my own study, I will be answering the question of “How Are Muslims are portrayed in movies?” A content analysis will help me to answer the question because I am able to look at research that has already been conducted and what was found from that in order to see what new information I can bring to light about this particular social group in the media. I selected films to analyze because they unlike other forms of social media, show people of certain social groups in action and people are able to see how these groups are displayed in all sorts of different situations. In other forms of social media like social networks and radio, society is only able to hear information on this particular group and not actually see the depictions that are made. I will be analyzing seven different films: Rules of Engagement, Lone Survivor, Syriana, American Sniper, Zero Dark Thirty, Aladdin, and Arabian Nights. I chose these particular movies because some are widely known and were top sellers in recent years such as American Sniper, Zero Dark Thirty, and Lone Survivor. The plots rely heavily in Afghanistan and Iraq and there are many assumptions that can come from the society in that country, but not always ones that are accurate. The other four films are based heavily around the Islamic society in their plots. In these films, I will be looking for the different ways that Muslims are shown in the different settings and plots. I will be analyzing how an individual could broadly make generalizations and opinions of Islam based off of how they see Muslims in these films. These films will help to explain how the Islamic religion is seen in society and why it is seen that way, other than what has already been found. I will be looking at latent and manifest indicators in my study. The manifest indicators will include what Muslims actually do in movies and how they behave while the latent indicators will be what interpretations I can draw from there.

Findings

            When analyzing these movies for how Muslims are portrayed in film, many different connections were made. Though some broader than others, there were three main themes that came of these movies. The films deeply depicted Islamic people as terrorists, as well as briefly depicting Muslim women consistently being sexualized but silent, and Muslim people as whole as wealthy bad guys.

Islamic portrayed as nothing but terrorists.

            In the film Rules of Engagement by Willam Friedkin Muslims are portrayed as blood thirsty terrorists who are out to kill all Americans and is known as “one of the most racist films made against Arabs in Hollywood.” The film begins with Muslim people in Yemen rioting in the streets with guns and yelling chants for attention towards the American embassy that is located there. It is not apparent why they are causing so much ruckus but shows Muslim civilians trying to break into and shooting towards the embassy as well as snipers from rooftops across the way. As this is happening, the U.S. Marine rescue troop flies in on a helicopter and the civilians only get rowdier. This first scene in the film is a major indication of how they are portrayed throughout the rest of the movie. The film goes on as 83 civilians are killed by the U.S. marines because of the rioting that would not end and shows the brutality that is taken when terroristic actions are at play. As one Colonel in the film goes back to Yemen to uncover evidence, it shows Muslims dancing in the streets with knives and in multiple different scenes attacking the innocent American Colonel just for being on their ground. This shows them as violent and dangerous. Young Muslim children are also shown pointing their hands in the form of a gun at the American Colonel for no apparent reason and displays that the Muslims are out to get anyone that does not belong there – no matter what their age. In one scene later on in the film, a recording of a Muslim, Arabic speaking man in discussion is played, stating that it is God’s command to kill Americans – it is their duty. Although there are many different sides to the Islamic religion, this film only shows the negative aspects of it and encourages people to ignore what positive teachings are held in the religion. It depicts all Muslim people as one’s who are out to kill Americans at any chance they can and is a part of why society thinks that way today. The film American Sniper by Clint Eastwood also depicts the Muslim people as mainly terrorists. It is the story of Chris Kyle and his journey as a Navy Seal in and out of Iraq. He travels to and from Iraq in four different tours just to protect his fellow marines and Navy Seal brothers at war with the Muslim people. In the movie he states that “any Iraqi man between 10 and 60 are is not middle-aged, but military aged – or a threat.” This line along with the scenes of the Americans fighting in the war with Muslim troops – depicting real life events – display a major example of the way that the terroristic actions and beliefs of Muslims are mainly showed in film. There are multiple scenes where not only Muslim adults, but children too, have guns that they shoot at the Americans and bombs that they are threatening to or do set off. The main enemy in the film is a ruthless sniper that is killing all of the American marines and seals as well as a Muslim leader that drills into people’s bodies to kill them as punishment when they speak to Americans. These two main characters display the men of the Muslim religion as bloodthirsty, as stated before, and having a goal to kill anyone that gets in the way of their territory. As a top telling film in 2013, Peter Burg’s Lone Survivor also reenacts real-life events that went on between U.S. Navy Seals and Taliban men in Afghanistan. As the Seals are in Afghanistan to take down the Taliban leader, they face multiple battles with members of the Taliban who are willingly to take down the Americans in any way that they can. Through killing 3 of the 4 men that traveled there on the team, and the last one being held hostage, it again depicts the Muslim people as raging terrorists. The films show the brutal injuries that the Seals face and the intense suffering that they go through because of the war that went on in Afghanistan. Although these occurrences come from actual events in history, and is a way to show America’s strength in war, it also forces the viewers to see people of this religion and culture as negatively as possible.

Muslim women are sexualized and silent.

            In any society, women have always been seen to be the less superior person in a marriage or relationship. In movies that include women of the Muslim religion, this point could not be more proven. In the film American Sniper, the wives are not allowed to speak to any of the American soldiers about the whereabouts of who they are looking for without fear of being punished by their husbands or other male leaders – in which some cases they are. In a specific scene of American Sniper, after a mother and child talk to one of the soldiers, even with not giving away any vital information, they are killed by one of the male leaders in the area. This displays a negative outlook on women of the Muslim world as they are seen to be more submissive and forbidden the privilege of human rights such as speaking when they want to or what they know. The view that is taken from this is that women who are of the Muslim religion answer to and follow all rules that the male figure sets. Women are not only seen as silent, but as willing to represent themselves as sexual objects. The 2000 Arabian Nights film by Steve Barren is based around a man who is out to marry a different woman every day and have her killed by the end of the night so that he is not cheated on again, as he and his brother both were by their first wives. The first wives – who were killed for being caught sleeping with other men – paint a picture of the cruel punishment Muslim women are thought to receive for going behind a man’s back. As the women after them willingly marry these men without a second choice, they are portrayed as one’s who have no say in what goes on in their life even if it effects their well-being. This supports the common practice of arranged marriages in the Muslim religion but shows it in a way that makes Muslim women seem weak and unable to make their own choices or in other words, silent when it comes to their own lives. Many of the Muslim women in this film are also seen as veiled belly dancers, presenting them as sexual, entertaining objects to men. The women are placed in scenes where groups of them dance around a single man with hardly anything on. As the Muslim men in this film are seen to enjoy the presence of Muslim women who have veils that cover their faces more than clothes cover the rest of their bodies, it makes the women seem as though they exist only to pleasure a man. The famous Disney film, Aladdin also depicts Muslim women as sexualized and silent in making their own life decisions. As the childhood movie is based around a street urchin, Aladdin, who is set out to save the so-called doomed life of princess Jasmine, it again displays women of that culture to be expected to follow all religious family rules and laws when it comes to marriage and what they will accomplish in life. Princess Jasmine is seen by viewers as miserable and unhappy because of the arranged marriage she will be forcibly set up in. These scenes and portrayals take away from the value and dignity of a woman who follows the Muslim religion.

Muslims are seen as wealthy, powerful bad guys.

            Although Muslim men are often seen as terrorists and Muslim women are seen as sexual objects, they are also portrayed as people who have money and power, but are only out to be corrupt with those tools. In the 2005 film Syriana by Stephen Gaghan, one of the main characters is a rich, Muslim billionaire because of the oil industry in the Middle East. The Muslim character, Prince Nasir’s only goal is to make their oil company more independent and profitable through corruption with American oil industries. The money motivates the Prince to do anything he can to expand his industry. In the film Zero Dark Thirty, the goal of the American troops sent to Afghanistan is to capture the Taliban leader Osama Bin Laden. As they are unable to locate him throughout the entire film, based on real-life events, it explains that with Bin Laden’s corrupt power in his country, he is able to hide out in anyway needed. It is found out later, that he and his family live in an enormous palace that contains everything they need to remain in the home and not have to leave multiple times in the day. They have enough security and blockings that allow for Bin Laden to not be seen in any type of situation. This displays people of the Muslim religion holding enough power and money to live in an enormous, visible, place without anyone knowing. Furthermore, it portrays this Muslim family as people of a culture who can be completely invisible and hold power that controls every person in their country at the same time.

Discussion

            Through doing this study, I have found that people of the Muslim religion are depicted in many different ways throughout Hollywood. I found through research that since 9/11, many of these movies have been created in spite of the events that occurred that day and after. Many of the movies were top sellers because of the assumptions that were taken from terroristic acts that had occurred as the depictions in some of the films supported the behaviors. I also found that other films show somewhat true but twisted depictions of the Islamic society, in way that women are more dependent now than they used to be but from seeing the films one would not think so. It is important to be able to differentiate what is put on the big screen and what is reality. My findings fit with the previous research found in supporting that Muslims are generally depicted as psychopathic terrorists in film. However, new findings were brought to light about Muslims being portrayed as sexual but silent women, rather than just struggles that are faced and the men that are part of wealthier side of the religion and use their power for different reasons. More research was found on things other than just what they face in some of the non-Islamic societies. The patterns that I found in the data can be supported by some sociological concepts such as paternalistic relationship, ascribed status, norms, and sexism. Paternalistic relationships are shown in the films Aladdin and Arabian Nights where arranged marriages and men being more dominant are the main themes. Ascribed status and sexism are also shown in those films as well as American Sniper as the women are expected to behave a certain way around their male counterparts. The norms of Islam are present in the movies that depict Muslims as terrorist as they advocate war and crime towards Americans because they follow a certain belief/culture.

Conclusion

            In this study, I was looking for the different ways that Muslims are portrayed in film that have not often been brought to light. It is obvious, after analyzing these seven films, that there are multiple ways one might think of the Muslim religion and those who follow it because of what they see through Hollywood’s eyes. The study was able to bring out the obvious depictions of Muslim as violent and terroristic, Muslim women as sexual objects but silent in their lives, and the ways that power and money can effect a Muslim person. This can bring many stereotypes out for viewers who do not have very much knowledge on what the Islamic society is about or all of the values and beliefs that it contains. The articles in the literature review did provide a great amount of knowledge on the terroristic views of Muslims in society and how they are treated in non-Islamic societies as well as the struggles that women may face and combat, but this study adds the monetary effects of the Islamic society and ways that Muslim women are looked at through a Muslim man’s eyes. The study was limited by the small amount of films that were able to be found displaying portrayals of Muslim women and problems with wealth in their society as most Islamic-based films focus around the terroristic acts that have occurred in real life. With more films containing people of the Muslim religion and different plots it would have been more beneficial in gathering data to make more distinct, supportive information on the themes. Future research could be done more so on Muslims in non-Islamic societies and how they are treated or feel about being in another culture. It would be interesting to see what findings from studies on Muslims in actual society, such as documentaries, could be brought to light.

           

References

Ahmed, Akbar. 2002. “Hello, Hollywood: Your Images Affect Muslims Everywhere”. New Perspectives Quarterly 19(2):73

Baraj, Belinda. 2014. “My Name is Khan and I am not a Terrorist: Intersections of Counter          Terrorism Measures”.  South Asian History & Culture 5(4):521-533

Mandel, Daniel. 2001. “Muslims on the Silver Screen”. Middle East Quarterly 8(2):19-30

Ray, Shankhamala. 2012. “Islamic Women in Films: Turning the Voyeurs into Spectators”. Global Media Journal: Indian Edition 3(1):1-5

Schiffer, Sabine. 2011. “Demonizing Islam before and after 9/11: Anti-Islamic Spin”. Global Media & Communication 7(3):211-214

Wajahat, Ali. 2008. “Islamaphobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the West”.  Washington, D.C.: Center for American Progress