Day 13: Islamophobia in TV & Film

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To ‘other’ a person or group of people is to label them as outliers of society: different, abnormal, less than. We can think of othering as an antonym of belonging. Reducing characters in TV and film to stereotypes and tired tropes are one of the most used strategies for perpetuating white supremacy.

Hollywood has a long history of portraying Muslims and other marginalized groups in the U.S. as less than human. Muslim characters, especially, are fetishized and pared down to their politics and religion, which is often conflated with their culture and faith.

“The representation of Muslims in the media and entertainment emphasizes their position as what I call a ‘permanent and impossible enemy’, with a particular emphasis on terrorism,” says Dr. Nour Halabi, lecturer in race, migration, and social movements at Leeds University.

After 9/11, Americans saw a surge of violent, inaccurate and inauthentic portrayals of Arabs and Muslims by the entertainment industry. Advocacy groups protested and the industry made what was considered an improvement in representation: “patriotic” Muslim characters. Unfortunately, these portrayals are red herrings, leaving audiences only knowing Muslim characters as good or bad strictly in relation to terrorism.

Today, we explore the topic of othering through the lens of Islamophobia and America’s media response to 9/11, and its continued impact.

IF YOU HAVE…

5 Minutes	and	30 Minutes	and	1 HOUR
	and		and
WATCH THIS VIDEO about the pervasiveness of damaging Muslim stereotypes in TV and film and how the U.S. Department of Defense has influenced depictions of The War on Terror.	and	READ THIS ARTICLE (or watch the video clips or dive into the full interview) to understand how the experiences of Muslims in America have changed since 2001.	and	VIEW THIS REPORT that follows the progression of Muslim characters in TV and film and how Muslims have been represented and misrepresented on the big screen.

REFLECT

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