THE ISRAEL LOBBY & AMERICAN POLICY CONFERENCE 2019
Transcript
Jack Shaheen
Strategies to Successfully Push Back Against Harmful
Hollywood Stereotypes About Arabs and Muslims, and the Work New
Generations Must Take On
Dale
Sprusansky:
Our next speaker, many of you
know, truly needs no introduction.
Jack Shaheen is an internationally acclaimed author and media
critic. His lectures and
writing include many, many things.
His books include A
Is for Arab: Archiving Stereotypes in U.S. Popular Culture,
and Guilty: Hollywood’s
Verdict on Arabs After 9/11.
He’s been in this field for an incredibly long amount of
time, and we couldn’t be happier to have him here today.
His book signing will be at 6:00, rescheduled from lunchtime.
Ladies and gentlemen, Jack Shaheen.
Jack
Shaheen:
Well, colleagues, guest speakers, friends—heartfelt thanks
for your participation today.
It’s extremely, it’s wonderful to be here.
My heart belongs with the
Washington Report, mainly because the first speech I ever
gave on stereotyping was in Beirut, and the man who sat in the front
row was the Delinda Hanley’s father, Richard Curtiss. [APPLAUSE]
Anyway, to paraphrase Plato, those who tell the stories rule
society. Flashback 1962,
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, commencement address at Yale
University: “Damaging myths are doing our nation a great disservice.
The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie,
deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, the
myth—persistent, persuasive, and realistic.”
Now journey with me briefly this afternoon as I offer five
suggestions as to how to contest those persistent myths about Arabs
and Muslims. First, a
bit of history: for nearly half a century—I know I look much younger
than I am—I’ve tracked Hollywood’s Arabs and Muslims.
Almost always, I found they appear as villains.
They’re godless, evil, enemy, other.
Renewed and repeated over and over again, these images are
hardwired into our psyches.
As the Arab proverb reminds us, “By repetition even the
donkey learns.”
Islamophobia has joined Arabophobia.
Prejudices are escalating, not diminishing.
Today’s villains are not just Arabs and Muslims from over
there. They are
homegrown Americans with Arab roots, and American Muslims, including
Muslims from countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran.
Before 9/11, dark-complexioned actors portrayed Arabs from
over there as villains.
They were listed in the credits—I think this is interesting—the
credits always stated:
Terrorist #1, Terrorist #2, Terrorist #3.
They had no identity.
No names. But
today, thanks to the rise of Islamophobia, they are listed:
Jihadist #1,
Jihadist #2,
Jihadist #3.
Now in my modest opinion, the dramatic changes in villains took
place right after 9/11, due primarily to one producer by the name of
Howard Gordon, who produced the series “24.”
This Fox television series aired about 10 weeks after the
attacks. Until that
time, American Arabs and American Muslims were invisible on TV
screens. We did not
exist in media land, except for Danny Thomas in the ’60s, you know,
with the “Danny Thomas Show,” and Jamie Farr, lovable Jamie running
around in the woman’s dress in “M*A*S*H.”
That was it.
Otherwise, we just were invisible.
And then suddenly, Howard Gordon started showing Americans with Arab
roots and American Muslims as homegrown terrorists out to destroy
their country. “24” was
so successful that numerous copycat series copied that format from
“24.” Shows that I hope
none of you have ever seen, like “Threat Matrix,” “Sue Thomas:
F.B.Eye,” “The Agency,” “The Unit,” and others.
And what’s really hurtful about all of this is that Arab Americans
and Muslim Americans, like others at the World Trade Center—they
were victims. More than
three dozen were killed.
There’s never been a story about the brave Yemeni who worked in the
Marriott Hotel who lost his life saving people.
Yet here we are as victims of 9/11, and Gordon comes around
and these other image makers, and they make us the terrorists.
Today, more than ever, these villains prowl TV screens.
Arab and Muslim, along with American Arabs and Muslims, are
terrorists. They commit
heinous acts like holding students hostage in a Hawaiian high
school. They blow up
students in a coffee shop in Illinois.
They appear in popular series that I hope you don’t watch,
such as “Tyrant,” “24: Legacy,” “Madam Secretary,” “Hawaii Five-0,”
“Chicago Justice,” “Six,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and a score of
others.
And the shows do not project our country’s mosques as they are—holy
places of worship.
Rather, they are projected as a haven for terrorists.
God. We don’t
project synagogues or churches this way.
Why do we focus on mosques?
As Ed Murrow reminds us, “What we do not see is often as
important, if not more important, than what we do see, the sins of
omission and commission.”
Now, how to eliminate these stereotypes?
I’m not like the genie from Aladdin’s lamp, but I do have
five suggestions. The
most important is this one:
Americans with Arab roots and American Muslims, people like
writer/director Cherien Dabis, who made the movie “Amreeka” and
other films; as well as those involved in the TV series “Mr. Robot,”
Emmy Award-winners Sam Esmail and Rami Malek. Well, they’ve got to
get their act together and form a coalition of activists.
Some organizations have reached out to the industry, but no
one is more qualified, no one knows more about how best to offer
correctives, than young Arab and Muslim American image makers.
They are part of the profession.
They are on the ground in Los Angeles and in New York.
This group of activists could meet regularly with the
industry’s image makers.
Early on, as soon as they learn that a new TV show or film will be
produced.
Before the show
begins production, because once they go into production, it’s too
late.
For example, this summer there’s a new movie coming out called
“Aladdin.” It’s going to
be a live-action Disney movie directed by Guy Ritchie.
Now, not one organization—except the ADC—not one
individual—except yours truly, there may be others—has reached out
to contact Disney and Ritchie about “Aladdin.”
Why? So we could
offer constructive suggestions about how best to avoid stereotypes
that appeared in that animated version of “Aladdin.”
You know: “I come from a land from far, far away / a place
where the caravan camels roam / where they cut off your ear, if they
don’t like your face / It’s barbaric but, hey, it’s home.”
It’s important that we work with Ritchie now, to help him make a
film that will be successful, that makes a profit and that
entertains, and that Americans can go to if they have Arab roots or
American Muslims, and not be ashamed of their heritage or fear that
their children are going to be damaged by these stereotypes.
Why not? Why can’t these
image makers get together and try to lobby to make a difference?
For too many years, Arab and American Muslims have been
relegated to playing terrorists.
Fortunately, there are some who have spoken out.
My friend, Maz Jobrani, an Iranian American, told his agent,
“No more terrorists. I
don’t need to play these parts—you feel like you are selling out.”
My other friend, comedian—my friends are all comedians.
You know, I tried.
I said, I’m available, but they didn’t want anyone with grey
hair. Anyway, Ahmed
Ahmed had this to say.
He refused to change his name.
He said, quote, “I’m never going to change my name.
It’s my birth name, my given name.”
Now consider the plight of this young actor from England.
His name is Amrou Al-Kadhi.
He is a 12 year old.
When he was 12, he was cast as the son of a terrorist in
Steven Spielberg’s movie “Munich.”
“I am 26 now,” he said recently.
“I have already been sent 30 scripts for which I’ve been
asked to play terrorists on screen.”
My proposed coalition could hopefully end such typecasting.
Second, when I first started to explore this issue back in the
mid-’70s, I was alone.
With the exception of my wife and the cellphone that’s currently
ringing, there was no one around.
My wife, God love her, Bernice, stood by me, but I was the
only one. Nothing was
written. Nobody talked
about this image. Nobody
wanted to publish anything.
But now, thank goodness there are graduate students and
faculty members who write and teach about shows that humanize and
vilify Arabs and Muslims.
Now these scholars need to expand their research efforts.
How? By going
outside the walls of academe, going to Los Angeles, going to New
York, meeting with producers and writers on a one-to-one basis, as I
did in my early book, The
TV Arab. We’ve
got to make our presence known.
It’s a great way to get something published.
So that’s my advice to my colleagues in academe.
Third, more presence is needed in the media, just as more presence
is needed in politics, right?
We need more than Keith Ellison in Washington.
Anyway, presence propagates power.
“The more power you have,” remarked producer Gilbert Gates,
“the louder your voice is heard.”
Now, thanks to producers and directors like Stephen Gaghan,
Charles Roven and George Clooney, I was fortunate to have my voice
heard in a very, very positive way on two feature films—“Three
Kings” and “Syriana.”
The men and women that I worked with on those two features were
absolutely terrific.
They, I would say, embraced 90 percent of the suggestions that I
offered to eliminate stereotypes.
But my main goal was to help them make a better movie without
offending anyone. So
they deserve a tremendous amount of credit—but, again, my presence
on the set made a tremendous difference.
I say that because when I initially read the screenplays, I
thought they were the worst—I can’t use the word.
Anyway, they were bad.
All right, four years ago, there were some signs of encouragement.
Four years ago, members from New York University came to our
home on Hilton Head Island and took away 5,000 Arab artifacts, more
than 2,000 films and TV shows.
Now at NYU, there is the Shaheen Archive, which houses this
collection [APPLAUSE], which is available to scholars and students
and filmmakers worldwide.
What’s interesting about this collection is they put together
an exhibit called “A Is for Arab” (which is also the title of my new
book, which I will be signing at 6:00).
This “A Is for Arab” exhibit goes all around the country to
universities, and it’s available just to cover the cost of postage.
My wife, bless her heart, it was her idea to create the Shaheen
Scholarships, and each and every year, we award scholarships to
young Arab-American students majoring in media.
To date, we’ve awarded over 70 media scholarships to
encourage these young people to become involved. [APPLAUSE]
Young Arab and American Muslims—I was doing research, I had to do
research for this, because this was something fresh, and I told
Delinda I wouldn’t use any of my old notes.
I found young Arab American filmmakers and Muslim
Americans—comedians like Maz Jobrani, Ahmed Ahmed, Dean Obeidallah,
all three of them—not only do they do standup acts, but they produce
movies, feature films.
Jobrani did four—“Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero,” “Brown and Friendly.”
Ahmed Ahmed did a great film called “Just Like Us.”
Dean Obeidallah did “The Muslims are Coming!”
They’re out there. I
discovered there are at least 10 Arab-American and Canadian women
who actively make feature films.
And there are at least two dozen women from the Arab world,
from 10 different countries, making feature films and documentaries.
Women like Saudi filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour, who directed
the 2012 Academy Award-nominated drama
Wadjda.
We still have a long way to go, but these young women, along
with their male counterparts, are leading the way, replacing
damaging portraits with inventive, realistic images.
Fourth—I see the caution light is on—fourth, I’ll go quick.
Those [organizations] that do Arab film festivals throughout
the country are great.
They just do a marvelous job.
My only recommendation is that they bring in producers and
writers if they can, if their budgets allow—honor them, respect
them, and showcase them during their festivals.
Finally, the fifth and final suggestion: major organizations such as
the ADC—of which I’ve been a charter member since, well, I won’t say
when but I’ve been a major member for a long time.
Anyway, they should become active and acknowledge more often
image makers whose films enhance tolerance and image makers who
vilify Arabs. They
should do this on a regular basis.
They should let the trade papers know so it gets inked.
Use social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
We need to let them know that
we know what they’re doing, and acknowledge those who are doing
things to shatter myths.
Stereotypes don’t exist in a vacuum.
They injure people, especially children.
Damaging myths also injure those who may look Arab—black,
Sikhs, Native Americans, Hispanics and others.
They give ammunition to recruiters for extremist groups like
the Islamic State, ISIS.
They use these stereotypes to recruit members in their propaganda
films. History teaches
us the more people and their faiths are vilified, the more they are
“them” and not “us.”
There have been scores of TV series over the years focusing on
physicians and lawyers and broadcasters and journalists.
Yet to my knowledge, not one of these series ever featured an
Arab-American protagonist in medicine.
We have never seen the equivalent of a pioneering heart
surgeon, Dr. Michael DeBakey, or Dr. George Hatem.
George Hatem, there’s a statue of him in China because of the
wonderful work that he did there.
We have never seen the equivalent in law of a woman like
Rosemary Barkett, the [former] chief justice on the Florida Supreme
Court, or someone like our friend Ralph Nader.
In journalism, we’ve never seen the equivalent of Arab
Americans like Leila Fadel, National Public Radio’s bureau chief in
Cairo and a Shaheen scholarship recipient.
Or Michael Sallah, the
Miami Herald’s
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
From the beginning, I have always proposed that image makers project
Arab and Muslim characters as three-dimensional humane
individuals—no better, no worse than they project other people.
Why don’t they include in future scenarios a doctor, like
“Dr. Victor Nassar, At Your Service”?
A lawyer like Michael Rafeedie and a reporter like George
Hishmeh? Why not?
Are we not part of America’s landscape?
Have we not made great contributions in these fields and
others? Then we should
be part of the visual landscapes on television and in cinema.
In conclusion, perceptions impact public opinion and public
policies. I’ll repeat
it. They impact opinion
and public policies.
Given the rise of ISIS and recent terrorist attacks here and abroad,
shattering stereotypes is more difficult today than ever before.
Politicians and members of some special interest groups
actively campaign to vilify all things Arabs and Muslims.
Resulting in what?
More hate crimes, more harassment, more fear, more deaths,
notably innocent Arabs and Muslim Americans, college students in
North Carolina, a Christian Lebanese in Tulsa, an imam in Queens, as
well as the deaths of anyone who is perceived to be Arab or
Muslim—an Indian in Kansas, a Sikh in Washington.
Unfortunately, there are those who do not see or care about the
difference between Sikhs and sheikhs.
Media images continue to teach us whom we should love and
whom we should hate. Yet
in spite of the current barrage of hate rhetoric and racist policies
and damaging images, I remain an optimist.
I have faith in young scholars and image makers, because I
always believe the future belongs to them and to the men and women
in the industry who are humanists.
Let me just give you two examples of two shows that I just saw.
One is a CBS sitcom called “Superior Donuts.”
In this one episode, there’s a dry cleaning shop owned by
Fawz, an Iraqi American.
Someone sprays on Fawz’s windows, “Arabs go home.”
When Arthur, who runs Superior Donuts, the donut shop, sees
that—Arthur is Jewish, by the way—he takes a rag and he removes that
from Fawz’s window. Then
he takes a can of spray paint and sprays on his window of the donut
shop, “Arabs welcome.”
Arabs welcome—that’s a telling moment, I think, in TV sitcoms.
There are other shows, but in the interest of time, I’ll skip
them.
Finally, there’s Mandy Patinkin, who stars in the series “Homeland.”
He admitted for the first five seasons, Muslims were the bad
guys. Admitting that
because it’s an on-the-edge-of-your-seat political drama, the series
was not helping the American Muslim community.
“We take responsibility for it. We are part of the problem,”
he said. “But we also
desperately want to be part of the cure.”
And then Richard Gere speaking out against the way
Palestinians were being treated in the occupied territories.
To rebuke these peddlers of prejudice—you like that: peddlers of
prejudice? I think I
stole it from someone. I
don’t remember who, but I like it.
To rebuke these peddlers of prejudice, I think that we should
keep in mind two things.
First, the wisdom of Václav Havel, former president of the Czech
Republic, who reminds us that none of us as an individual can save
the world as a whole, but each of us must behave as though it was in
his or her power to do so.
Finally, yesterday I went to the African American Museum, whose
moving displays reflect the damage that hateful stereotypes did for
centuries upon the African American people of our country.
I thought when I was there of one quote from Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. King
was in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, and he said something like, “I
think the people who have ill will have used their time more
effectively than have the people of good will.”
He says, to change all of this, we should become movers and
shakers.