ARABS AND THE MEDIA

by Narmeen El-Farra

Journal of Media Psychology

Volume I, Number 2, Spring 1996

A stereotype is the creation of a biased opinion or view -- an individual will take

the behavior of one person and state that all people belonging to that particular group,
be it an ethnic, religious or social group, behave in the same manner. The
establishment of stereotypes encourages people to react and behave in a manner that
is both judgmental and biased.
The word Arabs is used to describe an individual from the Middle East. Despite the
fact that these individuals are from different countries, with diverse cultures, beliefs
and a variety of religions, they are characterized by one term, "Arabs." The word
Arabs reduces individuals and countries to a distinct target, open to stereotypes and
bias.

The Western media has often projected individuals of Arab descent in a negative
manner. Currently, Arabs are seen as terrorists and murderers due to how the media
presents them. Newspapers use key words such as extremists, terrorists and fanatics
to describe Arabs. According to Shaheen (1984), "The present day Arab stereotype
parallels the image of Jews in pre-Nazi Germany, where Jews were painted as dark,
shifty-eyed, venal and threateningly different people." These distortions of the Arab
people have created a general mistrust and dislike for Arabs among Americans.

To identify Arabs with terrorism is to classify them as enemies. In research

conducted by L. John Martin (1985), results showed that the word "terrorism" was
used by the press in describing events and individuals they disapproved of. Yet, when
describing these same acts by individuals who are not Arabs, the media was careful to
appear neutral and unbiased.

A good example of media coverage which presented facts of an actual event in a

prejudicial manner was the Oklahoma City bombing. In 1995, within minutes of the
event, news reporters were insinuating that the bombing was an act of terrorists.
Raised with unpopular stereotypes of Arabs, the American public was quick to
develop images of Arab terrorists destroying American property. These views were
fueled by the fact that it was a state building containing several government agencies.
For example, "Steven Emerson, a terrorism expert, told viewers not to believe
Islamic groups when they denied involvement." Furthermore, CNN, a major news
channel, gave the actual names of Arab suspects being detained for questioning in
connection with the bombing (Alter, 1995). This type of reporting was a departure
from the normal objective stance CNN usually takes of protecting the identity of
individuals involved in criminal activity until the facts have been confirmed. It was
impossible for the American public to conceive of the word terrorist in application to
citizens of their own country. The word terrorism is synonymous with Arabs. Yet,
the arrest of an American citizen for the Oklahoma bombing forced them to look at
mainstream America and its ideologies. It is the mass media's inability to handle a
forced examination of their own people that forces them to look outward for
scapegoats.

Moreover, this projection of views is further fueled by current events such as the
Palestinian Arab - Israeli conflict. American media coverage of the Arab-Israeli
conflict paints a distorted image between victim and aggressor. The unbalanced
coverage in the mainstream media places the Arab states in the position of violence
and power, while Israel is left as a nation attempting to protect its freedom and
people. This is evident in the "disproportionate number of unfavorable references to
Arab states, their leaders and their actions. Similarly, bias is evident in a
disproportionate number of favorable references to Israel." (Kressel, 1987) Such
distorted representations of Arabs have a direct consequence upon Arab-Americans
nationwide. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee reported a 250%
increase in hate crimes against Arabs from the previous year (Bazzi, 1995).

According to Dobkin (1992), the news media allows television journalism to play a
major role in setting the political agenda. This explains why Americans fear terrorism
from Arab nations, though there has been little evidence to support the justification of
these fears. Such fears led the majority of the American public to view an air raid
against Libya in 1986 as justified. "It was judged an appropriate response to terrorism
by 71% of the population despite the recognition by many that the bombing might
lead to more terrorism." (Dobkin, 1992) These types of views allow the general
public and public officials to dehumanize Arabs. And those negative stereotypes of
Arab nations, societies, cultures and institutions regulate foreign policy and attitude.

The few exceptions in regards to public impressions of Arabs are the nations which
are viewed as pro-Western. According to Ghareeb (1983), these positive images only
exist as long as these countries remained positively affiliated with the United States
on foreign policy issues. In a study that measured American perceptions of Arabs, it
was found that "Arabs were so dehumanized that Americans were inured against the
miseries and concerns of the Arabs or any segment of the Arab world; it is as if the
fear of Islam and Muslims were justification for the negative Arab image in the West"
(Gahreeb, 1983). In 1980 the conflicts between Iran and Iraq were viewed as an
aggression against the United States, as anti-Americanism, rather than a development
due to complex and existing hostility.

Establishing foreign policy which eradicates the similarity between nations gives
us the notion that Arab nations are "politically, culturally and economically unlike the
rest of the developing world" (Boyd, 1987). This type of political stand reduces the
image of Arab people to that of religious fanatics set on destroying the world. This
stereotype is so well enforced that one can not conceive the notion of Arabs
coexisting peacefully with Israel or other nations. According to David Shipler (1986),
the perception of fueding Arabs has created a system in which "prejudices and
stereotypes worked their way so thoroughly into literature, education, history,
language and social mores that they seem to govern the conflict as much as they are
created by it, disease and systems intertwine."

This inability to separate stereotypes from reality governs not only political policy,
but economic policy as well. Newspapers and television media are always ready to
justify oil price hikes by depicting the Arab nations' personna as money hungry,
seeking to control the world's natural resources. For example, the world perceives
OPEC as synonymous with Arabs, however, only seven of the thirteen OPEC
members are Arab nations. Furthermore, of the five largest oil-producing countries,
only one is an Arab nation, Saudia Arabia. This is validated by statements such as
"the world's supplies of oil and price levels are manipulated and controlled by greedy
Arabs" made by an Editor of The Washington Post (Ghareeb, 1983). Other themes
which follow along the lines of the Arab nations' attempt to dominate the world
through their massive oil reserves include "blackmailing" the United States, in order
to accumulate arms.

While newspapers and television news play a major role in the way we perceive
individuals, it is often the characterization of these individuals in the entertainment
arena -- movies, books and sitcoms, that shape our stereotypes. As a favorite pastime,
the average American watches anywhere from three to five hours of television per
day. Television has the ability to enlighten and enrich the lives of all the people it
touches, however, it also has the ability to perpetuate and create stereotypes. In an
analysis of television shows, Shaheen (1984) has formulated the four basic myths
pertaining to stereotypes of Arabs. "They are all fabulously wealthy, they are
barbarians and uncultured, they are sex maniacs with a penchant for white slavery,
and they revel in acts of terrorism."

In a variety of studies, the age of television viewers is examined and the results
show that children and young adults watched the most hours of television. These
results are crucial since this age group represents individuals who are still in the
process of developing and forming their perceptions of the world. Thus, when
television programs present shows which offer "an image that can best be described as
'The Instant TV-Arab Kit, the kit suitable for most TV Arabs consists of a belly
dancer's outfit, headdress (which looks like tablecloths pinched from a restaurant),
veils, sunglasses, flowing gowns and robes, oil wells, limosines and/or camels," they
are creating stereotypes which will mold the viewer's perceptions of Arabs as a whole.
(Shaheen, 1984).

A stereotype or the reinforcement of a stereotype removes the need to examine

individuals on the basis of their character. Television executives can take a stereotype
and perpetuate that stereotype, instead of doing research or presenting images which
might create controversy. When they perpetuate the stereotype, this unfortunately,
causes children to adopt misconceptions such as "Arabs are rich and have oil. All
Arabs are named Mohammed. All Arabs are nomads." (Morris International, 1980).
While these may seem to be minor misconceptions, they are the foundations upon
which stereotypes and judgments are based. Take for example television cartoon
shows which are popular with young children such as "Richie Rich, Scooby-Doo ,
Porky Pig, Popeye, Heckle and Jeckle, Woody Woodpecker and Superfriends. At one
time or another, each of these cartoon shows has projected Arabs in a negative
manner. In Richie Rich, the hero "outsmarts an outlandish sheik." On Scooby-Doo,
they "outwit Uncle Abdullah and his slippery genie." On Porky Pig "Ali-Baba bound,
dumps a blackhearted Arab into a barrel of syrup." Bugs Bunny "escapes from being
boiled in oil by satisfying the whims of a sheik with an unnamed goat." (Shaheen,
1984) According to Shaheen (1984), these cartoons define the world in very narrow
terms, good vs. evil, "to a child, the world is simple, not complex, superman versus
Arabs."

A good example of cartoons depicting Arabs in a negative manner is Walt Disney's

animated feature film, Aladdin (The Walt Disney Company, 1993), which is now also
a Saturday morning cartoon show on CBS-TV. In its attempts to make the film more
appealing to the Western world, Disney Americanized the names and appearances of
the characters. The Sultan, for instance, did not look like he was from an Arab
country, unlike the antagonist, Jafer. Jafer, the only character with exaggerated Arab
features, was displayed as the epitome of evil throughout the film. This depiction of
the evil, manipulating Jafer, is an example of the Western view toward Arab people.

The name of the Princess in Walt Disney's version of Aladdin was changed from
the one in the original tale. "Buddir al Buddor" was renamed "Jasmine," to help
children identify with the character (Leipod, 1973). Additionally, Aladdin was an
orphan in Disney's version, his parents were never mentioned throughout the film. In
the original story, Aladdin has a father. When the current film presented him as an
orphan, this gave the impression that a backward country did not have social
programs to take care of its dejected. Moreover, Princess Jasmine's attire was not that
of a Princess, but the traditional attire of a belly dancer, or someone of lower status,
which gave her an air of sexuality instead of royalty.

Returning to the issue of television for a minute: When asserting the influence of
television shows on the propagation of stereotypes, programs geared toward adults
and mainstream America cannot be ignored. Television writers and executives have
employed and still employ several myths about Arabs including themes such
as--"Arabs are buying up America. OPEC is synonymous with Arabs. Iranians are
Arabs. All Arabs are Muslims. Arabs are white-slavers and uncivilized rulers of
kingdoms. All Palestinians are terrorists. And Arabs are the world's enemies.
(Shaheen, 1984). Some have no basis in truth or glimmer of reality.

Iranians, for instance, are Persians, not Arabs. They do not speak Arabic, nor do
they have Semitic origins. As stated earlier, a majority of OPEC members are non-
Arabs. And Arab nations outlawed slavery long before many countries in the Western
world abolished the slave trade. As for the fallacy about the wealth of all Arabs, as in
any culture Arab nations contain wide and diverse economic groups, but the average
per capita income for some Arab nations was slightly more than twelve thousand
dollars; while for other Arab cultures, most people have a per capita income of less
than eight hundred and fifty dollars (Shipler, 1986).

In the early 1980's, a popular sitcom, Alice (CBS-TV, 1976-1983), featured a

famous actor of Arab descent, Vic Tayback. He played Mel Sharples, the proprietor
of a truck stop restaurant called Mel's Diner. Instead of using this show as a vehicle
to inhibit the spread of prejudices and using it to convey a fair portrayal of Arabs, it
was used to perpetuate familiar stereotypes. During one episode, Flo, a waitress in
Mel's Diner, was approached by a multimillionaire sheik who wanted to marry her
and attempted to persuade Flo to join his harem. While Vic Tayback's character, Mel,
was a gentle, fun-loving man, his Arab roots were ignored and never discussed.
When Shaheen (1984) approached the producers of Alice, he was told that
"stereotypes take a long time to wither away, and they did not want Mel to have a
particular heritage."

Stereotypes extend beyond those of Arab people, they also encompass the Muslim
religion. In an attempt to place Islam in a category that Americans can understand,
the media portrays images of Muslims as "belonging to a faith of 800 million people,
consisting of strange, bearded men with burning eyes, hierarchic figures in robes and
turbans, blood dripping from the striped backs of malefactors, and piles of stones
barely concealing the battered bodies of adulterous couples," according to Godfrey H.
Jansen, an expert on Muslims, in his book, Militant Islam (Shaheen, 1984).

Television programs and the mass media do not examine the fact that the Islamic
religion preaches equality and peace. The distortion of Islam and ensuing
misconceptions lead television viewers to believe that it is a mysterious religion prone
to acts of terrorism, violence and fanaticism. These themes are also visualized and
maintained by the film industry. Recent examples are the films Not Without My
Daughter (Pathe Entertainment/MGM-UA, 1991) and True Lies, (Twentieth Century
Fox, 1994) which presented stereotypes of Arabs as violent and religious fanatics.

Not Without My Daughter begins with a couple's visit to relatives in Iran. The
wife (played by Sally Field), an American citizen, takes her daughter on this trip,
despite much of her own trepidation about visiting her husband's homeland and
despite warnings from her friends. Once in Iran, she is subject to humiliating
situations which demean her role as a wife, a mother and a female. Shunned by her
husband's family, she continues to struggle to accept the harsh conditions in an
Islamic family. However, when her husband abandons her for his "religious and
family ties," she is determined to leave. Throughout the movie, women belonging to
Sally Field's Islamic circle are portrayed as subjects, and submissive slaves. Her
husband is portrayed as a man corrupted by his religion and by his country, a man
who turns into a wild, fanatic religious zealot.

True Lies was an action-packed comedy, starring major box-office actors, Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. When it was released, this movie created
anger among Arab-Americans. The Arab community felt that the negative portrayal
of Arabs, namely as terrorists, encouraged existing stereotypical views. Not only
were the Arabs in the film religious fanatics bent on destroying the world, they were
also sexist, racist and idiotic. Truly, they were unable to complete their mission
because of errors which even a five year-old could have avoided.

This type of stereotype exists and is allowed to continue to exist because of the
continued acceptance of myths. A myth is a fabrication created from an analysis of
half-truths. A good example is the myth that it is Arabs who belong to the Islamic
faith. The truth is that half of the world's population belongs to the Islamic faith.
Muslims come from nations well beyond the Arab region, places such as China,
Indonesia, India and the United States.

It is the myths about Arabs which often inspire directors, producers and
screenwriters to develop a product which is then based on stereotypes. While
producers, executives and others in entertainment industry deny playing a role in
current stereotypes, a negative attitude toward Arabs persists due to fact, "a
conspiracy is not necessary to continue the cycle of stereotyping, a complacency is
enough" (Shaheen, 1984). Until the creators of films and television programs
establish guidelines which include the depiction of both positive and negative aspects
of Islam, of Arab Nations, and of their peoples, stereotypes will continue to exist.

As for the news media, there are five major reasons why it fails to cover and
portray Arabs fairly: "cultural bias, the think-alike atmosphere within the impact
media, the Arab-Israeli conflict, media ignorance of the origin and history of the
conflict and a determined and sophisticated pro-Israel lobby (Morris International,
1980).

Israel commands larger media coverage than all Arab countries combined.
Furthermore, the press regards Israelis as the "good guys" and Arabs as the "bad
guys," due to the fact that "Israel is viewed as an extension of Western Civilization
and culture (Morris International, 1980). The terms used in the press to describe
Israelis tend to be positive, versus the negative terms used to describe Arab nations.
Research analyzing accounts of the Israeli-Lebanese border conflict found that the
Israelis were described as "troops, commandos, security forces, all neutral terms,
while references to the Palestinians included terms such as guerrillas, infiltrators,
raiders, all negative to pejorative terms"(Morris International, 1980). Political
cartoons also distort and exaggerate facts to promote a particular editorial position
about Arabs (Ghareeb, 1983). Gahreeb states that this type of stereotype-formation
will last as long as imbalanced and biased news reporting proceeds, since "the
drawing of cartoons encourages the people of one country to support hostility against
or friendship toward another group" (Morris International, 1980).

A prevalent theme in political cartoons is the portrayal of Arabs using oil to hold
the United States and European nations hostage. Other cartoons depict Arabs as
foolish idiots, unable to accomplish simple goals.
One which was published just after the 1967 War showed a very tired-looking Arab in
ragged Bedouin dress, holding a sign saying "Arabs Onward, Fight to the Death!
Exterminate Israel! Smash the Infidel Aggressors!" He is dragging behind him, a
war-torn, skinny-to-the-bone camel, labeled Egypt. In a corner along with Punk the
Penguin, is an Arab running and saying, "Everyone back to the Oasis!" Punk
comments, "It's occupied."(Morris International, 1980) In such satires, the viewer is
not presented with a balanced viewpoint, consequently, such cartoons can influence
readers to make decisions or form opinions on political events without examining the
actual circumstances or evidence.

The negative stereotypes about Arabs which are presented by the media spill over
into the textbooks used in American schools and are taught in the education system,
as research has shown. A study conducted on social science and world history
textbooks which were published after 1975 revealed that stated aspects of Arab life
and Islam were incorrect or misleading. Noteworthy was this example describing
Arabs as "belonging to the Islamic faith, a warlike religion, in which women occupy a
position of servitude" (Ghareeb, 1984).

Novels, on the other hand, have often romanticized Arabs as dressed in flowing
robes, living against desert hardships, surrounded by submissive females. Others
have offered a portrait of Arabs as shifty, evil and corrupt. Notably, popular novels
which are currently circulated in Israel and the United States depict Arabs as warlike
and predatory. The Gideonites, a novel by Deovrah Omer targets teenagers, is based
on events that actually took place and establishes a negative Arab stereotype. The
misrepresentations result from Arabs portrayed as "primitive, brutal, violent and
unfeeling, Arabs and Turks are mixed together into a dark, sinister force, no Arab
individuals emerge at all." (Shipler, 1986).

As seen by all of the mass media, Arabs are a menace to society, degenerates from
an uncivilized culture. It is a continuous bombardment of negative images and
falsehoods, creating myths and stereotypes. All of this negativity and disregard for
the formation of stereotypes of Arabs encourages a multitude of judgments and
perceptions by individuals. The media must accept responsibility for being a major
force in the creation of such discriminatory views. One way to accept such
responsibility is to dispel the current myths by presenting a more balanced image of
Arabs. Writers should focus on providing images that depict Arabs as individuals,
rather than as a homogenized group.

Arabs must demand change also, especially when stereotypes are presented in the
entertainment arena. The NAACP, an African-American association, played a great
role in securing diverse and unbiased portrayals of Blacks in films. Arab-Americans
must demand the same respect and dignity.

Television can change perceptions by presenting the heritage of Arab-Americans,

focusing on children's programming. According to Franklin Trout, a producer of
documentaries, "you cannot ever understand a people or a country, or their subsequent
actions unless you understand their history" (Shaheen, 1984). It is necessary to
humanize and individualize the inhabitants of the different Arab Nations. It is also
essential to come to an understanding of a people's religion, in this case, the
fundamentals of the Islamic religion. Contrary to the myths, for example, Islam is not
a religion founded on secrecy and mystery.
In conclusion, the continued existence of a myth or a stereotype diminishes an
individual's worth and character. It is the responsibility of all individuals to assure
that not only they, themselves, are perceived fairly, but that all individuals are judged
without bias. The media is a large factor in the formation of stereotypes and
ideologies. Therefore, it is their responsiblity to allow their audience to form opinions
that are free from the influence of bias and negative stereotypes.

The mass media must accept this fact: they are the oracles of our time. An analysis
of how Arabs are portrayed in the media has shown the existence of myths and
negative stereotypes, perpetuations, projections, a vicious cycle, a cycle created by the
media, allowed to continue by the media. It will all have to be countered by the mass
media's destruction of fallacies.

REFERENCES

Alter, Jonathon. (1995, May 1) Jumping to Conclusions, Newsweek, 125, 55.

Bazzi, Mohammad. (1995, August). The Arab Menace. The Progressive, 59, 40.

Boyd, D. A. (1987) Radio and Television Research in the Middle East: Why Don't
Arabs do it?.Communications, 13, 13-28.

Dobkin, B. A. (1992) Paper Tigers and VideoPostcards: The Rhetorical

Dimensions of Narrative Form in ABC News Coverage
 of Terrorism. Western Journal of Communications, 56, 143-160.

Ghareeb, E. (!983) Split Vision: The Portrayal of Arabs in the American Media.
Washington, D.C. American-Arab Affairs Council.

Kressel, N.J. (1987) Biased Judgments of Mass Media: A Case Study of the
Arab-Israeli Dispute. Political Psychology, 8, 211-224.

Leipoid, L. E. (1973) Folk Tales of Arabia. Minneapolis: T. S. Danson &

Company, Inc.

Martin, L J. (1985). The Media's Role in International Terrorism. Terrorism: An

International Journal, 8, 127-143.

Morris International, (1980). The Arab Image in Western Mass Media. London:
The 1979 International Press Seminar.

Shaheen, J. G. (1984). The TV Arab. Ohio: Bowling Green State University

Popular Press.

Shipler, D. K. (1986). Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land. New
York: Penguin Group.

A longer version of this paper was written for Media Psychology 402, CSULA, in
March, 1996.

NARMEEN EL-FARRA was born in Hollywood, California. She graduated

California State University, Los Angeles, in 1997, majoring in Psychology. After
receiving her doctorate, she plans to do clinical work and to quote her, "work with her
colleagues to change stereotypes seen in the media all over the world."

EDITOR'S NOTE:
The December 1992 issue of the magazine, Premier (Vol. 6, No. 4), includes a feature
article entitled, "Aladdin Sane" by Mimi Avins, which is a detailed account of the
difficulties encountered by Disney in the making of the animated feature, Aladdin.
Avins wrote: "But the songwriter's Middle East emphasis didn't sit too well with
Disney executives. "We all sat in a room in the old animation shorts building, and
Howard played the six songs," Schneider (Disney animation chief) recalls. "Some of
them we liked, some we didn't. We were nervous because his version was much more
Arabian."

*Later in the article, Avins quotes Glen Keane, one of the head animators, "With
Aladdin and Jasmine, we had a lot of discussions about the arc of the nose..."

As a mother, I know for a fact that television has a major influence on children.
Unfortunately, not everything they watch is appropriate for them. Television has both
a negative and positive influence on children. Considering that children spend more
time watching television than any other daily activity, it is not a surprise that it will
have an impact on their behavior. I find my children imitating what they watch on TV
all the time, which is natural because that is how children learn to behave, by
watching others. Parents need to realize that television should not be considered an
alternative babysitter for their young ones. It is our job, as parents, to monitor what
our children watch and provide them with an understandable explanation for what the
media negligently provides on television.

We see drugs, sex, nudity, and vulgar language portrayed on practically every show or
program on television. These issues are portrayed as a source of entertainment for
adults. Children, on the other hand, should not be exposed to this kind of
entertainment, especially at an age in which they don’t have the ability to make a
distinction between reality and fantasy. Children seem to believe that whatever they
see on television is a reflection of the ideal American family. Consequently, they start
to imitate those less than perfect exhibits for the mere purpose of “fitting in” to this
judgmental society. Children’s preference of clothing is another example of how
television influences them. Young boys choose to wear clothes a couple sizes bigger
than their own just to look like the “rappers” they see on television. The girls like
wearing everything and anything that “Hannah Montana” or the “Cheetah Girls” are
wearing. At school, if you wear anything outside of the latest fashion trends you are
considered an outcast. So when I say that television has a major influence on our
children, am I exaggerating? I don’t think so.

Due to the fact that there is a lot of negativity on TV, children should have restrictions
to what they watch or at least be monitored while watching TV. If or when an
inappropriate issue comes up during a program, the parent should explain to the child
that what they’re watching is not real and is only provided to entertain. Children are
naturally curious about everything. They are constantly asking “what, why, where,
who, and when?” which is a healthy and normal learning process for all children. To
satisfy that curiosity, it is always important to talk to them about what they see on
television because they lack the ability to distinguish between what is real and what is
fantasy. They need to acknowledge that what is on television is merely entertainment.

Teaching our children what is or isn’t appropriate to watch is every parents

responsibility. After all, it is just like teaching them basic moral standards. On a daily
basis we teach our children that there is certain behavior or speech that is
inappropriate and vice versa. That same principle should apply to television. By
providing children answers and explanations to the negative messages that are being
portrayed throughout TV programming, we help build a clearer perspective of
television in their minds. I will not lie to you though, there‘s always going to be the
inevitable question almost every child asks, “If it is not appropriate, then why do they
show it on television?”, which is a question even parents want an answer to.

It is a known fact that children imitate the behavior of those around them. That is how
they learn human behavior. Although most of the programs on television are
inappropriate for kids, there are some educational programs, cartoons, comedies, and
movies that portray respectful human ethics that are suitable for them. Some of the
programs we watch as a family are “7th Heaven” and “Little mosque on the prairie,”
which are suitable for families with religious beliefs. Programs like Sesame Street,
Barney, Clifford, and Dragon Tales are some of my three year old son’s favorites.
These kinds of programs are both educational and entertaining for kids. Children learn
to count and say new words from watching these programs. It is because of these
programs that we don’t totally disapprove of television.

(This is an essay I wrote for my English class. I thought it would be an interesting

issue to post about. )

Posted in Changing the world | Tags: negative media, television's influence on

children

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