Bias and prejudice that
leads to injustice have been around throughout time. Every person has a story
to tell, in which he or she was subjected to prejudice, one way or another. I
am no different, and I can relay many incidents in which I have encountered
uninformed people reacting negatively to at least one aspect of my social
identity.
However, what I would like
to share with you today is not a personal experience; it is rather a prevailing
Arab stereotyping that is frequently displayed in the media. As a cinema enthusiast,
I have watched countless movies throughout my life, and within many, I have
silently observed the manipulation of the Arab images of men and women. These
films have repeatedly featured many demeaning depictions of Arabs, portraying
them as lawless, terrorists, women oppressors, ignorant, regressive,
narrow-minded, etc…These ascribed or limited views of Arabs only serve to
negate their diverse identities, individuality, complex experiences, and social
values.
Curiously, I have realized
that I have indeed internalized some of the misconceptions and misleading
denotations in some of these movies- and I am an Arab. Despite that I am aware
that these are characteristics that do not fit the Arabs I know, including
myself. This has prompted me to think of others who are constantly absorbing
these messages, without being properly informed of the true nature of the
individuals they are developing assumptions about and consequently adapting
some form of prejudice.
There is an interesting
article the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has posted many years
ago, and it tackled some of the distorted messages that are displayed through
the media. The authors articulately named the threats of discriminatory media
messages, including the ones present in children’s movies- something that is
quite upsetting to take in (Wingfield & Karaman, 1995).
It is important to note
here, that Arabs are not the only victims of movie bigotry. I have often
captured negative hidden or blatant messages that entailed other
nations, such as East Europeans, Chinese, or Indians for example.
As I have been made aware of
the various forms of prejudice throughout this course, I have learned that
people can only invalidate negative images that dissimulate into our minds if
they genuinely examine their own personal bias and engage in self-reflection.
Unfortunately, this is not something that everyone is inclined to do, and as
long as one perceives his or her own race, gender, class, religion, nationality
to be superior to diverse others, he or she will be not only harm others, but
also themselves (Margles & Margles, 2010).
Having said that, I believe
that hope lies in caregivers as they educate, be mindful of their practices,
and lead by example in order to ensure bias is prevented from getting embedded in
the minds of our children.
References
Margles, S., & Margles, R. M. (2010). Inverting
racism's distortions. Our Schools/Our
Selves, 19(3), 137--149. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the
Education Research Complete database:
http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=51372248&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Wingfield, M., Karaman,
B. (1995). Arab stereotypes and American educators. Retrieved from the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee website: http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=283
Reem,
ReplyDeleteonce again, your post is incredible informative and interesting! You make a really interesting point about how despite your being an Arab, you have also picked up stereotypes against other Arabs. Imagine how someone who has never become friends with an Arab (or has any association whatsoever with one) feels about Arabs, especially when seeing how the media and US culture currently portray Arabs. So sad to think about. A friend of mine who is of Arabic descent but is American often wears a simple t-shirt that reads "I'm not a terrorist." The t-shirt is meant to be a joke but obviously touches on a very real sentiment felt by many and shows how prevalent that prejudice is.
Thank you for sharing such an insightful post. Also, your comment stating: "I have learned that people can only invalidate negative images that dissimulate into our minds if they genuinely examine their own personal bias and engage in self-reflection," is SO powerful!
Lydia