I thought I'd post some news from different parts of the world every now and then to see what peoples views/opinions on it are, so people can get an idea of what the news situations etc is in other parts of the world and not just in their own country. I hope no-one minds and I'd like to hear your views etc anyway.

Lets just hope it doesn't get overheated

Muslims have become the new 'bogeymen' of the British and American film industries, according to a study published on Friday. The report, which involved interviews with over 1,125 Muslims in England, Scotland and Wales, found evidence that all genres of film contained negative stereotypes" of Islam, Muslims and Arabs. Most Muslims surveyed found the media "Islamophobic" and felt negative images of their faith on the big and small screens correlated directly with their experiences of exclusion, hatred and discrimination in British society.

Films ranging from action movies to children's cartoons portray "crude or exaggerated stereotypes" of Muslims, who are depicted as the "enemy within" bent on attacking the Western way of life, the study by the Islamic Human Rights Commission says.
It claims that movies as diverse as The Siege, a portrayal of a terrorist attack on New York starring Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis, the British comedy East is East and Disney's Aladdin reinforce impressions that Muslims are violent and dangerous.

The Siege promotes the "monolithic stereotype" that Muslims are terrorists ready to become martyrs in the cause of Jihad, while Aladdin depicts them as "ruthless caricatures" coming from "barbaric" lands, the study says. While "good Arabs" like Aladdin are given American accents, the cartoon's bad characters have "exaggerated and ridiculous accents," it notes.

The blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark starring Harrison Ford also comes in for criticism: "The cultural stereotypes and scenarios are patently obvious," the report says, pointing to a street scene featuring bazaars, veiled women and bearded men in traditional dress, all set to snake-charming music.

The film East is East starring Om Puri and Linda Basset, in which members of an Anglo-Pakistani family in 1970s Britain rebel against their conservative father, "fits into many of the negative perceptions people have of Muslims," and represents Muslim husbands as a polygamous wife-beating tyrants, the report notes.

Executive Decision in which David Suchet plays one of a group of Palestinian terrorists hijacking a Boeing 747 to launch a nerve gas attack on the US capital, Washington DC, "plays on the worst fears... about a potential terrorist lurking in every Arab/Middle Eastern/Muslim-looking person, and the incompatibility of Islamic and Western values," the report charges.

As well as deep unease with big screen portrayals, 62 percent of Muslims surveyed consider the media in general to be Islamophobic and 16 percent view it as racist, according to the report. Many saw the problems with cinema, TV and and also print media portrayals of Muslims to be "systemic" the report said.

"The accounts of respondents indicate that the negative portrayal of Muslims is heavily present in films produced both in the UK and US. In the movies, Muslims are mostly portrayed as terrorists who randomly kill people (usually innocents) or blow things up - including themselves - or as hijackers, misogynistic or stupid, who cannot achieve anything and are therefore in need of continuous supervision," the report states.

The report's findings showed that such negative stereotyping has been been going on for at least 20 years, long before the 11 September, 2001 attacks on the United States, said Arzu Merali, head of research at the Islamic Human Rights Commission, quoted by the Daily Telegraphy newspaper.

Well considering I posted it, I think it would be fair to also post my opinion on this article.

Unfortunatly I think it is kind of true Though this article is based on Muslims and Arabs being discriminated in movies, I also think it is those who are foreign to the movies original setting. For example, the film "Die Hard" was set in America and the bad guys were German etc. Something like that.

Anyway going back to the actual article, I do think in many cases that Muslims/Arabs are targeted to look bad in certain films I wish that wasnt the case.
The movie "The siege" I have on DVD and I have watched it with great consideration and I do think that Arabs/Muslims are targeted in this movie and it sets a bad example to the rest. Though the good police officer was Arab and his son was too, and it made you feel sorry for them at points, the actual majority of the film shows how they are "bad" etc by blowing up half of Brooklyn, NY up - -people (old and young).

This is my view anyway.

My opinion? for what it is worth, light the blue touch paper and stand well back!

seems someone wants it to be blocked before anything starts, but i disagree, as an Arab-american/muslim/middle-eatern-originating, this is very important. especially that American media controls the world. yes, every single one of you. Directly or indirectly. Directly by listening and watching to the movies/tv shows/ etc. of American origin and indirectly by the point that other international medias basically depend on american media/resources. and other foreign medias just copy from other american TVs stations... or at least mostly... growing up in the heart of brooklyn, every form of media is brainwashing and distracting to the human mind and leads to many psychological effects... from TV, Cinema, to Video games.... the latest release are those video games that show american soldiers in the middle east killing enemies and unimportant arab and muslim citizens from Turkey to Yemen, and from Marrocco to Iraq, etc. while American marines are like angels with halos on their heads for protecting "Humanity" from "terrist-nesting socity and an unnecessary civilzation". such video games increase the hatred against middle easterners whether muslim or christian, arab, turk, kurd, persian, or other. and i have no doubt america soldiers play them for fun before going to the battlefield... i mean, most of American soldirs are of 18 and 19 years old, and by time they are ready they have an imaplented mission in their head... such evidences have been seen with the few trials that we have viewed of american and british soldiers molesting, raping and abusing iraqi women and children.... true there are good people in the media, but money and interests control everything... and true many good people are there, but they are the victims of this atrocity and false-lifehood. the good people are distracted and kept away... and many have been either getting rid of. examples, John Lennon, JFK, Rafik el Hariri, Martin Luther King... and this is a innfecting disease in every society... im only accusing the US, im not actually... its just a human flaw... such thing happened during the ottoman periods...mor or less... happened during the Soviet rule in its lands and occupied territories.it's the greatest human flaw. so we can go and go and we'll return to the basic problem... we are humans? but how do we know who's evil and who's not? so why make arabs or muslim or middle easterns look evil? and the greater evil lives in everyone of us and especially in the media. some of us express it through consipracy and agression... while others leave it hidden in the unconcious {like the basic human soul at birth- so pure}... so, anyone with a solution to this hectic problem is impossible to come. God placed us on earth with something called free-will, and laws could never cgange it, unless they are enforced... and all laws today are not enforced... only the ones they suit the interests of those in power. and as a muslim, i cant say that muslims are contented with what they are accused of doing. No way, as we say "our religion is being hijacked" either by fake ideologies, or by extremists who acting due to being provoked by others and are acting with the will of the rest of the islamic nation... oh yeah, islam isnt one nation anymore. but islam is islam and its however you see it. See it as a religion of the righteous, chosen faith, a threat to you, or whatever... just let individuals do the judgement instead of brainwshing them... but as it is common... money can buy anything, by offering, or by force... you can enter my house and damage my furniture with a stack of money, or you can buy a gun and break my doors and claim i tried to hurt u.... anyway, before i start losing track of this thing...where did i start? hehe, got lost. anyway. next?

Turkiye rocks.. ... {just to relate it to the discussion somehow}

oh yeah, i guess something to say...

Americans are accusing Turkey of stabbing the US in the back for not allowing them to enter Iraq from turkish borders. i just learned that this added to the # of reasons why the EU would NEVER admit Turkey to it. the EU is looking for excuses NOT to admit it. if you watch teh show "24" on FOX. {if u have American TV}.. then u must have noticed of the Turkish Family that planned a Terrorist attack on the US west coast and kidnapped the Secretary of Defense and almost killed him, and turkish hackers almost destroyed the World Wide Web, etc... all of this, i think in season 4. Got DVD if interested . the question is:

IS IT WORTH IT TO ENTERTAIN PEOPLE ON THE EXPENSE OF THE REPUTATION OF OTHERS? EVEN IF BASED ON REAL FACTS? EVEN IF THOSE FACTS ARE EXXAGERATED BY 10 DEGREES WORST EVENTS AND MISFORTUNES? AND POST LOCAL HEROES AS SAVIORS? how silly!!!!
it started as a tradition when US hollywood started doing so to defame the soviets and since the 1970s, started with Arabs/muslims/turks... and got worst and worst.

offf! times up, i'd write the rest on myspace another time if i become this subconcious again

peace out!

I agree with Arabianofelix in some ways because it is the media etc that is effecting our way of thinking because as the saying goes "say it often and loud enough, people may start to believe you". I know in many types of media, how it effects peolpes views.
For e.g the news about the terrorist attacks on the London underground were situated with Islam, as the main front page headline says "Muslim Terrorists deny accusations" which basically puts the word *Muslim" into those minds who let it and think something bad of it.

So whose fault is it? the media for giving people the readers the idea in the first place? or the readers who choose to believe in it?
Personally I think it's both, because the media doesn't exactly help religions or different cultures (I didn't just name Islam here because there has been other cases in other religions too) when they publish their articles because many people let their mind believe what they are told.
And as for the readers, some believe it what they are being told and some do not, so it just goes to show what influence the media is having nowadays

This is a very biased survey as only muslims were interviewed! If the journalists had interviewed English, for example, we could have also claimed we are unfairly portrayed by Hollywood!

For decades the English have been portrayed badly - usually as the insane murderers (i.e. Silence of the Lambs) or the arrogant evil leader (i.e. the factually incorrect Braveheart). Horror and science fiction also use the English accent to portray the "baddie".

Hollywood uses a variety of nationalities to represent the "evil side". During the cold war it was always the USSR, and since then we have seen Koreans and South Africans fill the 'gap' (correct me if I am wrong but it was South Africans who played the terrorists in Die Hard, not muslims ).

I can count more examples of English being portrayed as the "baddies" than muslims in Hollywood films. To post this biased article on this site just adds fuel to a paranoid fire.