Hollywood, Arab-Americans and civil activism by Michael Saba

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Hollywood, Arab-Americans and civil activism

by Michael Saba

06 February 2007

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Washington, D.C. - As we watch events and relationships between the United States and the Middle East evolve, we don’t see many positives. However, a couple of meetings this week in Washington, DC showed me that there are some signs of progress although they might seem quite small.

A short while back, I wrote about a new Hollywood blockbuster film debuting this April called “The Kingdom”. This movie focuses on terrorist incidents in Saudi Arabia where Americans living in Western compounds were killed. It stars two Academy Award winners, Jamie Fox and Chris Cooper, along with superstar Jennifer Garner and even country star Tim McGraw. It has an $80 million budget and with its thriller, shoot-em-up style looks to be a real box-office winner.

The day after the article appeared in the Arab News, I received an e-mail from the technical director of the movie, Ahmed Al-Ibrahim. He told me to give him a call. The power of the press shows through again.

Ahmed is a Saudi and he was called in early in the production of the film to advise on technical issues. My question to Ahmed was whether this film would present a fair and honest view of Saudis and Saudi Arabia. We agreed to meet at the offices of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) to discuss this issue with him and officials of the ADC and Friends of Saudi Arabia (FSA).

Ahmed assured us that the film was going to present a fair perspective on Saudi Arabia and Saudis. We were all quite pleased that Universal Studios had actually employed a Saudi as a consultant to the movie. Employing Arab and Muslim consultants on films relevant to them has not been done very often in the movie industry. Both ADC and FSA were impressed with Ahmed and the role he is playing with Universal Studios in their production of “The Kingdom”. Ahmed went on to say that although this movie was fictional and a “Hollywood thriller” and would take liberties accordingly, the preview did not present a true view of what the final movie would be. Ahmed said, “All of you will be pleasantly surprised when you see the final product. Saudis and Saudi Arabia come out looking very good in the film. The producers really listened to what I had to say about, not only technical matters, but also fairness to the Saudis.”

In the letter that ADC sent to the president of Universal Studios regarding “The Kingdom”, ADC President Mary Rose Oakar stated, “ADC understands and respects the inherent entertainment and business value of the movie industry. However, given the number of hate crimes directed against Americans of Arab, Muslim and South Asian origin (or indeed, persons perceived to be of these origins), we are seriously concerned that this movie might further contribute to the growing prejudice against the community.” As we discussed that issue, I became aware of a remarkable situation that ADC had dealt with regarding prejudice against Arabs that had a very positive outcome.

Some time ago, an individual in the financial business assaulted an Arab Muslim woman on the street and made inappropriate comments about her ethnicity and religion. He pleaded guilty to assault and, as part of his sentence, he was assigned to do community service with ADC. This individual went through an extraordinary turnabout during his time with ADC and I will quote from a letter that he sent to ADC to show what can be done with individuals like this now that organizations like ADC exist.

“Before I say another word, I would like to say thank you. I would also like to say that if I imposed on you, I am sorry.

That being said, I would like to tell you that I have enjoyed my time here at ADC. I will be honest with you and tell you that I really didn’t know a great deal about the Arab people before I came here. I think that I have learned a great deal.

Since working here, I have become more aware of the Arab people in the United States. Before my time with ADC, my impressions of Arab-Americans were pretty much non-existent. Like most people, my impression of Arabs was based on media reports or movie/television portrayals.

Through the time I have shared with (ADC) I learnt a different story. Without exposing too much of the discussions that we shared, the conversations were very enlightening. I came to learn that Arab-Americans are pretty much like every other group of people. They have wives and husbands, they have children they adore, they have concerns about bills and taxes. Unfortunately, they also have the prejudices of people like me who would like to blame all Arabs for the actions of a few.

For that feeling I am sorry.

Having made a friendship with (ADC), I feel differently now. Having spent time with your organisation I feel differently now. Having spent time with the Arab-American community I would like to think that I have become more enlightened.

I don’t know that I can say that in the future I will be the most liberal and open-minded person you will meet. However, I can say that I have recently noticed how stereotyped Arabs are in movies and television. I can also say that I am more open-minded to see as (ADC) said, the ‘other side of the coin’ when it comes to discussions of political issues.”

Sometimes small victories can really make a difference!

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* Michael Saba is an international relations consultant. This abridged article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org. The original text can be found at www.arabnews.com

Source: Arab News, 5 February 2006, www.arabnews.com
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.


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