Before you start answering questions please watch the YouTube video about readings, that are little parts of book and I called them as a Reading  3.

Please reference if you use anything else other then those 2 readings.

 

Reading 3: https://youtu.be/gy3jQBO4rOQ 

 

 

Questions:

4.  The idea of the "cultural other" in reference to Arabs and Muslims 

Shaheen tells us at various points in the chapter that Arabs have come to be seen in the West, and, in particular, in the USA, as "the cultural 'other'".  For instance, Shaheen states:  "[The Hollywood Arab] is what he has always been—the cultural "other"". (page 2, para. 1). 

 

4.1 By whom are Arabs seen as "the cultural other"? That is, who is (or is presumed to be) the "cultural Self" relative to the Arab "cultural other"?

4.1 Answer

 

 

4.2 Shaheen says that Hollywood films have made Arabs look a certain way to audiences such that they acquire the status of "cultural other".  What have Arabs been made to appear like such that they become a "cultural other"?  (page 2, paragraph 1) 

4.2 Answer

 

 

4.3 Shaheen says that the stereotypes of Arabs that have contributed to the construction of Arabs as "cultural other" have been projected along two lines. What are these two "lines" along which stereotypes of Arabs have been projected? (page 2, paragraph 1)

4.3 Answer

 

 

4.4 With which characteristics (cognitive, emotional, behavioral) does Shaheen say filmmakers have portrayed Arabs in Hollywood films such that Arabs come be seen as "cultural others"?  That is, what characteristics, relating to ways of thinking and behaving, make the Arab, in cinema portrayal, appear as a "cultural other"? (p. 2, top paragraph)

4.4 Answer

 

4.5 Arabs did not become the "cultural other" to Americans via a quick and simple process.  Shaheen provides an account of the process by and through which the Hollywood film industry has worked to produce an idea of Arabs and Arab-Muslims as the "cultural other". 

 

4.5.1 Shaheen states that the image of Arabs and Muslims in American cinema had its origins in pre-cinema representations of peoples of the Middle East. What are those origins?  Where did the image start? (p. 7 bottom to page 8 top)

4.5.1 Answer

 

 

4.5.2 Shaheen identifies certain key moments or periods in the cinematic or Hollywood production and construction of Arabs and Arab-Muslims as "cultural other".  What does he say was common to film portrayals of Arabs and Arab-Muslims during these periods? Answer by identifying the behavior or conduct of Arab and Arab-Muslim characters in these portrayals and the settings in which the stories took place.  You may do this by filling in the following table (some answers are provided as examples)

4.5.2 Answer
Analysis table:   Arab and Arab-Muslim characters and settings in Hollywood productions across three periods of cinematic production
analysis   Period	Conduct or behavior of the "reel Arab"	Story settings	Some key titles and productions
Early 1900s (p. 8)	e.g. "Arabs drool over the western heroine"		e.g. Palace of the Arabian Nights (Méliès)
1930s-1950s (p. 10; p. 28)			e.g. Movie sound serials from 1930-1950
1980s & 90s (p. 15; p. 29; p. 35)	e.g.  amass money and wealth "Arab Muslims covet 'all the money in the world'" (p. 15)	e.g. Middle East countries (Yemen)	e.g. Kazaam (Disney, 1996)

4.6 If, as Shaheen contends, Arabs came to be seen or perceived as a "cultural other" from the standpoint of Americans, then what do Americans tend to assume to be true about Arabs in a kind of general and overriding way?  That is, what key overriding concepts or ideas about Arabs does the image of the Hollywood Arab (possibly) generate and produce in the minds of Americans who view it?

 

To answer fill in the table below by identifying the overring concepts or ideas about Arabs that are associated with each of the following three types of characteristics: cognitive (ways of thinking); emotional (ways of feeling) behavioral (ways of acting). Refer to the question above and to page 2, top paragraph of Reading 4.   One answer is provided.

4.6 Answer
Concepts and ideas about Arabs generated by the image of the Hollywood Arab
Type of characteristic	Related overriding concept or idea
1. Cognitive (ways of thinking)
2. Emotional (ways of feeling)	Heartless or cold-hearted (lacking in human care and compassion)
3. Behavioral (ways of acting)