Movies and Stereotypes

Laila Lalami’s subtle assessment that Hollywood is racist toward Arabs and Muslims simply is not true (“ ‘Bride’ Walks Down Aisle of Stereotyping,” Counterpunch, Jan. 1). Prior to selling my action script to a major studio, the single and most consistent criticism from producers and studios alike was “the terrorists are Arabs,” insinuating that it may be offensive to the Arab community.

It mattered none that our script took place in Iraq and our main terrorist had humor, wit, intelligence, charm and a Harvard education. The fact remained he was Arab so, at the urging of many producers and studio executives and for the benefit of the sale, we changed the ethnicity of our terrorist. We made him an American--that was OK!

Lalami has a good point when she implies that the few available parts calling for “a conniving businessman” don’t need to be relegated to Arab characters. I’d argue, though, that Jews have consistently beat out the Arabs for most casting calls in that department (see “Quiz Show” and many Spike Lee movies).

However, Lalami points to several films (“True Lies,” “Navy SEALs,” “Iron Eagle,” “Patriot Games”) in order to show there’s a consistent pattern on the screenwriter’s part of stereotyping Arabs as “violent terrorists,” which in turn “dehumanizes them as a religious, cultural and ethnic group.”

To suggest that these films--whose plots all revolve around Middle East terrorism--should not use Arabs as terrorists is as absurd as writing a Mafia script without Italians or a drug cartel script without Latinos or South Americans.

This is another in a long line of examples of our politically correct society going overboard.

What Lalami doesn’t acknowledge is that “art imitates life” and not the other way around. The unfortunate fact is that almost all terrorist acts carried out internationally over the past 25 years have been committed by Arabs or Middle Easterners. Furthermore, most terrorist acts by non-Arab groups (Red Brigade, Bader Meinhoff, IRA) were heavily funded by Libya, Syria, Iraq and Iran. That, of course, is not to say that all Arabs are terrorists. They are not. And while most Arabs are decent human beings, the fact remains that most international terrorist acts have been committed by Arabs.

When Kadafi, Assad and Hussein turn their lands into peaceful, nonviolent countries that export goods other than terrorism, I’ll write that screenplay that Lalami wants, about Arabs “leading normal lives, buying milk at the grocery store, getting Chinese takeout or shopping in malls.”

JACK SALTZBERG

Northridge

Editor’s note: Saltzberg is a screenwriter who served in an anti-terrorist unit within the Israeli paratroopers.