Ever since the unfortunate events of 9/11, the media has had it’s own way of expressing it’s thoughts of different cultures and that cultures traditions. For example, with the cartoon above which shows a line of Muslim men preparing to receive their 19 virgins is an example of how the media expresses its thoughts of Islam. Whether they think its ridiculous that you get 19 virgins in heaven or that its ironic, either way it would be a way to incorrectly portray a particular group. For the Eastern cultures in general, their cultures have been taking a lot of heat lately because its completely opposite in some aspects in comparison to our culture. In my opinion, if our country is meant to be a melting pot, there is no need for the media to feel the need to humor us through stereotypes. In the end, those stereotypes could be very offensive and could start a lot of trouble. Certain shows such as “The Simpsons”, “Alien in America” and movies such as “Ironman” can make escaping those stereotypes of Eastern cultures difficult. The media should mind more of what they are sending as a message other than more that the gratification of American “humor”.
ALIENS IN AMERICA
When I was younger, I was first exposed the term “illegal alien” listening to one of Louis Farrakhan speak at the Million Man march. From what I recall, he was talking about the irony of calling Mexicans “illegal aliens” and how it was offensive. Now, the word is used so often, people just act like it’s a part of everyday language, but now we are incorporating that into television. The show “Aliens in America”, which is about a young Pakistani Muslim who lives with a Wisconsin family via Foreign Exchange program, isn’t bad, it’s actually a wake up call to how we do treat people of Eastern cultures. For example, when the main character ‘Raja’ arrived at the home and ‘Justin Tolchuck’ (the other main character) had started to do some of ‘Raja’s’ daily routine, such as praying to Mecca, his mom was offended. She was so offended that she created a lie about insurance to try to send ‘Raja’ back to Pakistan. She did not feel guilty until he explained to her that his parents were deceased. It’s interesting how the show over the past couple of years portrayed South Asia Muslims or Muslims in general. How ‘Raja’ is incredibly obedient and does the things the kids don’t do and how ‘Raja’ is more appreciative of ‘Justin’s’ parents and how overly enthused ‘Raja’ is everyday just because he has an amazing opportunity. Of course, theses aren’t bad stereotypes, but I found a comment about the show from a Pakistani muslim that said, “As a Pakistani Muslim I saw a lot of stereotypes and anachronisms in Raja (Most Pakistani's watch a lot of American movies and TV shows so are not as clueless as Raja) however despite this the show exactly portrays the feelings of a lot of Muslims around the world. Right now to every westerner, Muslim equals terrorist (The episode when Raja is introduced to Justin's class). For the vast majority of us the only link to terrorism is watching news reports of it on BBC and CNN. As Justin finds out Pakistani Muslims may be very different from the average American but they also have a lot in common with each other. (“The Internet Movie Database”)” It's a positive show, although mild discepancies, is, well was, watched regularly and could set an example for future comedies of approaching the representation of Eastern cultures.
THI SIMPSONS: HINDUS AND MUSLIMS
I am a lifelong Simpsons fan, but I will be the first to admit they can show some crazy stereotypes of certain Eastern cultures. My first example is a permanent character of the show, Apu. Apu is a Hindu convenience store owner (that’s similar to 7/11) and has a wife who has 7 kids thanks to a fertility clinic. There isn’t a lot to know about Apu except that he loves his job, so much so that he even sang a song about it. A couple of the stereotypes of Apu from an episode of which I cannot remember was when Apu was asked what he thinks will happen when he dies and replies saying that his wife will marry his cousin and she agreed enthusiastically. Now, according to beliefnet.com, the character Apu either offends Hindus or makes them laugh.
What I found was that Indian immigrants and adolescent and teenage children of immigrants--especially othodox Hindus--were generally offended by Apu and his stereotypes. They also have specific complaints about what they feel is doctrinal error and distortion… By contrast, American converts to Hinduism, steeped in our culture of irony, seemed amused and unfazed by the portrayal of their faith on the series.
There was a more recent episode of “The Simpsons” that was moreso making fun of the stereotypical patriotic American. In this episode http://www.hulu.com/watch/46689/the-simpsons-mypods-and-boomsticks, the family gets new neighbors who are from Jordan. Bart met the young boy of the family and befriended him immediately. Eventually, throughout the episode Homer sees what he suspects as “suspicious” behavior from the husband. He sees dynamite in the garage and overhears him speaking of blowing something up. He even interrogates the family when they came over for dinner. The use of dynamite for a major building is a big stereotype of terriorists and for the family to be Muslim could come off as insulting. Through these two examples it’s clear to see that depending on who you are, the show can be wishy-washy while using satire to show how ridiculous radical ideas are, but by also offending those who are more “conservative” on whatever issue on hand.
THE IRONMAN: UNCOMFORTABLE SIMILARITY TO 9/11
A major I noticed after 9/11 was the assumption of suspicious Arabs as terrorists. Since then not only television, but movies were affected as well. A big example is the recent release of "Ironman". Its one of my personal favorites, but I will admit, there was an uncomfortable atmosphere. The story goes as such there's a weapons creator but the name of Tony Stark who sells humongous weapons to big bad terrorists over on the East Side of the earth. At some point during a presentation of a ultra-flashy, multi-tasking bomb, he gets kidnapped by terrorists who want him to create this bomb for them. This is where he creates the Ironman suit and all that jazz. I don't want to ruin the movie, but the point being when it came down to who were these terrorists, they (the big, bad terrorists) were shown in a dry desert with turbans and speaking Arabic and tended to be very angry and aggressive and were obsessed with taking over large areas. From what I recall, a lot of times when they showed the videos Osama and his buddies would make they would be in caves (oddly familiar to the one in the movie) and walking in an isolated desert (also oddly familiar to the one in the movie). It was unfortunate to see a portrayal of not only Islam, but those who are Arabic in the movie this way. Either way, the movie was quite entertaining, but the question is whether or not it is necessary to have Arabs playing as these roles. Would it be different if the bad guys were European, hiding out in a luscious plain in Scandinavia?
Whatever may be the case the examples provided above is showing a slight trend in our media. Using either satire or just the usual characters can have so many different meanings across the board. When it comes down to it, it's whether or not the consumer will go for it. Thus far it's hard to say, but as a consumer, I believe it needs to be changed. using neutral "looking" characters in movies might help, but also an explanation from the director or creator would be very informing and could clear up so many misconceptions of the show/movie or the group involved. During these changing times, it isn't the best idea to assume that we all think Mr. Apu is amusing.
Works Cited
""Aliens in America"." (2007) 20 Dec 2008
“Alien in America”. By David Guarascio and Moses Port. CBS Paramount Network Television
“The Simpson”. By Matt Greoning. Fox Broadcasting Network.
Ironman. Dir. John Favreau. Perf. Robert Downey Jr., Terrance Howard. Paramount Pictures. (2008).
Pinsky, Mark. "What Hindus Think About Apu." 20 Dec 2008
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