Post 9/11 Essay

The attacks of 9/11 on America’s twin towers did not only affect the United states but shook the core of the world. Countries all over the world were affected directly and indirectly and people still remembered it as the terrible criminal act. Aguayo (2009) states that “in this post September 11 (9/11) climate of the “War on Terror”, Hollywood political-thriller films carry a new cultural currency” (p.1). It left an indelible impression in the hearts and minds of the millions of people inhabiting the planet today, something that still makes them weak in the knees at the slightest thought of the two the gigantic towers of the world tumbling down like a pack of cards and ending in a heap of debris killing and burying thousands of innocent people. When the time for healing and sobriety should have been encouraged, the media and Hollywood proceeded on stoking the anger and prejudice by depicting Muslims/Arabs in a most unflattering way. The sudden interest in themes similar to 9/11 led to the production of several cinematic materials that involve Muslim
The four stereotypes that dominate the post 9/11 cinema include: a) the fabulously wealthy; b) sex maniacs; c) barbaric and uncouth; and, 4) those that revel in acts of terrorism (Shaheen, 2009). All these stereotypes serve in perpetuating false representation of Arabs as a group. Shaheen states, “Arabs remain the most maligned group in the history of Hollywood. Malevolent stereotypes equating Islam and Arabs with violence have endured for more than a century...Arab=Muslim=Godless Enemy.” The manner by which the derogatory treatment is undertaken could be likened to the attitude of the pre-Nazi Germany against the Jews. Shaheen draw the parallel by pointing that, then, Jews were seen as dark, shifty-eyed, venal and entirely different. The same predicament is argued to be faced by Arabs in America