Annoying Hollywood Middle Eastern clichés: Arab filmmakers speak out

posted on: Feb 22, 2015

Picture the scene: across the rooftops and minarets of an unspecified Middle Eastern town, the call to prayer rings out. Is it just another day in your hometown? Is it an ad for exotic holidays for orientalist westerners embarking on a journey of self-discovery? Or is it the beginning of yet another Hollywood movie about terrorism?

Sadly, in the modern Hollywood lexicon, opening a movie with just such a scene has become filmic shorthand for “and now, a movie involving terrorists, bombs and the noble struggle of the US of A to keep the peace through the use of a remarkable amount of expensive and suspiciously unpeaceful, military ordnance”.

The Oscar-nominated American Sniper is just the latest in a long line of such movies though, admittedly, this one foregoes the romantic rooftop setting in favour of tanks for its opening scene.

But it is by no means unique. A quick straw poll pulled up an impressive list of movies that start with that very scene of the call to prayer: Black Hawk Down, Delta Force, The Kingdom, Syriana, Zero Dark Thirty, Three Kings, The Hurt Locker

Source: www.thenational.ae