AMERiCAN EASt

wOw. The video was an exceptional representation of the Arab post 9/11 struggle in America. Issues such as humiliation, shame, terrorists, post 9/11, and racial profiling were highlighted throughout the movie.

The first scene in the movie shows Mustafa's son begin ashamed of his culture and religion. Muhammad rejects being Muslim because he is surrounded by American anti-Semitism. The atmosphere around the movie is constantly reminding Arabs of the terror and threat they pose to Americans. When Mustafa loses his son he reacts the way any parent would when they lose their child, but because he was at an airport and was frantic, he was racially profiled as a terrorist. There was no threatening reason to arrest Mustafa other than the police's personal fears and biases. It was humiliating for Mustafa to get arrested in front of his son for being an Arab, it makes Muhammad want to deny his culture in America even more. The multiple interrogations by the government were also humiliating for Mustafa because they devalued and instigated him until he was completely ashamed. 

 

Out of all the characters, Omar was especially conflicted because his acting roles were promoting Arab stereotypes. His roles were almost parallel to the way people viewed him in real life. The three boys at the coffee shop recognized him as a terrorist on t.v and assumed that was who he was. They could not to distinguish Arab characters on t.v. from real Arab Americans. Because the terror alert was "red" the police publicly detained Omar and made an example of how Arabs, whether innocent or guilty, all have the potential to be terrorists. Because of American's long history of misrepresentation and biased attitudes towards the Middle East all it took was a few Arabs on Sept. 11, for all Americans to "justify" their anti-Semitic feelings. 

 

All "races" are profiled and this movie succeeds in showing the Arab point of view and showed their ongoing fight to be accepted in America. The movie showed Arab Americans as human, Mustafa and his family are average Americans struggling for better lives. I liked the movie because it didn't capitalize on the differences between "us" and "them." The characters all have their problems, but their main struggle is that America sees them as Arabs and not as living human beings.