https://arab.news/8zpqp
A new feature film has taken the UK by storm. “Palestine 36” is the latest work by seasoned director Annemarie Jacir. The movie can be described as an antidote to “Exodus,” the 1960 film starring Paul Newman that depicted the establishment of the state of Israel.
“Exodus” exemplified Hollywood Zionism. In it, the Arabs are depicted as murderous and cowardly. They are the traitorous people who abduct and torture, while the Jews are portrayed as courageous and working for a noble cause: Zionism.
Hollywood has always had a Zionist tone and been demeaning of Arabs and Muslims. The media helped propagate this Zionist narrative, which portrays Israelis as a ray of hope and civility in a sea of barbarity.
The negative portrayal of Arabs by Hollywood did not start with “Exodus.” Prior works facilitated this perception. Many of Rudolph Valentino’s movies revolved around him saving his beloved after she had been captured by a vicious Arab. “Lawrence of Arabia” showed Arabs as tribespeople with no loyalty or ethics, fighting among themselves, and as petty, greedy and cruel.
