I’m new to blogging, so I’m not sure if it’s normal to wake up in the middle of the night thinking about a blog you need to write and not being able to sleep till you do so… anybody?
So… last Thursday I attended an event of Festival INBART in Tetouan. This was the first edition of an Art Festival here in Tetouan that promotes the local National Institute of Fine Arts (INBA). On Thursday evening the event was a screening of “arab video creations” at the French Institute in town.
Of the videos shown, one really got me thinking, and impacted me in a way few short films do. It was a 9 minute trailer-esque video montage by Jaqueline Salloum called Planet of the Arabs. As you can imagine, if you’ve seen it, it was somewhat surreal for me to be sitting there in a room full of “Arabs” (which is one way most Moroccans I’ve met would describe themselves) and watching this montage of video clips from “American” (which is one way I sometimes describe myself) movies/tv, that shows how hollywood over the years has vilified Arabs in their portrayal of them.
I came away wondering and soul-searching of how I may have also sub-consciously bought into some of these same dehumanizing stereotypes of an entire ethnic group, just by nature of growing up being exposed to hollywood’s portrayal of them. I think this is a poignant and important question for anyone from a western culture to ask themselves. So… watch it, it will make you think too.
For an interesting write up of this and another film of Jaqueline Salloum, check out this article.