Why The Stereotypes?

From Our Blog

Lexi Alexander--Fighting against Arab Stereotypes in Hollywood

In 2020 we were fortunate to receive a donation of a piece of Hollywood history from director and proud Arab American Lexi Alexander. She sent us the clapperboard for the 2007 film The Punisher: War Zone, which she directed.

Terrorists and Tyrants

A new report on MENA (Middle East and North African) people in Hollywood shows that MENA characters in prime-time television shows are almost always portrayed in the context of terrorism. The group behind the report, the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition hopes to educate the general public about the lack of diverse characters and actors from the MENA region.

Representing the Other as Animals

Animalization represents the Other as wild beasts in their lifestyle, dress, and sexuality. This theme opens a space to demonstrate how stereotypes often manifest through representing the Other as animals. Examples include the cartoon Ali Baba: Mad Dog of the Desert and representations of African Americans and Native Americans as monkeys or savage beasts.

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Bullets, c. 1900. The use of the Native American Indian image along with the name of the bullets, “Savage” directly imply that Native Americans are beasts. Image from Authentic History Center http://www.authentichistory.com

Speedy Gonzales thimble. Stoke-on-Trent, England Fine Bone China. Speedy Gonzales is a well known Warner Brothers character from the 1960s and 70s which grossly portrays Latinos as rodents, thieves, lazy and uneducated. Image from Authentic History Center http://www.authentichistory.com

Lustige Blätter, humor and satire magazine published in Germany, 1941-1942, depicting Jewish cartoon character consuming a Russian, American, and English characters. Suffolk Center of the Holocaust, Diversity, and Human Understanding.

Our Enemy illustration from the 1942 paperback book by James R. Young. Courtesy of the Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, WA.

The Chinese: Many Handed But Soulless cover from The Wasp: v. 15, July - Dec. 1885. Publisher: Wasp Publishing Company. Library of Congress.

The Hotspur magazine cover from March 16, 1940, published in the United Kingdom. Courtesy of the Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, WA.