I1 ~0402594487 11111 U~ I. Continuity and Change in Hollywood Representations of The
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'\ I1 ~0402594487 11111 U~ I. Continuity and Change in Hollywood Representations of the Middle East after September 11 th by Sulaiman Arti A Doctoral Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University June 2009 © 2008 S. Arti Abstract This thesis inquires into the factors behind Hollywood's depiction of the Middle East. That depiction is not static, but is modified in response to changes in political events and US government foreign policy. Although the events of 9/11 seemed to justify the traditional negative stereotype of Arabs, the image has been partially and rationally re-interpreted. This was due to the rise in prominence of the ideas of a minority of radical and free-thinking members of the Hollywood cornmunity who embraced a more intellectual approach, which advocated that the popular Western view of the Arab world was unjustified and based on a fallacious fabrication for Western political advantage. The research further shows that these activists did not owe allegiance to the Hollywood-US government propaganda machine. They were able to fracture this traditional alliance and provide the opportunity for the appearance of films of a radical nature, which were critical of US Middle Eastern policy and projected the Arab world in a new light. The study analyzes a selection of films that represent the Middle East in terms of their philosophy and cinematic structure, which enables them to act as vectors to raise public awareness of the issues and to promote reconciliation and co-existence between East and West. Keywords: Hollywood, America, Imperialism, Middle East, Orientalism, Soft Power, , Representation, Clash Theory, September 11th, Change, Politics, Activism. 1 Acknowledgements My PhD research has been a major part of my life during the past few years. During that time I have done reading, pondering and writing. But the work was not only my own - it involved many people directly and indirectly, and I would like to show my appreciation to them. First of all, praise and great thanks be to God for giving me support and patience to carry out this research. I was very lucky to have as my supervisor Dr. John Downey, who has been most supportive. I would like to thank him for his guidance, encouragement and beneficial comments throughout the period of my study. His guidance and understanding were crucial to complete my thesis. I thank Dr. Dominic. Wring for his significant contribution to my thesis, and for his helpful guidance and encouragement, I also thank my director of Research, Prof. Sara Pink, for her vital comments and encouragement during this research work. Special acknowledgments must go to staff and colleagues in the Department of Social Science for their help and co-operation during my study. I also thank the Kuwaiti Cultural Office for their assistance, and express my great appreciation to the Kuwaiti govemment for their financial support for my PhD. Finally, I am grateful to those closest to me, who have been my constant source of energy throughout the journey. Studying abroad k hard, but they made it easer. I thank my father-in-law Abdul Kareem AI Moumen and his family, also many thanks to my family, especially my brother Yosef and sister Fadela. This dissertation is lovingly dedicated to them. ii CDedication "% my fatfier. ;May your sour rest in peace, to you I dedicate tfiis wor~ " "% my motfier, .wfio neverforgets me in fier prayers. " "rto my 6efoved wife, wfio never stopped motivating me. " "% my Iijas, CDawood and)'lfi, wfiose smires figfit my day." iii Publications Arti, S., 2007. The evolution of Hollywood's representation ofArabs before 9/11: the relationship between political events and the notion of 'Otherness '. A paper on the evolution of American cultural rhetoric to the Journal of the MeCCSA PGN. http://journalhosting.orglmeccsa-pgnlindex.php/netknow/searchltides Conference Paper Arti, S., 2007. The complexities of American cultural imperialism in Kuwait and the Middle East: from Hollywood defamation to soft power attraction. A paper presented at the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network Conference 2007. http://www.meccsa.org.uklpgnlevents/pgnconference2007Iconference schedule overv iew detailed.htm Arti, S., Nov. 2007 Perception management and American post 9/11 cultural strategy. A paper presented at the Cammro conference on the media coverage of the war on terror. http://www.cammro.com!englishlupload/ConferenceProgramme.pdf iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ............ : ....................................................................................... .ii Dedication ................................................................................................................. iii Publications ............................................................................................................... .iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................ v 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 2 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 10 2.1 Contextual Analysis ...................................................................................... 10 2.1.1 Historical analysis ................................................................................. 11 2.1.2 Comparative Theory ............................................................................. 15 2.1.3 Production context ................................................................................ 16 2.2 Textual Analysis ........................................................................................... 18 2.2.1 Technical elements ............................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Lighting ................................................................................................. 25 2.2.3 Special effects ....................................................................................... 25 2.2.4 Sound and Dialogue .............................................................................. 26 2.2.5 Narrative and Genre .............................................................................. 26 2.2.6 Symbolic elements ................................................................................ 27 2.2.7 Hollywood's political conventions ....................................................... 27 2.3 The Chosen Films ......................................................................................... 28 3 COMPETING CONCEPTIONS OF THE USA'S RELATIONSIDP WITH THE WORLD ............................................................................................................. 30 3.1 Introduction: American Imperialism: From Hard Power to Soft Power ...... 30 3.2 Soft Power in the Global Information Age ................................................... 35 3.3 America and Soft Power .... ~ .......................................................................... 37 3.4 Terms of Soft Power ..................................................................................... 41 3.4.1 Public Diplomacy and Persuasion Efforts .......................... ;................ .41- 3.4.2 The US Information Agency (USIA) .................................................... 44 3.4.3 The Shared Values Initiatives (SVI) .......................... :......................... .47 3.4.4 Movies .................................................................................................. 52 3.5 Conc1usions ................................................................................................... 54 v 4 THE CENTRALIZATION AND TRADE POLICY OF THE FILM INDUSTRy.................................................................. ~ ............................................... 56 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 56 4.2 Distribution and Exhibition .......................................................................... 62 4.3 Washington's Deregulation of Hollywood's Trade Policy .......................... 64 4.4 Hollywood Enforcer Jack Valenti... .............................................................. 66 4.5 Hollywood, Washington and the Pentagon ................................................... 70 4.6 Censorship and Regulations .......................................................................... 71 4.7 The Instrumental Role of Hollywood in Cultural Defence ........................... 73 4.8 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 78 5 THE NEW HOLLYWOOD: STRUCTURAL CHANGES ........................... 80 5.1 Introduction: From Centralization to Decentralization: the process ............. 80 5.2· The New System of Production .................................................................... 81 5.3 The Majors Still Dominate the Distribution Process .................................... 88 5.4 Hollywood Celebrities and New Political Activism ..................................... 93 5.5 American Counter-action Against Celebrities' Activism ........................... 101 5.6 Conclusions ................................................................................................