Filming the Modern Middle East: Politics in the Cinemas of Hollywood and the Arab World

by Lina Khatib

'Filming the Modern Middle East' is the first comparative investigation of how modern American cinema and the cinemas of the Arab world represent Middle Eastern politics to their audiences. Lina Khatib examines the cinematic depictions of major political issues, from the Arab-Israeli conflict to the Gulf War, to Islamic fundamentalism, and covers films made in the USA, in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. She explores cinema's role as a tool of nationalism in the USA and the Arab world, and the challenges the Arab cinemas present to Hollywood's dominant representations of Middle Eastern politics. But, she also reveals similarities between supposed contradictory cinemas and - importantly - not only how the 'Orient' is constructed by the 'Occident', but also how the 'Orient' itself in these cinemas represents Self and Others and how it is consumed by internal as well as external struggles. This is a fascinating, original contribution to the burgeoning interest in world cinemas, which also offers a fresh way of seeing Middle East politics through cinematic lenses.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Alexa Doran · Rating 4 out of 5]

whattttt this book is so GOOD. I devoured it. Fascinating if a bit repetitive

[Ahed H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the first comparative investigation of how modern American cinema and the cinemas of the Arab world represent Middle Eastern politics to their audiences. Lina Khatib examines major political issues, from the Arab–Israeli conflict to the Gulf War and Islamic fundamentalism, as portrayed in films made in the United States, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. She explores cinema as a tool of nationalism in America and the Arab world, and the challenges the Arab cinemas present to Hollywood’s dominant representations of Middle Eastern politics. This is a fascinating, original contribution to the burgeoning interest in world cinemas.

[Abdullah H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected it to be much more.
I felt like she was writing to show she has language instead
of making it useful for filmmakers. Don't get me wrong,
there are elements which were good and that's what the two stars stand for.
But I was disappointed for the most part.