In class, we watched a part of a 50-minute film called the "Reel Bad Arabs", and how/why American movies/shows have a tendency of portraying them as the "bad guys". By watching this film, it made me recognize just how unconsciously I too had the image of Arabs being corrupt, but this was me being manipulated by the American entertainment industry.
I was quite shocked to hear the lyrics of a Disney song, in the movie "Aladdin", saying messages such as Arabs will cut off a person's ears if they don't like your face. I believe this is intentionally put into a children's cartoon since it is easier to frighten children more than adults, as well as them being an audience easier to deceive. Arabian women were also over-sexualized in many of the films, but nowadays, they are even portrayed as terrorists.
From this, I have been able to realize how we all have fixed images because of the entertainment we choose to watch. I feel like everyone including myself unconsciously holds and develops a stereotype/bias about others just because of their religion and background. With the media being constantly something around us, it inaccurately portrays information but we never think to doubt it first. I am one of the victims, but I want to be more conscious of this and not let the media/entertainment influence me as much as it has already.
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