Arab American Heritage Month- Ozark Campus: DVDs, Audiobooks, Streaming Video, and Databases

Muna Farah, a Palestinian single mom, struggles to maintain her optimistic spirit in the daily grind of intimidating West Bank checkpoints, the constant nagging of a controlling mother, and the haunting shadows of a failed marriage. Everything changes one day when she receives a letter informing her that her family has been granted a U.S. green card, and she moves with her teenage son to small town Illinois.

A timely, poignant drama about Arab Americans living in post-9/11 Los Angeles, American East examines long-held misunderstandings about Arabic and Islamic culture. Since the attacks, the Arab community has born the burden of racial discrimination.

Throughout its history Hollywood has portrayed Arabs as buffoons or bandits. The video seeks to rectify this stereotyping by comparing it to other forms of racist imagery and by suggesting alternative narratives that treat the Arabs as human, not demons."Reel Bad Arabs takes a devastating tour of the American cinematic landscape, moving from the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters to reveal an astonishing and persistent pattern of slanderous Arab stereotyping. Featuring acclaimed author and Hollywood film consultant Dr. Jack Shaheen, the documentary exposes American cinema's long love affair with Arab villainy and buffoonery, from over-sexed Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and blood-thirsty terrorists. Along the way, the film provides striking insights into the origin of these images, their disturbing similarities to anti-Semitic and racist stereotypes from the past, and their political resonance during key moments of conflict in U.S. history. In the end, Shaheen inspires us to think critically about the destructive social and political effects of Hollywood's projection of Arabs, challenging us to envision counter-narratives that do justice to both the diversity and humanity of Arab people, and the reality and richness of Arab history and culture"--Back of container.

November 25, 2001 - In the aftermath of 9/11, Ed Bradley reports on how the residents of Dearborn, Mich. -- one of the biggest Arab communities outside of the Middle East -- have been affected by the terrorist attacks. The community has been targeted by bomb threats, assaults, and racial profiling.

An introspective look at Middle-Eastern cultures in the U.S. as they appear in the media and are perceived by the American society. Studio Guest: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Chicago. Video Inserts: Dr. Jack Shaheen's film Reel Bad Arabs.

This engaging and innovative documentary explores the common misperceptions and stereotypes of one another shared by young people in the Middle East and the United States. Images of subjugated Middle Eastern women and violent men permeate the American media and similarly, images of superficial and promiscuous American women pervade the worldwide media. A World Without Strangers connects five college-age women from the United States with five from the Middle East in a media-based dialogue that illuminates and challenges cross-cultural misconceptions. The American women - Lauren, Lindsay, Eboni, Thanh, and Danielle - are from diverse backgrounds. Three of the Middle-Eastern women - Zohreh, Mahdieh, and Asal - are Iranian, while Rima and Hala live in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. In the first round of interviews, all ten participants are asked about their stereotypes. What do the American women think of the Middle East and what do the Middle Eastern women think of the United States? Cameras are given to the women so they can each photograph a day in their lives, collecting photos of family, friends, pets, and favorite activities. These photos are then edited into video diaries, which the participants view in a second round of interviews. By sharing their lives and stories, the women begin the process of rejecting their stereotypes and recognizing their commonalities. As Lauren, one of the American women, exclaims at the end of the program, 'They're just like us!' A World Without Strangers powerfully illustrates Quaker activist Gene Knudsen-Hoffman's incisive comment, 'An enemy is someone whose story we don't know.' The video speaks directly to young people and it will challenge students to think about media images of the Middle East and how those images shape their own perceptions. It will generate discussion in a variety of courses in communication, media studies, multiculturalism, women's studies, Middle Eastern studies, and international relations. It was produced by Kelly Briley and Hamid Khani for Olive Tree Communications.

"You can say you re sorry, you can apologize, but you can t give back the hours, the minutes, the months a family has been broken up."--Carma Said In post 9/11 America, civil liberties have been curtailed in the name of national security, and immigrants were separated from their families when laws changed quickly, and were enforced selectively. Before, there was an implicit understanding between the INS and immigrant communities that people who had applications pending to legalize their status could reside in the country until an application was approved. After 9/11, and for South Asians and Arabs, the rule changed. The Muslim community, today, is alone among the vast immigrant population to face such targeted enforcement. Out of Status follows four families whose lives were permanently altered.