Shattering Stereotypes: Media Images of Arabs

Popular depictions of Arabs range from a menacing Saddam Hussein to camel caravans and oil-rich sheikhs to the movie Aladdin. The World Trade Center bombing fills the news. Arab terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, we are informed, threaten Western civilization. There is a decisive connection between media representations and public attitudes. Repetitive distortions defame an entire group. History is replete with examples of the dangers of prejudice.