Filmers visualisering av stereotyper : Islam ur ett västerländskt perspektiv

• Main Author: Bengtsson, Alexander
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper (KV) 2014
• Subjects: Islam; islamophobia; Media; stereotypes; entertainment Movie; Islamofobi; Stereotyper; Underhållningsfilm
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-32758

This essay examines on what kind of Muslim stereotypes exist in entertainment movies which are being produced in the West and particularly the United States. First, the focus will be on explaining the concept of stereotypes and Islamophobia and what role the media has in the movies' production of its contents. The incident at the World Trade Center will also be discussed briefly. By using semiotic and narrative analyses the essay investigates if a stereotyped image is being used about Muslims and how Muslim main characters that have the role of being protagonists, are visualized in entertainment movies. The material that is included in the empirical analysis consists of three selected movies. The purpose of this essay is to create a broader understanding on how stereotypes of Islam and Muslims are being used within the entertainment industry with particular focus on movies that are produced in the West. The results in this paper show that stereotypes of Islam and Muslims lives on in the 21st century movies and that Muslims who are characterized as protagonists are illustrated with traits and appearance that reminiscent of the West. However, Islam and Muslims is not a frequent content in movies produced in USA.