Josh Rushing's HOLLYWOOD: Casting the Enemy (Part 1)

[mariannora]

how can you have anything against a guy like alexander siddig? he's the best living advertisement for arab people!

[TheWordOfBod]

hang on a second. hollywood is based on streotypes. it's not just arabs but europeans, mexicans, the chinese, african-americans, the list goes on and on...

[Sati1979]

Hollywood seems to have at some point portrayed the bad guys as either Arab, British, Russian, Latino and so forth. Even women have been thrown into this mix!

[salimm]

Forgetting about arabs for a second here, I find that the Latinos get a VERY BAD rap from Hollywood. I haven't seen a US movie in the 80s that didn't portray South America as some sort of drug haven (never mind that The US was funding the anti-commie drug runners!)

[flockofgoat]

Well we did that because the Soviet Union and Cuba were funding communist narco-terrorists.

So I guess Hollywood came to the conclusion that only bad guys live south of the equator, Can you blame them though?

[salimm]

Yes, I can - especially when the right - wing paramilitaries YOUR government supports funded those same 'narco-terrorists'!

[flockofgoat]

Well we only support the good narco-terrorists, not the godless commie pinko ones.

And sometimes we have to remove our guys. Like Noriega, Saddam, the Shah. But maybe you'd rather live in a country with a Chinese supported dictator, eh?

[salimm]

Gee, with the amount of debt China keeps on buying from The US, your American President is ALREADY a Chinese-supported 'dictator'.

[flockofgoat]

Ha! Good one. Actually China isn't loaning us anymore money and we've pretty much told them they can expect to get paid last. We've also stopped buying their shit and that's cause strife on their economy. But a year ago you would have been right.

[salimm]

The reason China isn't loaning is because they've lost their appetite for US debt - they've realized that they're not going to get paid AT ALL, much less paid last. Their economy was already overheating before - you give yourself too much credit, plus the reason you're not buying any products of their is because you have NO CASH. Remember, you NEED them because nobody else will buy your debt now - they DON'T need you because they can move on the other markets. OK?

[flockofgoat]

FYI-Nobody has any money dipfuck. That's why we're in a global recession. However the U.S. is in a markedly better position that say, the EU. China definately needs us more than we need them because we secure the flow of oil to their country. The U.S. doesn't get the lions share of Mid-East oil. Europe and Asia do. If we stopped providing security to that region what do you think would happen to their economies? I'll give you a clue, look at China circa 1962 and you'll get an idea.

[salimm]

Uh, Genius, People DO still have cash; they just don't want to waste it by investing it in your country that's all. China does NOT need you - Reality check: they have other people willing to invest in their country - you don't. Your post is basically you boasting over the US not being able to provide a decent return on investment - nothing to crow about!

[flockofgoat]

Huh, That's strange because there are still nations and companies that are still investing and doing business in the US. So much so that the dollar has strangthed against the Euro and yen even in a tough economic climate. China does need us. They are shutting down factories and decreasing imports because we have stopped buying their cheap crap. But that's cool, maybe global economics isn't your strong suit.

[salimm]

India has more chance of being ruined by buying stuff it doesn't need - like weapons from the US than rubbish toys from China. Forget 1962 - Concentrate more on the quagmire in Vietnam in the late 60s - which your country seems to be bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[flockofgoat]

No, India has a better chance of being nuked by Pakistan with weapons supplied by China, but that's beside the point. I guess you don't watch the news much, we've calmed Iraq enough to pull out, we are removing combat troops from Iraq right now in fact. They will be redeployed to Afghanistan and, God willing the U.S. will be given a free hand to hault the insurgency. We will see success in Afghanistan, just like Iraq, as long as we see the mission through to the end. You can bank on it.

[mizutofu]

mojkjknnk

[flockofgoat]

Ridiculous. If Hollywood stereotypes arabs and muslims then so does the nightly news. I think this is just an example of art imitating life.

[salimm]

Really. Then why no movies on US soldiers raping underage Iraqi schoolgirls? Or Israel's hidden nuclear arsenal? Or the fact that the Twin Towers collapsed when the architect designed the buildings to withstand an airplane crash. But he died rather conveniently on 911? You're ridiculous. Moron.

[flockofgoat]

There are several movies with those kind of themes, they just don't do to well because people usually don't like science fiction trying to pass itself off as true life drama.

[salimm]

Fiction? You must mean the 'WMDs' not yet found in Iraq, right? Or 'Mission Accomplished' in Iraq? Or 'We're winning in Afghanistan'? Or 'We do not sanction torture' in Guantanamo? Or ...

[flockofgoat]

Depends on your definition of torture. I don't think 'backless chairs' and no AC constitute torture. And technically our original mission in Iraq was accomplished. Saddam is no longer in power.

[salimm]

Then why are you still in Iraq? What? No questions on how your government is wasting your tax money? You think anybody is going to stand for a foreign military base in their country? Biggest fool is the one who fools himself ...

[flockofgoat]

Because we broke Iraq, but don't worry. We'll be leaving soon enough and Iraq will be better because of the U.S....Until we no longer need it's oil. Ha!

[scotplaya]

Don't forget brothels near every military base in any 3rd world country.

[PisceanBeautyy]

And the nightly news does!

[nubbs]

what about that iraqi on lost. he does play an ex torturor, but still. he banged the blonde (though she ended up being writen out of the show after that, so...)

[Jackstowne]

Actually, I want to state one correction: the way Hollywood "portrays" women and girls is far worse than any other demographic, including Arabs. I find any kind of bigotry repulsive, but sadly, when it comes to greed, Hollywood has no scruples--at all. No other group of people is so casually dehumanized and demonized (see: Hostel, Saw, etc.). Standard is the raping, torturing, and killing of women and girls for no other reason than sheer sadism--"entertainment."