There Are No Excuses for ‘American Sniper’
By most accounts, American Sniper depicts its Arab Iraqi subjects in a simplistic and shallow fashion. No one has accused director Clint Eastwood of portraying the Arab characters of the film in a manner that is nuanced or layered.
And I don’t mean to be too elementary, but that is really all that matters. When a movie like this, like many others before it, simply treats Arabs and Muslims as either villains or helpless victims, we need not delve any further. We should simply call American Sniper what it is: racist.
Sure, the acting is good. The cinematography is good. There’s a struggle. There’s a love story. But it’s racist. So that’s it.
Earlier this week, in a column for CNN, Dean Obeidallah analyzed the film. Dean is perhaps the most recognizable Arab American commentator in the media. He frequently writes for CNN and The Daily Beast, and he periodically appears on cable news networks offering commentary. Also, he recently debuted a weekly radio show on Sirius.
Source: www.civilarab.com