It's no secret that Hollywood has long suffered with an issue when it comes to representation. [article id=2089]Last year, a study by the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition (MAAC) found that only one percent of TV actors in the US are from, or descendants of, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), despite making up more than three percent of US population.
The number of Arab actors, however, is only a small part of a bigger problem &ndash; one that revolves around how they&rsquo;re consistently portrayed as backwards and terrorists.
The Crown
"The Crown" is a historical web television Netflix series that tells the biographical story of Queen Elizabeth II.
While the show's first season focuses on some monumental moments in her life, like her marriage to Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in 1947, more issues arise in season two.
A big part of the second season focuses on the 1956 Suez Crisis, which inevitably brings Egypt to the forefront of the narrative.
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/nrpassets/uploads/embeds/1548159972-uk.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="413" />After then-Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, a political crisis erupts among British politicians.
While Anthony Eden, British prime minister at the time, referring to Nasser as a "thief" is absurd, it could very likely be a depiction of what really happened at the time.
The problem, however, arises a few scenes later when the show cuts to the British attack on Egypt as part of the Tripartite Aggression.
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0FHGVxgmHd0" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>The first shot to indicate the location has changed to Egypt is a close-up of ants on a plate of half-eaten fruits. A few seconds later, the shot zooms out to show the barren desert that is Egypt, with its streets and buildings looking primitive, sandy and dirty.
Not only do the images of Egypt heavily contrast the lavish ones of England, but they also fuel an age-old stereotype about this part of the world being backward, dirty and nothing but a sandy desert.
Bodyguard
Another British show that was criticized for being Islamophobic is "Bodyguard."[article id=2277]The UK's most watched show follows Police Sergeant David Budd, a British Army war veteran suffering from PTSD, who is working as a special protection officer and is assigned to protect the Home Secretary Julia Montague before she's assassinated.
The show's opening scene pretty much sets the tone for what&rsquo;s to follow &ndash; it begins with introducing two Muslim suicide bombers attempting to bomb a train, mainly focusing on how the woman, Nadia, is forced by her husband to wear an explosive belt.
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tLfLU6-9lxY" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>"The simplistic trope of the passive 'jihadi bride' responding to her rational jihadi husband is often inaccurate," wrote ITV News security editor Rohit Kachroo.
"The reasons behind what entices women towards this form of extremism tend to be far more complex than fear of an oppressive husband."
In response to this criticism, the show&rsquo;s creator Jed Mercurio told Radio Times that viewers shouldn't judge the show based on its first episode.
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/nrpassets/uploads/embeds/1548160042-nadia.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="349" />And to be fair, for the most part, the story alludes that the threat is not only homegrown in the UK, but is deeply ingrained in several British institutions, including the Home Office.
The last scene of the show's last episode, however, shatters any shred of hope Muslim viewers may have had.
While we were set up to believe terrorism knows no race or color, Nadia makes an appearance and admits she's the mastermind behind the attacks that swept the country, claiming that she wanted to "stab" Britain in the heart.
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/nrpassets/uploads/embeds/1548159160-bodyguard.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="310" />The Netflix show was even criticized by comedian Hasan Minhaj on his own Netflix show "Patriot Act."
"You can't idolize Teddy Roosevelt and destroy the environment. That's like Netflix having the first Muslim talk show host and Bodyguard," he said.
"Bodyguard is good though, right? It's so good, you almost forget about the Islamophobia. Almost. You still taste it though &hellip; Oh, to be white."
<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/nrpassets/uploads/embeds/1548158785-hasan_2.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="347" />
<figcaption>Hasan Minhaj attacking "Bodyguard" on "Patriot Act"</figcaption>
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Mercurio, however, is yet to admit any Islamophobia exists in his show and he seems to genuinely believe it bears no issues.
In the same interview, he said that the reality is that terror threats in the UK "do originate from Islamist sympathizers" and that Muslims make the majority of terrorists.
Homeland
The 2014 American series is based on the Israeli show "Prisoners of War" and was described as "the most bigoted show on television" by The Washington Post for its false and racist depictions and stereotypes.[article id=2602]"[In Homeland], Muslims can play one of exactly two roles: terrorists or willing collaborators with US intelligence forces," wrote The Post.
Throughout the show's seven seasons, Middle Eastern cities are constantly portrayed as racially homogenous. It also shows incorrect practices of Islam as facts, like having to bury the Quran after someone's dropped it on the ground.
<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/nrpassets/uploads/embeds/1548160194-homeland_2.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="415" />
<figcaption>Arab artists asked to paint graffiti on set left behind messages attacking the show</figcaption>
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The show grabbed plenty more attention regarding its portrayal in its fourth season, starting with its promotional poster, which shows a blonde, white woman in a Red Riding Hood in a sea of faceless Muslim women, with her face showing nothing but horror.
That same season also focuses on a terrorist named Haissam Haqqani, whose name sounds almost exactly like Husain Haqqani, the former Pakistani Ambassador to the US.
<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/nrpassets/uploads/embeds/1548159051-homeland.jpg" alt="" width="620" height="465" />While shows are a form of entertainment, one cannot pretend that recurring stereotypes can negatively affect those portrayed.
Not only is "Bodyguard" the most watched UK show today, but it&rsquo;s also the most watched BBC drama in over a decade, with more than 10 million viewers.
Similarly, "Homeland" is not only popular among viewers but has received plenty of accolades, including the 2011 and 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series &ndash; Drama and the 2012 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3I1fBNLo_xk" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>And the sad truth of the matter is that such portrayal doesn't look like it'll be decreasing anytime soon. Not only are Arabs barely cast, but when they are, they're limited to nothing more than one-dimensional terrorist roles.

3 Shows That Were Blatantly Racist Against Arabs & Muslims

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