Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator Called Out as 'Ugly' Stereotype of Arabs

Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator Called Out as 'Ugly' Stereotype of Arabs

By Dennis Romero Wed., Feb. 29 2012 at 1:30 PM

@mlim20

You saw Sacha Baron Cohen, in character as The Dictator, take on the Academy Awards for allegedly refusing his punk-worthy entrance to the red carpet at the Oscars Sunday.

It was all a media stunt, and Cohen ended up on the red carpet, spreading the "ashes" of Kim Jong Ill on Ryan Seacrest. Ha-ha.

Except Arab Americans aren't happy. Not at all:

Look at it this way. Imagine if Cohen portrayed a Latino leader with a thick mustache, an accent, a vertically challenged presence, corruption all around him, and a box of cigars in-hand.

(Actually, Richard Dreyfuss played an impersonator of just such a Latin American dictator in Moon Over Parador. Discuss).

Richard Dreyfuss in 'Moon Over Parador.'

Anywho, the National Network for Arab American Communities is not happy with Cohen's General Shabazz Aladeen, who will receive big-screen treatment in summer, when The Dictator is released.

The group's director, Nadia Tonova, stated today:

Arabs are among the few cultures that Hollywood still exploits with impunity. Routinely, we are profiled as unsavory or sultry characters -- generally terrorists, dictators, sheikhs, oil tycoons or Bedouins.
... They become an ugly message that trickles down to the general public: Arabs and Muslims are untrustworthy; they are un-American; they are... fill the blank.

Shame on you, Cohen. You should go back to playing British hip-hop/raver guidos.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

Academy Awards, Arab Americans, ethnicity, Oscars, race, Sacha Baron Cohen, stereotype

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dancer4evr

I feel that this movie is a continual depiction of how propagandist the media is towards the Arab world. I understand that Baron-Cohen is trying to be funny. However, my issue with this is simply this: If a white man was running around dressing up like a black man, perpetuating so called "sterotypes" an entire community of civil rights activists, NAACP members, and more would be out in the media discussing the problem. But because this is a Jewish man, depicting an Arab sterotype, alot of people are turning a blind eye to the BLATANT stereotyping, bigatory and overall racism that this film depicts. It is going to take alot for the Arab world to be turned into something more that a catch phrase and go to joke of terrorism and extremist,fanatic Islamist's. The controlling bodies of the media need to be overturned and we need a young, bright generation of Arab and Arab Americans to come forward and bring these stereotypes down. and to Darin W: "he obviously isn't trying to portray Arab-Americans, or your normal, everyday Arab who happens to be the unfortunate subject to one of these tyrants." I think there is many people, throughout the world and the US that would say we have been ruled by "tyrants". We need to take a step back and realize that we are not the best, we do not have the best politics and we certainly do not have the best intentions.

DarinW

Well wait just a second here -- he obviously isn't trying to portray Arab-Americans, or your normal, everyday Arab who happens to be the unfortunate subject to one of these tyrants. Dictators such as Gaddafi, Saddam and Kim Jong Il are (or were) certainly ridiculous characters deserving of ridicule.

The character Baron-Cohen has created is very specific and only can be likened to a handful of individuals on the entire face of the earth. If it is perpetuating a stereotype, it is of the ruthless and idiotic dictator of any race/ethnicity. His stunt on the red carpet shows that he is likening his character to his "friend" Kim Jong Il, a dictator of a different race altogether.

This isn't any more racist than most of Baron-Cohen's other characters are to the races they happen to be. The people of Kazakhstan certainly have a bigger, more legitimate beef with him over the Borat character, however. But even in that case, I don't think many folks really believe that the people of that nation are anything like what he portrays.