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[kumanoki]

Straight off of Yahoo.

Fox TV Accused of Stereotyping American Muslims

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Fox television network said on Thursday it will provide its stations with TV spots that portray Muslims in a favorable way after it received complaints for featuring followers of Islam as terrorists on its hit television show "24."

On Monday, Fox premiered the fourth season of "24." The drama featured an upper-middle class Muslim family operating as a sleeper terrorist cell. The Muslim mother poisons her son's non-Muslim girlfriend because it was feared the girl could jeopardize the terrorists' plan.

A Fox spokesman said it would provide public service announcements sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations to its affiliate stations. Local television executives can decide if and when to use the spots.

The move was in response to the Islamic council's complaints about the show.

"What we are hoping to do is to try and mitigate the damages of the stereotypes because it can bring real-life consequences on American Muslims and their lives here," said Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Islamic group.

Citing a public opinion survey conducted by Cornell University last year, Ahmed said television influences viewers' perceptions of Muslims.

"There aren't any positive or even neutral portrayals of Muslims on TV; whenever Muslims or Arabs are portrayed it is always in a stereotypical way," she said.

"When average Americans don't have any personal interaction with Muslims, whether it be at work or at school, they base their perception of Islam and Muslims from what they see on TV," she added. "We did bring that to Fox's attention."

As long as they keep making new seasons of 24......

 

[cubanb]

I guess they should have made an ESKIMO family as a sleeper cell instead

 

[Dagless M.D.]

What the fuck, I just got a 24 spoiler from fucking Yahoo

 

[DJ Sl4m]

It's only right to remove it from TV considering that terrorism has never occured in this country due to the Muslim and/or Arab community.

Was that too sarcastic ? or not enough ?

 

[BigJonsson]

I think shows should still use Soviets as the bad guys!

 

[Dan]

A Fox spokesman said it would provide public service announcements sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations to its affiliate stations. Local television executives can decide if and when to use the spots.

Even though this is pretty ridiculous, you gotta love how Fox isn't going to make sure these air.

I think we should find some upper-middle class female homemakers to complain about Desperate Housewives.

 

[Cherubae]

Does the family ever admit they're muslim? All I can remember is the mom saying they should be honored that their country gave them this mission, but nothing about their religion or country of origin.

Are people just assuming their muslim because of their skin color and accents?

 

[BigJonsson]

Does the family ever admit they're muslim? All I can remember is the mom saying they should be honored that their country gave them this mission, but nothing about their religion or country of origin.

Are people just assuming their muslim because of their skin color and accents?

Debbie said something like "your parents don't like me because I'm not muslim"

 

[hooded pitohui]

What the fuck, I just got a 24 spoiler from fucking Yahoo

Yeah, seriously. Good work guys!

And what about the Muslim dude in season 2 who worked with Jack? that guy was awesome.

 

[StoOgE]

We will beat tolerance and understanding into the hate filled Rupert Murdock.

 

[impirius]

I think shows should still use Soviets as the bad guys!

 

[SKluck]

He's pretty cool....

 

[MetatronM]

OMG...there are Muslim terrorists?! When the fuck did this happen?!?!

 

[kgHavok23]

Portraying a common muslim american as a terrorist is a bit different. American audience seems to buy crap they see on tv really easily and I think thats where the issue is. It just creates more misconsceptions and paranoia imo.

 

[StoOgE]

Portraying a common muslim american as a terrorist is a bit different.

Bingo.

 

[MetatronM]

Portraying a common muslim american as a terrorist is a bit different. American audience seems to buy crap they see on tv really easily and I think thats where the issue is. It just creates more misconsceptions and paranoia imo.

How is that any different from portraying other "regular" Americans as terrorists as they've done in seasons past? To me, the people who are bringing up that they are Muslims in the first place are the ones who are out of line and making this a racist issue.

Nobody complained when a typical well-off American white girl acted as a terrorist. Where was everybody all up in arms about 24 stereotyping white women as terrorists?

 

[Burger]

Americans are funny.

Muslim terrorists have attacked your country a number of times, and probably will again in the future. That is a fact.

Yet fox executives bow down to this shit ?? Hahahaha thats fucken crazy. Heaven forbid you dramatize reality. 24 is closer to reality than most other terrorist themed shit that clogs up TV and the Theatre.

You should be fucking LAUDED for 24, and mocked for dogshit like XXX and the other 60% of your films that are bullshit.

 

[Fresh Prince]

That is true. Have they made a drama series about a disillusioned American soldier that conceives a mass murder plan to rebel against the goverment he once was willing to place his life for?

 

[Amir0x]

Seriously, 24 is really brave for going ahead with this. Not because it's particularly unrealistic or shocking, but because this does exist in the real world and they're confronting it without any barriers. This is how it should be, not some politically correct parade where we change the terrorists to neo-nazis because you might hurt some peoples feelings.

There are muslim/arabic terror cells that act like completely normal families and then act when called on. There are also fantastic and completely innocent muslim/arabic families that should be treated with the utmost respect.

You should not be prohibited from showing either.

 

[DarienA]

Where were the protests when there were Brits or Americans as bad guys on the show?

Whatever as long as 24 itself doesn't change because of this dumb shit.

 

[CajoleJuice]

Also, it's not like they didn't show the other side of the fence. When the Araz father was in a restaurant, the waitress mentioned something about those terrorists giving Muslims a bad rep. Awkward?

 

[Amir0x]

To quote 24 [to this issue]:

"Spare me your sixth-grade Michael Moore logic"

 

[fart]

you people are so fucking stupid, ALMOST as stupid as the idiots who write that bullshit.

ps, i love that they're passing the buck to the local affiliates who of fucking course won't air that shit when it's only going to cut into their advertising revenue.

nothing ever fucking changes in this country.

 

[kgHavok23]

Where were the protests when there were Brits or Americans as bad guys on the show?

Whatever as long as 24 itself doesn't change because of this dumb shit.

You have to take into consideration the political and social atmosphere right now. Its like portraying common german or japanese americans as spies during ww2. Just a bit inconsiderate imo.

 

[MIMIC]

As a fan of "24," I think the complaints are valid; their portrayal of Muslim Americans is kinda stereotypical (in the social stereotypical sense).

Maybe if they had Muslims working at CTU then there wouldn't be such a problem.

 

[The Faceless Master]

i wish they would stop airing shows where black people are portrayed as criminals...

 

[Fusebox]

Super Mario DS - Stereotyping Italians??

Omg quick bomb Nintendo.

 

[Boogie9IGN]

you people are so fucking stupid, ALMOST as stupid as the idiots who write that bullshit.

ps, i love that they're passing the buck to the local affiliates who of fucking course won't air that shit when it's only going to cut into their advertising revenue.

nothing ever fucking changes in this country.

In conclusion, 24 owns, fuck complainers.

 

[DaMan121]

As a fan of "24," I think the complaints are valid; their portrayal of Muslim Americans is kinda stereotypical (in the social stereotypical sense).

Maybe if they had Muslims working at CTU then there wouldn't be such a problem.

Yep. But then again this is a mindless 'entertainment' show, with zero character development or depth, why expect any better from the muslim characters? Atleast something like True Lies laughs at the stupidity of its stereotypical viewpoint.

 

[fart]

Yep. But then again this is a mindless 'entertainment' show, with zero character development or depth, why expect any better from the muslim characters? Atleast something like True Lies laughs at the stupidity of its stereotypical viewpoint.

i don't think anyone, least of all the plaintiffs, expected any better. this doesn't make it right though, just pathology.

 

[Burger]

As a fan of "24," I think the complaints are valid; their portrayal of Muslim Americans is kinda stereotypical (in the social stereotypical sense).

Maybe if they had Muslims working at CTU then there wouldn't be such a problem.

Yeah, stereotypical. You do know that there are Muslims who want to see America burned to the ground ?

Besides, the show isn't talking about nor portraying the American Muslim community. The show clearly states the family arrived in America 4 months ago.

What if fucking Muslims don't work at CTU ? Should they have a black guy, asian girl, hispanic dude ? Why should the writers pander to your own insecurities ?

 

[Fusebox]

What if fucking Muslims don't work at CTU ? Should they have a black guy, asian girl, hispanic dude ? Why should the writers pander to your own insecurities ?

Bam.

Thread closed.

 

[Boogie]

Fuck these complaints. The fucking Political Correctness Police forced them to change the terrorists in the Sum of All Fears to fucking Nazis.

They'd damn well better leave my 24 alone.

 

[Shinobi]

How is that any different from portraying other "regular" Americans as terrorists as they've done in seasons past? To me, the people who are bringing up that they are Muslims in the first place are the ones who are out of line and making this a racist issue.

Nobody complained when a typical well-off American white girl acted as a terrorist. Where was everybody all up in arms about 24 stereotyping white women as terrorists?

The obvious difference here is that white Americans haven't been subjected to discrimination and abuse simply for looking like a terrorist. That's something that many Arab descent people have been subjected to since 9/11, and until you yourself have been subjected to such actions, or know the icy feeling of walking through a mall or into a subway car knowing that every person's eyes is looking at you, you can't summarily dismiss their feelings. Honestly this isn't too hard to understand.

 

[Archaix]

Besides, the show isn't talking about nor portraying the American Muslim community. The show clearly states the family arrived in America 4 months ago.

Not really the point of the thread, but I think it was nearly 5 years, not months.

More on topic, people need to shut the fuck up.

 

[LakeEarth]

OMG...there are Muslim terrorists?! When the fuck did this happen?!?!

Yeah I know. When 9/11 happened, I looked at those planes and said "Holy crap, the Swiss are attacking!"

 

[N Coward Parody]

Oh, the racial and gender politics of the show are completely fucked up. Does it detract from the entertainment value of the show? Not really. The problem, in my mind, arises when viewers don't recognize how the show's extremely distorted lens paints particular groups in a really unfavorable light.

I wish I could believe that most people are smart enough to step back and see that the show is telling a certain kind of story with a certain political point of view, but unfortunately the way the Araz family is portrayed (and damn near every woman that's emerged so far this season) will simply reinforce the damaging stereotypes that already exist in this country.

Like I said, it's still a great show, but if you can't understand how some people might be upset at how the world of 24 treats particular kinds of people, you have your head lodged up your ass.



*Noel Coward Parody

 

[Willco]

WHO. FUCKING. CARES?

 

[Miburou]

I'm not Turkish and I'm not really a Muslim, but since I'm Middle Eastern we all get lumped together, and I honestly feel awkward watching the show with my Canadian friends.

I laughed my ass off when that guy said there's some non-English writing, which could be Turkish or Arabic. That's like saying something looks like it's either written in Chinese or French. (Since 1928, Turkish has been using a form of Roman alphabet, FYI).

 

[MIMIC]

What if fucking Muslims don't work at CTU ? Should they have a black guy, asian girl, hispanic dude ? Why should the writers pander to your own insecurities ?

My insecurities? Are you kidding? No where did I show any personal or emotional attachment to the show.

And we're talking about the major theme of the story: terrorism. No where do blacks, Asians, or Hispanics fit into the equation.

The writers SHOULD want to create an entertaining show that isn't offensive to any particular group. Of course, there are some Muslims that wish the very worst for the United States, and some the very opposite. The Muslim community has suffered severely from 9/11 and for this show to deliberately shock its audience by portraying the ordinary, everyday (or so we thought) Muslim American family as a conduit for terrorism is pretty disheartening to me as a fan (a fan that considers the show as more than just a show at the moment) and offensive to law-abiding Muslim Americans. It does nothing but perpetuate the "towel head terrorist" label.

Try to see things from some one ELSES perspective instead of the sensitive "you better not badmouth my favorite show" 24 fan.

 

[Fresh Prince]

What if fucking Muslims don't work at CTU ? Should they have a black guy, asian girl, hispanic dude ? Why should the writers pander to your own insecurities ?

Of course not. Perhaps they should stop thinking only 'white' people can have these roles. Minorities don't need roles specifically made for them.

 

[Willco]

It's not like the muslims are the bad guys on every season, so this is a pretty absurd thing to argue about.

Fresh Prince... In case you didn't know, CTU is not all-white. And whose to say there's not a muslim in CTU. People just don't flaunt their religion at the workplace.

It's all very stupid.

 

[Fresh Prince]

I don't watch 24- something about people getting into inconcievable quandries are still being able to survive made me stop watching it half way through the first or second season. Though I think I saw a hispanic guy on the team.

 

[Amir0x]

I think 24 has a problem with powerful black females though.

 

[fart]

the current scripts perpetuate stereotypes so flagrantly that the show's past scripts are practically irrelevant, and it's not like the script is critical of itself in this way.

it's only "stupid" to worry about marginalizing large groups of people if you're an idiot that's been raised on empty medias and popular mindlessness.

 

[cubanb]

I wish Palmer were President!

 

[LakeEarth]

I laughed my ass off when that guy said there's some non-English writing, which could be Turkish or Arabic. That's like saying something looks like it's either written in Chinese or French. (Since 1928, Turkish has been using a form of Roman alphabet, FYI).

That's what I said. They're nothing alike.

 

[effzee]

they have portrayed this family as very coldhearted but then again i remember in season 2 when the terrorists were muslim, for at least half the season, they did show other muslims who werent. my hope is that they do show the other side.


but yeah for those of u who go ohhh no they better not change 24....they arent. disclaimer is all they asked for...cause believe it or not muslims do get picked on...even b4 911 but especially now. i have my own fam as a example.

 

[Prine]

Yeah, i think theres more to it. Like Season 2, they'll show 2 sides. Remeber that special agent from Egypt? (i think) who helped Jack obtain the chip with pre-recorded data of Syad Ali. And the Muslim priest telling a terrorist to surrender his fatical views.

Just wait and see imo


I'll be dissapointed if they dont though

 

[Greenpanda]

That's what I said. They're nothing alike.

Most people probably don't know this, so it makes sense for the character (forget his name) not to know.