"VALENTINO's GHOST"
U.S. Media's Portrayals of Arabs & Muslims - Narrated by Mike Farrell
Opening Today - Friday, May 17th
Pasadena Playhouse 7 Laemmle Theatre
673 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena 91101
Phone: 626-844-6500
Screening at Noon & 2:10
<https://www.laemmle.com/theaters/purchase/6/206270> PM
www.laemmle.com/theaters/6
Valentino's Ghost Trailer
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPd9KZKnZOo
VALENTINO's GHOST - Which has been called 'Superb', 'Courageous' and
'Disturbing' - exposes the ways in which America's foreign policy agenda in
the Middle East drives the U.S. media's portrayals of Arabs and Muslims. The
film lays bare the truths behind taboo subjects that are conspicuously
avoided, or merely treated as sound bites, by the mainstream American media:
"Why do they hate us?" "Why do we hate them?" What were the events that led
to the 9/11 attacks? What are the politics behind the U.S.-Israeli
relationship? Why is there a robust debate about these subjects in Europe,
the Arab World and in Israel itself, but not in the US? VALENTINO's GHOST
provides a fresh inquiry which challenges the media's daily barrage of
rhetoric and misinformation about our complex and vital relationship with
this part of the world. - www.valentinosghost.com
A dozen expert commentators including Gore Vidal, Robert Fisk, Stephen
Rohde, Tony Shalhoub, John Mearsheimer and Niall Ferguson elucidate the
reasons behind the lack of a
serious national dialogue on these topics and reveal the media's - and the
U.S. government's - roles in perpetuating many Americans' fear and loathing
of Arabs, Muslims and Islam.
And Comedic Performances by Maz Jobrani, Aron Kader & Ahmed Ahmed
"Brilliant" - Tamara Sonn, Professor of Humanities, College of William and
Mary
"Stunning, A Riveting Account" - Louise Cainkar, Assistant Professor of
Social and Cultural Sciences, Marquette University
LA Times Review:
"Valentino's Ghost" - Hits Media's Portrayal of Arabs, Muslims
Michael Singh's documentary says news accounts, movies and TV often unfairly
cast the groups in a negative light, adding that U.S. foreign policy shares
blame.
By Gary Goldstein
Writer-director Michael Singh
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/movies/tarsem-singh-PECLB0001477
7.topic> 's documentary "Valentino's Ghost" connects the United States'
Middle East foreign policy agenda to the American media's often negative
portrayals of Arabs and Muslims. It's a provocative, absorbing - and at
times dicey - study.
Using film and TV clips plus archival news footage, the India-born Singh
ambitiously tracks the on-screen depiction of Arabs starting in the 1920s
when Rudolph Valentino melted hearts as "The Sheik" and Douglas
Fairbanks
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/douglas-fairbanks-PECLB000000104
81.topic> swashbuckled his way through "The Thief of Bagdad." But, he
notes, those warm, fanciful portrayals shrank over the years as America's
economic and political interests in the Middle East grew.
According to Singh, specific events accelerated the shift: The formation of
Israel <http://www.latimes.com/topic/intl/israel-PLGEO0000010.topic> in
1948, the 1972 attack on the Munich Olympics by Palestinian terrorists, the
launch of the Arab oil embargo in 1973 and, perhaps most indelibly, the 9/11
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/unrest-conflicts-war/terrorism/september-11-20
01-attacks-EVHST000001.topic> attacks in 2001. The filmmaker contends that
the U.S. news media has failed to provide sufficient historical, religious
or social context for such geopolitical events, thus fostering
overwhelmingly harsh attitudes toward Arabs and Muslims.
Interviews with historian Niall Ferguson, author John Mearsheimer, British
war correspondent Robert Fisk, the late Gore Vidal
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/arts-culture/literature/gore-vidal-PECLB000000
7147.topic> and others offer credible support for Singh's argument that
Arabs and Muslims have been excessively portrayed as adversaries and
extremists. Several Muslim American comics here provide sharp irony.
Singh also takes to task a wide range of movies, including "Exodus,"
"Lawrence of Arabia"
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/movies/lawrence-of-arabia-%28mov
ie%29-ENMV0011517.topic> and Disney's "Aladdin"
<http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/movies/aladdin-%28movie%29-ENMV0
011289.topic> for historical half-truths and skewed storytelling, with
intriguing results. But Singh's critical views on Israel and
Washington's staunch protection of that country's image will likely set some
viewers' teeth on edge.
----------------------------
"Valentino's Ghost." No MPAA Rating. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. At
Laemmle's Playhouse 7, Pasadena.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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