The BNP Wives

BNP Wives is a documentary that demonstrates the fascists have learnt nothing from previous embarrassing encounters with the media.

(go to Google Video)

A more apt title for the programme would have been BNP Women as only one of them is married to a BNP member, and though a lot of it is old material in comedy terms (you think they’d be prepared for some of the questions and be a little more polite with members of the public!) it’s worth watching to compare what the women say with the glowing review on the BNP website, where the three are described as “fine ambassadors” for the party…

Attack Of The Arabs!

All racism is unacceptable, of course, but some forms are more acceptable than others. The portrayal of Arabs in Hollywood cinema is one such form of accepted racism. Rooted in the European phenomenon of Orientalism, but evolving with American foreign policy, offensive anti-Arab and anti-Muslim stereotypes pop up in the least expected places.

Planet Of The Arabs

This award-winning – but fun – montage (9 mins) collects half a century of racist film clips. See how many you can identify.

Reel Bad Arabs

An interview on Democracy Now! (starts about two mins into the clip) with Jack Shaheen, author of Reel Bad Arabs, and an excerpt from the film of the same name (about 26 mins in total)

(click here to view all three parts)

Demonising Iran Though they’re not actually Arabs, Iranians have been subject to a similar campaign of demonisation – from the fantastical monstrous Persians of the film 300 to political cartoons reminiscent of depictions of Jews in 1930s Germany.