Has Television Gotten ‘Lost’ In Racial Stereotypes?

I have to admit that I’ve been having difficulty presenting the following article in a detached, non-judgmental fashion. It’s taken me three days to come to the conclusion that I have to interject my own reactions in order to make this story flow logically and make sense.

Here's the dilemma. The way Muslims and Arabs are perceived by the American public in general is strongly influenced by television imagery. On May 22, the Museum of Television and Radio held a panel discussion called "Arab and Muslim Characters in Prime Time TV: The View From Hollywood," to address this issue.

The panel was moderated by entertainment journalist and author Alex Ben Block ("Outfoxed: Marvin Davis, Barry Diller, Rupert Murdoch and the Inside Story of America's Fourth Television Network"), and featured "24" executive producer Howard Gordon, "Lost" executive producer Damon Lindelof, and, from "Sleeper Cell," writer Kamran Pasha (a Pakistani-American, and the only Muslim on the panel) and co-creator Ethan Reiff.

Block started the discussion by talking about political correctness, to which Gordon remarked that, since "24" has been accused of many things, from misogyny to promoting torture, that "political correctness doesn't enter much" into the discussions.

This is where the biggest problem I've had started. Is it the case for Howard Gordon that as long as they show is telling an interesting story, it doesn't have to assume any responsibility for continuing to propagate negative images that impact on real people in their everyday lives? Do showrunners have a moral or ethical obligation not to add fuel to the flames of racism?

"24," which features different terrorist plots each season, has provoked anger and protest over its portrayal of Arab and Muslim viewers. In the book "Reel Bad Arabs," Professor Jack Shaheen writes that "television's image of the Arab is omnipresent [and] is becoming a part of American folklore." He also writes that Arabs have "consistently appeared in American popular culture as billionaires, bombers, and belly dancers."

In an interview on Arabisto.com, Shaheen said, "Fox TV's '24' persistently and consistently defames Arabs/Muslims more than any other group." He asked, "Why and who is the ultimate beneficiary of such stereotypical depictions?

"The average American knows little about Arabs/Muslims or the Arab World," Shaheen said. He also contended that we often see images of Arabs/Muslims with machine guns on the screen and this unfortunately generates stereotypes and hatred in the minds of the public. Shaheen adds he is not surprised that Arabs/Muslims in the United States and abroad have responded negatively towards this show.

When Damon Lindelof spoke, he pointed out that because ABC/s "Lost" features plane-crash survivors -- including Sayid (Naveen Andrews), a former member of Iraq's Republican Guard -- on a mysterious island, "We can do things that, under any other lens, would be offensive, like having a brother and sister sleep together. But on our show it's just surprising."

The panel showed various clips to the participants, including a flashback scene from "Lost" that showed Sayid forced to acknowledge and apologize to a woman he had once tortured in Iraq.

Gordon praised the clip, saying that it was "more articulate" on the subject of torture than anything done on "24." The theme of torture is often brought up in the context of "24," which uses it as a storytelling device to heighten tension and propel the plot.

While the more three-dimensional portrayal of Sayid has largely made him a sympathetic and appealing character, there is still some criticism of the portrayal as someone who tortured political prisoners, which still propagates the stereotype of the barbaric Iraqi. Nearly everybody else on the island is plagued with daddy issues, or even sleeping-with-siblings issues, but Sayid has torturer issues. We never really find out if he also has daddy or mommy or sleeping with sibling issues.

Lindelof did make a point of saying that the real questions are not about the torturers themselves, but the people who enable or employ them.

During the Q&A session with the audience, one participant talked about how "Lost" has devoted time to the motivations and history of the castaways' adversaries, the Others. "The mysterious enemy is the scariest," Lindelof said. "We're 72 hours into the show now, and we still don't know what the bad guys believe in. Maybe when we do, we'll realize that the bad guys landed on the plane."

Lindelof was also questioned about the announcement that "Lost" would end after 48 more episodes, spread over three seasons. In the remaining time, "The show can move out of a question modality," he said, "into an answer modality."

He also said that when the series does end, "People will say it sucked, but at least it will be done."

Pasha emphasized that portrayals of Muslims on television will change significantly if more Muslims, like him, choose to enter the business.

He said, "Muslims can't complain about your portrayal in the media if you don't participate. No one is required to write TV shows about your characters. It is not the responsibility of Hollywood to cater to Muslim interests; it's up to Muslims. Get involved."

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