BROADCASTS.com

The United States and its close allies Saudi Arabia and Israel have been bombing and occupying large sections of the so-called \u201cMuslim world\u201d for decades \u2013 drastically ramping up after the 9/11 attacks and seemingly with no end in sight. The U.S., like all empires, cannot operate a large, complex system premised on violence, meddling and subjugation without a moral pretext. This moral pretext, even before 9/11, was primarily about fighting a war on so-called \u201cTerrorism\u201d or \u201cIslamic extremism\u201d while allegedly promoting \u201cstability,\u201d \u201cfreedom\u201d and \u201cdemocracy.\u201d \xa0 Along with American news media\u2019s constant fear-mongering over scary Muslims lurking in the shadows, a major pillar propping up this moral pretext is pop culture \u2013 namely the cultural products coming out of Hollywood. Our decades-long "War on Terror" would no doubt be much more difficult to sustain without a constant reminder from TV and film that, despite the fact that the average American is more likely to be killed by a vending machine than a terrorist attack, the threat of Islamic terrorism remains ever-present and existential, marked by an inevitable \u201cclash of civilizations\u201d devoid of context or any notion that the U.S. is a primary driver of violence across the globe. \xa0 Over the course of three episodes, we'll be taking a look at how Hollywood\u2019s television and studio film output helps prop up America\u2019s military aggression in the Middle East, engages in both casual and explicit racism, strips conflicts of any historical or imperial context pushes the idea the only Good Muslim is a snitch or CIA agent, and generally leaves its audience angry and ill-informed.\xa0 \xa0 In this episode, we review Hollywood\u2019s long history of anti-Muslim racism in both classic and campy action/adventure films and TV and how it both primed us for \u2013 and sustains \u2013 the never-ending and self-perpetuating "War on Terror."\xa0