The Last Time an Arab Man Was the Hero in a Blockbuster Movie, He Was a Cartoon

posted on: Aug 29, 2015

Try to remember the most recent movie with an Arab hero and usually, after some eye-squinting and head-scratching, only one comes to mind.

You guessed it: Aladdin. Our carpet-levitating friend with the furry sidekick was the last Arab hero in a blockbuster film, and that was in 1992, almost 25 years ago.

Since the story of the lovable street merchant, and even before, a disturbing Hollywood trend of vilifying Arab men in films started gaining momentum, often using them as the token “bad guys.” From Exodus (1960) to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) to Iron Man (2008), Arab men have fulfilled the role of “villain.”

Source: mic.com