posted
24 is a show all about terrorism and terrorists. For the last three seasons, white Americans, Europeans and Latinos have all been portrayed as terrorists. Finally, in the fourth season, they've worked up enough clout to be able to write a story that features, as terrorists, the group of people that most often come to mind when we hear the word. And this is the response.
quote: Muslim group attacks TV drama 24
A British Muslim group has criticised the new series of US drama 24, which is about to be aired on Sky One, claiming it portrays Islam unfairly.
The Muslim Council of Britain has complained to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom. It says the programme breaches editorial guidelines.
The group's members met with Sky executives on Tuesday after viewing previews of the first five episodes.
The drama, now in its fourth series, begins on Sunday evening.
The new series portrays a Muslim family as a sleeper terrorist cell.
The Muslim Council of Britain said in a statement: "We are greatly concerned by the unremittingly hostile and unbalanced portrayal of Muslims in this series of 24 based upon a preview of the first five episodes that we have seen."
"There is not a single positive Muslim character in the storyline to date. At a time when negative stereotypes of Muslims are on the increase we feel that Sky - as a major UK broadcaster - has a responsibility to challenge these insidious views, not help to reinforce them."
But Sky denied the programme breached broadcasting guidelines.
A spokesperson said: "During a useful meeting yesterday, Sky listened to the concerns raised by representatives of the council. Sky does not believe that the episodes that it has reviewed to date breach Ofcom's programme code."
Fox TV, which shows the series in the US, is broadcasting public service announcements showing Muslims in a positive light after complaints about the series.
So what are they saying? That it's okay to portray other races as terrorists, but not them? That they should somehow be immune? And if so, are they immune because of or in spite of the fact that members of their religion actually carried out similar actions on our soil? Sure, the vast majority of Muslims aren't bloodthirsty lunatics. Heck, I married one. But can they deny that many of the most deadly and notorious terrorist attacks taking place worldwide are done in the name of Islam? Can they deny that there are Muslims right now who would love nothing more than to carry out the actions portrayed in this show? And if not, what's wrong with making a fictional account of a clearly plausible event?
I'm not against these people. But I am against the over-PCing of our culture. 24 has spent 3 seasons going out of its way to avoid equating Islam with terrorism. I think they've earned the right to at least throw them in the mix with everyone else. If it's against the rules to portray members of a culture doing things once any of them have actually done those things in real life, I'm going to sue next time I see any foreign entertainment depicting white Americans as slave owners, lazy pot heads, or greedy white-collar criminals. Let's see how far that gets me.
posted
Considering Card's latest op-ed piece in which he encourages suspicion of Muslims unless they go around declaring "We're not terrorists, folks!" and similar like-minded viewpoints throughout the country, I don't think that it is asking for too much if Networks use discretion in which races they portray as terrorists. It's an issue of sensitivity, like making a rich, greedy character on TV of the Jewish faith. It's just wrong.
posted
If you had a group of greedy people and one of them was Jewish I would not be offended.
Considering that the current terrorist threat we are facing happens to be from members of the Muslim faith I don't think its inappropriate to depict terrorists as happening to be Muslims.
Posts: 3446 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Welcome to season 4. In season 2, wasn't a Muslim (I believe it was Marie Warner's fiancee) one of the good guys? Yeah, thanks.
Posts: 1357 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
How about we all stop watching the show? Why are we dramatizing terrorism? Is it to foster a fearful atmosphere or propagate handy techniques for would-be bombers?
I've had enough of our society's wallowing-in-the-mud aesthetic. Yeah, it's the real world, I got it. It's not getting us anywhere.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
I don't like it anyway. I tried to get into it, but it's just too slow and boring and not as cool as Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote: Considering Card's latest op-ed piece in which he encourages suspicion of Muslims unless they go around declaring "We're not terrorists, folks!"...
I'd personally be more suspicious if they did go around declaring, "we're not terrorists."
quote: It's an issue of sensitivity, like making a rich, greedy character on TV of the Jewish faith. It's just wrong.
Hey, I don't want to be associated with Ken Lay. But there are a lot of pointed jabs toward white male republicans being the kind of people that will steal your life savings and leave you destitute if they get the chance, and I don't sue every time I see that. I've never owned another human being, but many people that look a lot like me once had slaves or burned crosses on lawns, and there are plenty of movies depicting that. The fact is, people who share many demographic similarities with me have done some things that are unspeakably evil, but that doesn't mean that I did. And if I see a fictional character that looks like me doing similar things, I just don't take it personally.
quote: How about we all stop watching the show? Why are we dramatizing terrorism?
Because it's much more interesting than The Apprentice, and Firefly got cancelled?
quote: That it's okay to portray other races as terrorists, but not them?
Mmmm. Guys ? I hate to be difficult, but since when is "muslim" a race ? If religion equals race, then I'm catholic. Which I am not. I'm really sorry, but I think part of the problem lies in the confusion between race and religion, and, further, between "normal" religion and fanatic religion.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
I don't watch the show simply because I have no TV, and I don't think it airs in France anyway. But I'd like to say that I see nothing wrong with the show depicting some Muslims as terrorists. If it's trying to be realistic, well, they're close, aren't they?
Unlike Speed I'm not married to a Muslim. But I have several Muslim friends, and they're not "bloodthirsty lunatics". And I never thought that because a few people of a certain culture/religion/country have certain characteristics, then all those belonging to the same cathegory have them.
quote: How about we all stop watching the show? Why are we dramatizing terrorism?
If you stop watching your favorite shows because someone tells you to, then probably those who watch "24" will stop watching it too. Why do you think you have the right to tell them what to watch? Should we forbid any movie containing references to "Dracula" because most of the time it's the only thing Romanians are associated with?!? Heck, no! It's entertainment! If people don't have the brains to discern between "reality" and "entertainment", well, it's their problem. I'm not very familiar to the system in place in the US, but boy, does it start to sound close to the communist censorship!
quote: I hate to be difficult, but since when is "muslim" a race ?
You're not being difficult, just precise. Don't appologize for being right! And no, Muslims are not a race. (edit: at least not in the most commonly used meaning of the word "race")
Edit: Yeah, Speed, there's that definition, but unless you specify it in the post most people wouldn't take it as what you meant, right?
posted
I just hate to see this devolve into semantics. So maybe I said "race" once when it would have been more proper to say "group". So assume I said "group" or whatever word you think fits better and see if the points are any less valid.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Speed: Don't worry, it's not going to happen. Both Anna and I aren't native English speakers and I think she wasn't aware of that definition either.
quote: So assume I said "group" or whatever word you think fits better and see if the points are any less valid.
You're right, they're valid. And I already agree with you. Peace, man! Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Bah, whatever. They've had three previous years of different sorts of terrorists. Quit bitching. Watch something else.
Posts: 5663 | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of the other usage of the word "race" but I think the distinction is important because you can change your religion and your religion is a choice, not your race. Blaming someone for a choice is bad, blaming him for the color of his skin is worse. Well, according to me. EDIT : besides, why watching 24 when Alias is so much better
[ January 28, 2005, 10:04 AM: Message edited by: Anna ]
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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quote: The Muslim Council of Britain said in a statement: "We are greatly concerned by the unremittingly hostile and unbalanced portrayal of Muslims in this series of 24 based upon a preview of the first five episodes that we have seen."
I've never seen 24, but it seems that this group needs to broaden their research.
Posts: 2149 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I don't think these people have a leg to stand on. In the first place, Beruz is turning into a less-than-evil guy who's simply caught up in all of this because of his psycho parents. Plus the woman at the restaurant said to Mr Araz (when news of what was going on was on TV) that "When people from back home do things like this it makes it harder on the rest of us"
Now if, after single handedly killing all the muslims at the "trial" and rescuing Heller, Jack had turned to the still-running camera, danced a jig and sang "My God Is Better Than Your God" they would have something to complain about.
In fact, the latter character seemed almost contrived to make the complainers happy.
Now, I can understand the worries that someone might have about being portrayed in a negative light. I mean, I would find a TV series that portrayed modern Mormon polygamists without showing what actual Mormons are like quite a bit unnerving. In fact, wasn't there some kind of hubbub about Picket Fences when I was a kid, for just that reason?
Personally, I think articles like Card's are not all that terribly helpful to the cause of divorcing the actions of certain members of a religion from the meaning and purpose of the religion as a whole. That cause is something we depend on, with all the crazies out there who love to look into cameras and call themselves Mormon.
But that aside, when members of a religion are caught up in worldwide events such as a war on terrorism, they do have to realize that such issues DO belong in the media, and that any semi-realistic show like 24 is going to have to portray a Muslim terrorist at some point along the line, if anything to avoid looking contrived.
I mean, when The Sum of All Fears was about neo-Nazis, I kind of chuckled. "Avoiding the Muslims, are we, boys?" Posts: 1907 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
I understand the original novel "Sum of All Fears" was about muslim terrorists. They changed it specifically for the movie.
Posts: 7085 | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:In fact, the latter character seemed almost contrived to make the complainers happy.
I couldn't disagree more. Yusuf was one of my very favorite characters in season 2, and his death was a real tragedy.
Posts: 4600 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Actually I think Sum of All Fears changed the terrorists because it was more plausible without having the whole backstory. After all, the point of the attack was to restart the Cold War between Russia and the US. Without knowing the whole Israeli-Palestinian peace thing you wouldn't know why the terrorists would want to make the US think the Russians did it.
Posts: 3446 | Registered: Jul 2002
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