Since its release, American Sniper (2014)
has been at the center of controversy throughout the United States. Responses
to the film range from full-fledged support and enthusiasm to criticisms over
the film being an anti-Muslim, pro-war propaganda film. Several tweets with
anti-Muslim sentiment have been taking over Twitter and raising the
question: is American Sniper influencing thoughts of violence and
hatred towards Muslims in the United States?
One of the biggest problems with American Sniper, according to both Muslim and non-Muslim critics, is that there is a negative representation of Muslims and Arabs portrayed in the film. The images of Muslims and Arabs in the film are reconstructed in such a light that is inaccurately portraying the Muslim population as a whole. Instead, the representations mold Muslims in the image of the “terrorist,” a largely misconstrued image associated with the Muslim faith, especially since the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11. Just as the attack represented an attack on the country and what it means to be “American” in the most nationalistic sense, Muslims have easily been transformed into the anti-American villain in the film and country alike.
In a country where patriotism and militarism is glorified-quite possibly to an unhealthy, unreasonable extent, it is important to shed light on the ideology-or normalized ideas, attitudes, and negative behaviors that are being presented in the film to better unravel just what it means to be an “American” in this country. Being a country built on the principles of imperialism and manifest destiny-the idea that Europeans have the God-given right to control any land and any peoples that they choose out of birth-right, it seems that even in contemporary America, there is a sense of superiority that causes inferiority to be portrayed on all those that don’t feel the phenotypic “American” model. What does it mean to be an American? Is it a fair complexion that allows one to call his or herself an American? Is it blonde hair and blue eyes? Can a person of the Muslim faith that was born and raised in this very country be deemed an “American” citizen? This very question foreshadows a very serious problem in the United States.
Following a viewing of the film, one Twitter user posted, “American Sniper makes me wanna go shoot some fuckin Arabs.” As much the comment provokes a sense of outrage, comments such as the one above are not uncommon in response to the American Sniper film. An underlying hegemonic idea that imitates the dominant culture is being presented through these negative, hateful responses. Reiterating the idea of anti-Muslim sentiments following 9/11, it seems almost a culture-norm to see Muslims as violent, non-human aggressors which is, in turn, leading to acceptable threats of violence against them. This idea causes a very “us versus them” approach, rendering a very binary, black-and-white response to the film as either posting threats and slurs such as “sand nigger” toward Muslims or being completely outraged by the negative ideology that seems to be promoted by the film: the idea that Muslims are the ultimate threat and enemy to Americans.
Although this is a difficult issue that needs to be addressed, the idea of non-human, animalistic, dangerous Muslims is deep-seeded into the American psyche. By exposing some of these acts of aggression and hatred, there is hope that consciousness can be raised on the treatment of Muslims in order to change such negative ideology against them.
Below are posts from Twitter that shown discrimination, hatred, and threats of violence towards Muslims in the US, followed by a tweet posted by a Muslim woman to hopefully put these acts into perspective. A link to an article about the tweets (where the pictures were obtained) is also posted below.
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