We explore how US foreign policy in the Middle East is driving the media's negative portrayals of Arabs and Muslims.

Editor's note: This documentary is no longer available online.

Director: Michael Singh

Producer: Catherine Jordan

In 1920s Hollywood, the Arab was a hero, as played by the iconic actor Rudolph Valentino in his "Sheik" movies.

By the 1970s, Arabs and Muslims were depicted as embodiments of evil, not only in Hollywood films, but in children’s cartoons, the news, TV sitcoms, and even on radio.

What happened?

Valentino's Ghost examines the ways in which US foreign policy in the Middle East has changed the media's portrayals of Arabs and Muslims.

Accused of bigotry towards Arabs and Muslims, American filmmakers are blamed for the bias which would never be applied to African-Americans, Jews, homosexuals, or any other minority group.

This film lays bare the truths behind taboo subjects that are conspicuously avoided or merely treated as sound bites by the mainstream media.

Watch Part Two:

Source: Al Jazeera