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Muslim Heroes on Screen

Daniel O'Brien author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Published:17th Nov '21

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Muslim Heroes on Screen cover

If films drawing on Middle East tropes often highlight white Westerners, figures such as Sinbad and the Thief of Bagdad embody a counter-tradition of protagonists, derived from Islamic folklore and history, who are portrayed as ‘Other’ to Western audiences. In Muslim Heroes on Screen, Daniel O’Brien explores the depiction of these characters in Euro-American cinema from the silent era to the present day. Far from being mere racial masquerade, these screen portrayals are more complex and nuanced than is generally allowed, not least in terms of the shifting concepts and assumptions that inform their Muslim identity. Using films ranging from Douglas Fairbanks’ The Thief of Bagdad, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, El Cid, Kingdom of Heaven and The Message to The Wind and the Lion, O’Brien considers how the representational strategies of Western filmmakers may transcend such Muslim stereotypes as fanatic antagonists or passive victims. These figures possess a cultural significance which cannot be fully appreciated by Euro-American audiences without reference to their distinction as Muslim heroes and the implications and resonances of an Islamicized protagonist.

“The book is a sound contribution to the literature on the study of Islam and Muslim societies in film.” (Ahmad Nuril Huda, Journal of Religion & Film, Vol. 27 (2), October, 2023)

ISBN: 9783030741419

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

251 pages

1st ed. 2021