US Media Darlings: Arab and Muslim Women Activists, Exceptionalism and the “Rescue Narrative”
Using critical textual analysis based on the postcolonial school of thought, this essay analyzed a ten-minute segment, called “Women of the Revolution,” on the ABC news program This Week , anchored at that time by Christiane Amanpour, for...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pluto Journals
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Arab Studies Quarterly |
| Online Access: | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.42.1-2.0007 |
| _version_ | 1797687421796614144 |
|---|---|
| author | Ahlam Muhtaseb |
| author_facet | Ahlam Muhtaseb |
| author_sort | Ahlam Muhtaseb |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Using critical textual analysis based on the postcolonial school of thought, this
essay analyzed a ten-minute segment, called “Women of the Revolution,” on the
ABC news program This Week , anchored at that time by Christiane
Amanpour, for its portrayals of Arab and Muslim women. The analysis showed that
Arab and Muslim women were portrayed positively only when they fit a
“media-darling” trope of Western-educated Arab or Muslim women, or those who
looked and acted similar to Western women, especially if they ascribed to a
Western view of feminism. Those women also were seen as the exception to the
“repressive” culture that characterizes the Arab and Muslim worlds, according to
the Orientalist stereotype. The implications of this analysis indicate that, in
spite of the visibility and progress of many Arab and Muslim women in their
countries and indigenous cultures, they are still framed within old recycled
molds in US mainstream media, even if these seem positive at face value. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:17:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b3afa86a073c4a4abdf7f9f2d1305bc8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0271-3519 2043-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:17:49Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Pluto Journals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arab Studies Quarterly |
| spelling | doaj.art-b3afa86a073c4a4abdf7f9f2d1305bc82023-09-13T10:24:41ZengPluto JournalsArab Studies Quarterly0271-35192043-69202020-01-01421-272410.13169/arabstudquar.42.1-2.0007US Media Darlings: Arab and Muslim Women Activists, Exceptionalism and the “Rescue Narrative”Ahlam MuhtasebUsing critical textual analysis based on the postcolonial school of thought, this essay analyzed a ten-minute segment, called “Women of the Revolution,” on the ABC news program This Week , anchored at that time by Christiane Amanpour, for its portrayals of Arab and Muslim women. The analysis showed that Arab and Muslim women were portrayed positively only when they fit a “media-darling” trope of Western-educated Arab or Muslim women, or those who looked and acted similar to Western women, especially if they ascribed to a Western view of feminism. Those women also were seen as the exception to the “repressive” culture that characterizes the Arab and Muslim worlds, according to the Orientalist stereotype. The implications of this analysis indicate that, in spite of the visibility and progress of many Arab and Muslim women in their countries and indigenous cultures, they are still framed within old recycled molds in US mainstream media, even if these seem positive at face value.https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.42.1-2.0007 |
| spellingShingle | Ahlam Muhtaseb US Media Darlings: Arab and Muslim Women Activists, Exceptionalism and the “Rescue Narrative” Arab Studies Quarterly |
| title | US Media Darlings: Arab and Muslim Women Activists, Exceptionalism
and the “Rescue Narrative” |
| title_full | US Media Darlings: Arab and Muslim Women Activists, Exceptionalism
and the “Rescue Narrative” |
| title_fullStr | US Media Darlings: Arab and Muslim Women Activists, Exceptionalism
and the “Rescue Narrative” |
| title_full_unstemmed | US Media Darlings: Arab and Muslim Women Activists, Exceptionalism
and the “Rescue Narrative” |
| title_short | US Media Darlings: Arab and Muslim Women Activists, Exceptionalism
and the “Rescue Narrative” |
| title_sort | us media darlings arab and muslim women activists exceptionalism and the rescue narrative |
| url | https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.42.1-2.0007 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ahlammuhtaseb usmediadarlingsarabandmuslimwomenactivistsexceptionalismandtherescuenarrative |