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DELAND -- Internationally acclaimed author and media critic Dr. Jack Shaheen, a former CBS News consultant on Mideast affairs, will present his documentary film, Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, at Stetson University.
The event, to include the screening, a short talk and Q&A, will be held in the Stetson Room of the Carlton Union Building, 131 E. Minnesota Ave. The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Stetson Values Council and Women and Gender Studies program.
This year's Values Council theme is "Change: What? Why? How?" A Pittsburgh native, Shaheen is a committed internationalist and devoted humanist. His lectures and writings illustrate that damaging racial and ethnic stereotypes of Asians, blacks, Native Americans and others injure innocent people. He defines crude caricatures, explains why they persist, and provides workable solutions to help shatter misperceptions.
Shaheen, an Oxford research scholar, is the recipient of two Fulbright teaching awards; he also received St. Bonaventure University's Lenna Award, which brings individuals of national and international stature to the university.
He holds degrees from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Missouri. He has appeared on national network programs including CNN, MSNBC, National Public Radio, Nightline, Good Morning America, 48 Hours, and The Today Show.
Shaheen has given more than 1,000 lectures in nearly all the 50 states and three continents. Recently, he was hosted by the Central Intelligence Agency; he also shared thoughts with students at the U.S. West Point Military Academy and at the Marine Command and Staff College.
He is the author of five books: Nuclear War Films, The TV Arab, Arab and Muslim Stereotyping in American Popular Culture, the award-winning book and DVD Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, and GUILTY Hollywood's Verdict on Arabs after 9/11.
His writings include 300-plus essays in publications such as Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, to chapters on media stereotypes in dozens of college textbooks.
"Damaging media stereotypes do not exist in a vacuum," Shaheen says. "Continuously repeated, they denigrate peoples, narrow our vision and distort reality."