Examining the Critical Role American Popular Film Continues to Play in Maintaining the Muslim Terrorist Image, Post 9/11

Although there have been very few images of positive Muslims in American film pre-9/11, it seems that, since 2001, there has been more of a mixture of films that have attempted to address the imbalance of representation when it comes to Muslims. Although there still remains the stereotypical male Muslim terrorist and oil rich billionaire, it appearsthat the representations of Muslims and Muslim culture have taken on a more complex element, and these positive images deserve to be seen by a wider audience. These films are willing to show how Muslim people around the world perceive their own fate and faith in the new world order. They now sometimes illustrate the diversity of Islam. Perhaps as more of these types of films are made, North American viewers will learn something new about Islam, and realize that there is no one real truth to be found about any religious faith. Yet it is important to examine how much each movie made in profits, as it explains which movies are widely seen and which ones are basically placed on a shelf.