Challenging stereotypes

Abstract

Critical discussions about television’s patterns of representation sometimes devolve into reductive assessments of “positive” or “negative,” “good” or “bad” images. In this essay, Evelyn Alsultany describes how the action-drama 24 employed innovative strategies to avoid stereotypes of Arab/Muslim terrorists, but argues that sympathetic portrayals of individuals won’t alleviate television’s consistent representation of Arabs and Muslims primarily within the context of terrorism.