The Siege Controversy

The 20th Century Fox film, The Siege, released in theaters November 1998, was such a controversy that people protested the thought that Middle Eastern “terrorists” could be motivated by their Islamic faith to perform acts of terrorism. During the film production, Arab-American organizations criticized it for reinforcing known U.S. stereotypes of Muslims and of Islam as a religion of terrorism. This film depicts a scene that would have never been expected only to have a devastating terrorist attack happen in NYC three years later. I chose to analyze this movie because of the fact that the issue of terrorism is still a very prominent issue in today’s society. The recent terror attacks in London only prove the fact that this terrorism threat is

Bush announced after the attack that the fight against international terrorism is "the first war of the 21st century. It will be the focus of my administration" (CNN, 2001, September 13). A few days later, President Bush announced to the world, “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists” (Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001, 2002). In this way, the film varies significantly from progress in historical reality. In the film the armed forces are the ultimate answer to U.S. security but also a threat bigger than terrorism to civil society. Martial law limits civil liberties and makes innocent citizens terrorist suspects. The film hand-over the armed forces to the megalomaniac, General Devereaux, whom the FBI agent takes down at the end of the movie, consequently reinstating the balance of power in the civil

Even though the film pulls from the historical and political U.S. experiences with terrorism, its portrayal of Middle-Eastern terrorism, in particular fundamentalist Islamic terrorism, does not rise above the past stereotype of the news, media, and film images. The film suggests to viewers a misrepresentation, that is, a narcissistic view of Arabs and a depiction that Islam as a religion has terroristic tendencies. In the movies image of detention camps home only to Arabs in New York City, and the mass public protest against it, the film has somehow generated a sense of sympathy near the end for the Arab