Heroism in the wind and the lion

By Bouchra Arrif

04/07/23 1Bouchra Arrif

Outline


Raisuli is a complex and ambivalent character in The Wind and the Lion. John Milius constructs Raisuli as a paradoxical character who reflects the stereotypical image of the Arab “last of the Barbary pirates” and at the same time he portrays him as a romantic patriotic hero who stands against imperialism and seeks to establish virtue and justice.



“It is the state of the soul at war, and its ultimate objects are the last defiance of falsehood and wrong, and the power to bear all that can be inflicted by evil agents. It speaks the truth and it is just. It is generous, hospitable, temperate, scornful of petty calculations and scornful of being scorned”

(Emerson: 1841)

From:http://www.brainyquote.com/words/he/heroism173124.html04/07/23 5Bouchra Arrif

Dictionary.com defines Heroism as:

1- the qualities or attributes of a hero or heroine.2. heroic conduct; courageous action.

Synonyms 1. intrepidity, valor, gallantry, bravery, courage, daring, fortitude. Antonyms 1. cowardice, timidity.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/heroism

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines heroism as:

1: heroic conduct especially as exhibited in fulfilling a high purpose or attaining a noble end .

2: the qualities of a hero

www.merriam-webster.com

CourageAudacityAbility

StrengthNobleness

CourageAudacityAbility

StrengthNobleness


Webster's Ninth Collegiate Dictionary defines "hero as:

a) "a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability.

b) superior man, a gift from heaven, charismatic (The Greeks).

c) an illustrious warrior.d) a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities.e) one that shows great courage.

Adapted from the philosophical Foundation of Heroismhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C001515/design/




Heroism is cyclical The notion of the

superhero keeps mutating in Hollywood movies.

The change in the concept of heroism happens due to the changes in:

▪ politics, ▪ media, ▪ lifestyle, ▪ Priorities and▪ ideologies.


Adapted from: The Hero in transition by Ray Broadus Browne, Marshall William Fishwickhttp://books.google.com/books?hl=fr&lr=&id=eP1y6zjqWucC&oi=fnd&pg=PA5&dq=heroism+in+transition&ots=gGftT_PB8r&sig=EqxdktNY8wiiL-zdX3ztjieRe9c#v=onepage&q&f=false


Asa Berger claims that “despite the violence and terror, […] they display an underlying optimism about man’s possibilities”

(Asa Berger: 180)

The one eye monster is replaced by super powered figures e.g. Thor, superman, Spiderman, X man, Ironman, …etc.





1- Hugh Jackman

2- Matt Damon 3- Tom Cruise 4- Brad Pitt 5- Viggo Mortenson

5- Jackie Chan 6- Keanu Reeves

8- Will Smith 9- Brandon Routh

10- Tobey Maguire



In the American cinema, the Arab is attributed a negative image which is overloaded with stereotypes 30 years before the 9/11 event.

The 9/11 event has just reinforced this image.




StrongBlack beardUglyAllah in his lipHead dress


•The Arab negative prtrayal has been the case in cartoons, caricatures, press, movies, …

•Like other media tools, Hollywood production complies with the dominant view which sets apart the West “US” (Americans) and the East “the others” (Arabs).

•In covering Islam, E. Said evaluates the American media's coverage of news stories about Islam and Arabs and shows how misconceptions about the religion and about the Middle East have been promoted.

•Hollywood production is reiterations of old themes which are only constructs, subjective, ideological and propagandist.

Hollywood complies with the Washington political agenda.04/07/23 22Bouchra Arrif

There are two reasons for the propagation of such an image in American cinema.

1- Objective reason: history e.g. Piracy, Real aircraft highjacking events.

2- Subjective reason: can be related to the predefined stereotypes and clichés that the American collective consciousness holds towards the Arabs.


I. The petrol crisis (1973).

II. The Middle East instability.

III. The Arab-Israeli conflict.


There is a series of cognitive and psychological processes that goes on in our minds when we are absorbed in a movie.

Watching a movie can be similar to dreaming, allow for a virtual travel, trigger identification, … etc.

Looking “into” a movie screen allow us to experience the thoughts and feelings of a movie’s characters.

Images, sounds effects, special effects, camera movement and focus can all have a strong impact on viewers and stimulate their imagination.

Adapted from The Power of Movies by Colin McGinn04/07/23 25

Bouchra Arrif

« Les films contribuent bien à changer les attitudes des masses, mais à condition que ces attitudes aient déjà commencé à changer».

Kracauer

From: http://users.skynet.be/bs136227/src2/Bulletin/94_c.pdf

04/07/23 Bouchra Arrif 26

By stressing an Archetypal Arab or non-Arab hero as well as a specific concept of heroism, Hollywood seeks to establish a collectivist discourse through the provision of:

▪ Illusion of Reality. ▪Categorization. ▪ Identification.



“Adaptation is an act of appropriation and this is always a double process of interpreting and then creating something new.”

(Hutcheon: 2006, 20)“Such movement into a new environment is never unimpeded. It necessarily involves processes of representation and institutionalization different from those at the point of origin. This complicates any account of the transplantation, transference, circulation, and commerce of theories and ideas.” (Said: 1987,226)Extracted from Presentation by Mariam Bedraoui


Barbary captivity narratives arrived to cinema in the 20th C.

In 1975, John Milius dramatized the historical events of Perdicaris Kidnapping in 1904.

Sean Connery plays the role of Moulay Ahmed Raisuli.

Ion Perdicaris is substituted by Eden Perdicaris (Candace Bergen)



John Milius on the wind and the lion.flv


Appeal to the box office. Creates romance and a sexual fantasy without sex in order to

appeal to the audience.

“Eden grasped in awe and found her feet frozen, a weakness in her legs. At the last minute Raisuli learned down with his sword hand and swept her off the ground and up to his saddle. Her face was close to his and she could feel him breathe. The sword was between them and hot blood ran down its blade over his hand and onto her breast.”

Extracted from John Milius Screenplay

Enhances the theme of passivity, helplessness, fragility of the feminine character: at the mercy of her abductor. 04/07/23 33Bouchra Arrif


The brigand The knight The friend

The lover The leader The brutal


Although Raisuli has all the negative characteristics of an Arab, the film director portrays him as a distinguished and brave hero.

He is violent, aggressive and a pirate-terrorist, but he also possesses the traits of a sherif, scholar, noble hero who seeks virtue.

He becomes Eden’s lover and protector. He rescues her from rapists riding his

Arabian horse and sweeps her off her feet.



noblescholarAttached to his rootsPatrioticKnows what he wantsDaringA man of wisdom and a philosopher

dishonestOpportunist : "Perdicaris Alive or Raisuli Dead!" Represents the American eg

ocentrism and imperialismDoes not know what he wantsRootless: seeks to conquer other places.

The Wind


The Lion


“ You are like the Wind and I like the Lion. You form the Tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the Ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." –

The Raisuli (Sean Connery)


Milius grants Raisuli the image of the noble and dignified Arab knight who has virtue and dignity.

The same image which is found in the tales from the Arabian nights.

Exotism is omnipresent through the focus on desert as the main scenery while in reality it is the Rif.

There is an orientalist representation of people through, the clothes, the cultural practices to attribute to the movie "the charm of the unfamiliar”, exotism and add more romance and fantasies.04/07/23 41Bouchra Arrif





Baepler, Paul. "White Slaves, African Masters." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 588 (2003): 90-111.

Browne, Ray B, and Marshall W. Fishwick. The Hero in Transition. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1983.

Forbes, Rosita. The Sultan of the Mountains: The Life Story of Raisuli. New York: H. Holt and Co, 1924.

Heggoy, Alf A. Through Foreign Eyes: Western Attitudes Toward North Africa. Washington, D.C: University Press of America, 1982.

McGinn, Colin. The Power of Movies: How Screen and Mind Interact. New York: Pantheon Books, 2005.

Pye, Michael, and Lynda Myles. Les Enfants Terribles Du Cinéma Américain Ou Comment Les Jeunes Cinéastes Ont Pris Le Pouvoir A Hollywood. Histoire et théorie du cinéma. Lausanne, Suisse: L'Age d'homme, 1983.

Said, Edward W. Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World. New York: Pantheon Books, 1981.04/07/23 46Bouchra Arrif

http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Academy-Awards-Crime-Films/Arab-Cinema-ARABS-IN-HOLLYWOOD.html

http://pierrefrancois.wifeo.com/documents/Vers-nvl-Hollywood-web.pdf http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/celebrity/gallery.jsp http://www.brainyquote.com/words/he/heroism173124.html www.merriam-webster.com http://library.thinkquest.org/C001515/design http://sites-test.uclouvain.be/rec/index.php/rec/article/viewFile/4831/4561 http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/papers/pmt/exhibits/2501/shaheen.pdf page 8 http://lepasseurdefrontieres.wordpress.com/2009/08/22/casablanca-revee-par-

hollywood/ http://www.yabiladi.com/forum/hollywood-arabes-histoire-66-2996579.html http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everyday_writer3e/studentwriting/pdf/

PalmaMLAessay.pdf http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/hollywood-embraces-a-new-kind-of-

hero-20100903-14u26.html http://pierrefrancois.wifeo.com/documents/Vers-nvl-Hollywood-web.pdf http://library.thinkquest.org/C001515/design http://www.artcinema.org/spip.php?article43 http://www.american.com/archive/2008/july-august-magazine-contents/

hollywood2019s-hero-deficit http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/ClassicalHeroes.html


Part I Heroism in

Hollywood

Definition of Heroism

Famous 20th C heroes

The Cyclical Aspect of Heroism

The Current Hollywood Archetypal Hero

Hollywood Top 10 Heroes

Part IIThe Image of the Arab

in Hollywood

Characteristics of the Arab Hero in Hollywood

The image of the Arab: A recurrent myth

reasons for the propagation of the stereotypical image of the Arab in US cinema.

The power of Cinema

Hollywood and the Collectivist Discourse

Part IIIFrom In Raisuli’s Hand to The Wind

and the Lion

The process of adaptation

The Wind and the Lion: A Fact File

Why a Feminine Victim?

Raisuli: A Complex Arab Hero

Raisuli Vs. Roosevelt

The Orientalist Perspective

Conclusion


Entertainment & Humor

Heroism in the wind and the lion