Strategies of counter Image-Making of Arabs' portrayals in Swedish films through a Decolonial Approach

Abstract

Many groups and marginalized communities have been struggling for better representation in the media and film in different countries for many reasons. One of them is the direct effects of stereotypification on their lives. However, counter-image making has not received adequate attention, at least in adopting a decolonial approach to deconstruct the underlying structures behind stereotyping and otherness and its associations with different socio-political aspects. This paper is a reflective essay based on an inquiry-led project through cinema, in which I pose a question: what are the cinematic ways of producing counter images that aim to encourage rethinking the predominant (Mis)representation of the Swedish Arabs and other marginalized communities in the Swedish film and media.