Abstract
This study examines the portrayal of Arabs in Hollywood war and action movies before and beyond the tragic events of 9/11. The sample includes three movies before the events of September 11, 2001 and three movies beyond. The study focuses on texts and visuals that reflected the characteristics of Arabs in the eyes of the makers of these six movies to introduce it to the world. The main objective of this study is to identify images and the hidden messages the producers of these films are trying to disseminate to the world. The methods used in this study is Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Horkheimer, 1972) and Semiotics (Fiske, 1987). The results revealed that these films have used the power of symbols, meanings, language and images to convey their messages about the image of Arabs in order to maintain the idea of being the superior side, and that Arabs will always be in need of help of the West.
