Islamic terrorists in a hollywood movie?

There's no sign in the entire movie that Aziz and his men have a religious/islamic agenda. In fact they seem to be more of the [secular] PLO type than the ISIS type, citing political reasons (the US meddling in the middle-east) for their actions. Similarly they acquire the atom bombs not as a means to kill but to gain (political) leverage. A group like ISIS would have simply blown them up over big populated cities like NY or LA not over uninhabited islands.


Death solves all problems. - Stalin

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You don't see that too often anymore without muslim activists groups complaining about discrimination. Its no longer PC to attribute muslims with terrorism. Even though the threat of Islamic terrorists have increased. I'm just curious if this pre-9/11 film got accused of the negative portrayal of muslims as terrorists? I wonder what would happen if this movie had been made today instead.

I think that before 9/11, stories about massive terror attacks by Islamists on US soil could be dismissed as "just a movie" if discrimination groups complained about it. After 9/11, it's harder for filmmakers to say they're not making some kind of political statement - even in a comedy - which then adds the complication of making that statement WITHOUT offending the Muslims that aren't terrorists.

In other words, it's easier to just not bother.

And yes, the film did get criticised in 1994 for its racial stereotyping. But like I said, the protests were easier to dismiss back then. It would get criticised even more today now that we know (from his political career) how staunchly and unashamedly pro-Israel Arnold Schwarzenegger is. Doesn't matter if he genuinely cares for Israel or is just trying to eclipse his family history. As they say in Batman Begins, his actions will define him. So if he made a movie in 2015 where he mows down dozens of Arabs...you can imagine the feedback.

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