MovieChat Forums > Taken 2 (2012) Discussion > Disappointingly xenophobic

Disappointingly xenophobic

posted 12 years ago by lunamuna
84 replies | jump to latest

Ok I'll be honest, I couldn't watch the whole thing. I got bored and irritated and left the room. I enjoyed the first one in a sort of mindless something entertaining to watch kind of way, but Taken 2 was a big let down. The thing that just got to me was the depictions of Turkey and Muslims, which was silly and covertly (or maybe overtly?) racist.. I don't even remember the kidnappers being Muslim in the first film, but now it's showing them at their Muslimy funeral with the prayers being said and they're declaring revenge etc. Like AS IF these kidnapping brothel running rapists would give a damn about praying and religion. Ok I know that there are a lot of people who act holy and then are secretly doing *beep* and will go along with traditions at funerals and stuff, so that's not unrealistic... but in this film, I felt like it was just building up the Scary Muslim atmosphere. Like these guys are not just ANY bad guys, they're freakin Muslim Bad Guys! Then they go to Turkey and you hear the call to prayer and it's like some kind of ominous warning of what's to come. I dunno if any of you guys have heard the call to prayer in a Muslim country but let me tell you, it's beautiful. I bet even the most ignorant Islamophobes would be a little bit moved by it. It's not scary.

And THEN, omg, what was with all the face-covering Turkish women? Seriously.. in Turkey? Anyone been to Turkey? Anyone? And when Liam Neeson's ex-wife is trying to escape down that ally way and she looks through the bars and sees the covered Turkish women and she's like 'help me!' And they're staring back at her with an empty look in their eyes.. What was that trying to imply? Muslim women who cover won't help you if your a white American woman being chased by bad guys?

Please tell me, am I being crazy? Am I too sensitive? Like sometimes I just feel like Hollywood presumes their whole audience is white, American and Western. Believe it or not, people watch your films all over the world. And we just get so tired of seeing other cultures portrayed stupidly. If there were other countries making films out there that could compete with American films when it comes to funding, acting and production (NOT BOLLYWOOD) then maybe it would be ok. But we're just drowning in a sea of Hollywood.

[–] TheManInOil 11 years ago

Although I don't think the bad guys were depicted as very religious (they openly discussed a murder plot at a funeral) there certainly is a strongly xenophobic slant to the movie.

The only people who witness or take action about anything are European. All the locals just watch events unfold and don't really react to anything. I got the impression that the woman ignoring Famke's call for help simply didn't understand what she was saying, but in general throughout the film there's no real reaction from anyone except the cop chase scene (after police had been conspicuously absent for an unreasonable passage of time with grenades going off etc.).

"I'll book you. I'll book you on something. I'll find something in the book to book you on."

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] siargao 11 years ago

"The thing that just got to me was the depictions of Turkey and Muslims, which was silly and covertly (or maybe overtly?) racist."

Oh dear. Oh my!

I do believe you need to travel more, or learn about the world by reading books.

The majority of Turks are Muslim going back to before the Ottoman Empire, for only about 550 years. Didn't you get the memo?

Depicting the women dressed as muslim is racist? How does that work?

"I don't even remember the kidnappers being Muslim in the first film ..."

They're from Albania for Pete's sake. What did you expect them to be? Baptist?

Bad guys from Albania are most likely to be muslim, but I gather you would rather they be clearly labelled as rampaging Catholics killing for kicks just so that your distorted, garbled view of who is good and who his bad can be true.

Do try and read up on the Middle East so that you can understand that the medieval cult has been in the killing business for centuries. To not depict that accurately as a favoured muslim pastime would be deliberately misleading - a lie.

[–] zygomatic_arch 11 years ago

This movie revealed us that nothing has changed about American way of viewing the other parts of the world.

Unfortunatelly, Most of them are still ignorant as hell.

[–] HuGoL1101 11 years ago

You are not being crazy neither too sensitive.

There's all kind of bad persons. I know christians, Muslim etc.

The religion is not the problem, is what the persons do with religion that is the problem.

I saw so many movie with bad white men !!!! white christian serial killers !!!!

I saw a couple of black oriented movies that was making fun of white and I'm the first to say that their was some good joke in there... I'm not angry about it.

Its not outrageous at all. It's life. That's all.

Sometime I think that some persons of some religions and or races that it too personal, stop acting like victims and the world owes you...

We are all representative of our race, religion, colors whatever else.

If I was a black person acting like the cliche suggested by the society I would be a shame to my race because I would encourage these cliche.

As I'm ashamed of my race when I see a racist redneck saying racist stuff.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] bear022013-909-645034 11 years ago

Albanians and Turks are White to me.I love the Palestinians and all Arabs.
The jews are to be ignored,they are evil..but at least they are White.
I love ALL Berbers and the Janjaweed are brave.I am an Irish-American Catholic.....beware of blacks.Can the Janjaweed stop the South African blacks from murdering,raping little White babies on Afrikaner farms.American leaders are evil
I like Liam Neeson so.....
In America gangs of cowardly blacks have been killing White people for 50 years and getting away with it.....BUT the Superior Whites and Arabs are organized
so the war will come.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] f2039 11 years ago

I just feel like Hollywood presumes their whole audience is white, American and Western.

Well, let them have an all-white audience. No need to support xenophobic Western entertainment industry by watching their stupid xenophobic action films.

Come on, what did you actually expect from a film like Taken 2? Did you expect something like Malcolm X? Battle of Algiers? Land and Freedom?

[–] internetmaniac 11 years ago

Yes yes it is xenophobic to have a film about a real phenomenon. Seems muslim's don't like owning their own issues.

[–] erikbeale 10 years ago

I would have to disagree!! Women kidnapped by sex-traffickers is a very painful butt realistic thing that goes on in the world. his friend jean Claude was right when he said that people from 3rd world countries see democaracies has somthing to be exploited!!
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