Sex and the Desert

Western Cinema has always been fascinated by sexed-up imagery of Arabian knights, Persian queens, and shirtless warriors. The earliest films stereotyped the Middle East as a region of greedy men, camels, deserts, arbitrary cruelty, and barbarism. While modern cinema can--at times--present a more nuanced and balanced view, stereotypes persist. But as ticket sales prove, a sexy desert hero can mean big bucks at the box office.