In Hollywood films, there is a high school film genre, in which films focus on a certain high school as there setting. Usually in these films, the class room is filled with troubled, underachievers, who are saved by one teacher or principal (Sutherland, Jean, and Feltey, P.71).
One common theme is the "Outsider as the Teacher-Hero". This theme can be seen in films such as Dangerous Minds and Freedom writers. In these films, the classroom consists of ethnic minorities and the teacher is the "white savior" that saves the day and communicates with the students is a middle class white teacher who is new to teaching and does not belong to the community (Sutherland, Jean, and Feltey, P.71).
Even though Arabs and Qataris are not ethnic minorities in Qatar, however, some professors who come here think of themselves as saviors that came to educate these poor little Arabs who live in the middle of the desert. For some reason, these “nice white ladies” do not seem to differentiate between the fact that they came to Qatar for a paid job, and in return, they get so many privileges just for being ‘white’. However, this form of social inequality is not even the problem. The problem is that some ‘nice white ladies’ have crossed the thin line between being an educator and being orientalist. When the ‘nice white ladies’ could not get over their fascination with the Qatari and Arab culture and traditions. Their preconceived stereotypes of Arabs living in deserts and moving around with camels confuses most 'nice white ladies' that come to teach in the Arab world, especially in Qatar. When these 'nice white ladies' see the real lifestyle of Arabs it conflicts with all the preconceived notions they have been socialized to believe in through years and years of reproduced stereotypes through different agents of socialization, but especially movies. When these ideas conflict, the 'nice white ladies' fascination with Abayas and high heels and brands make them disregard the fact that the people who wear such stuff still have brains.
It is important to note that the dynamics in Qatar are different than those found in the films. In the films, the nice white ladies are from a higher social class than the students, while in NUQ, a lot of the students are from a higher class than the professors who usually come from a middle class background. Usually, social class can be defined as a group of people who share a similar position in society based on wealth, education, and occupational prestige. However, in Qatar, what matters the most to social class is race. So even if the professors get a lot of privileges when the come to work here, however, they are still in a lower class than the Qataris. Unfortunately we have some nice white ladies (and men) in NUQ and Education City, that just because they are white teaching Arabs mainly and other nationalities made them think of themselves as saviors, and just because Qatar chose to bring American Universities made them believe that we –as Arabs- aspire for “Western modernity”, and that they should teach the "spoiled Arabs and Qataris" the value of education and liberty.
References: Sutherland, Jean, and Kathryn Feltey. "Social Class." Cinematic sociology: social life in film. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 2010. 75-79. Print.
Even though Arabs and Qataris are not ethnic minorities in Qatar, however, some professors who come here think of themselves as saviors that came to educate these poor little Arabs who live in the middle of the desert. For some reason, these “nice white ladies” do not seem to differentiate between the fact that they came to Qatar for a paid job, and in return, they get so many privileges just for being ‘white’. However, this form of social inequality is not even the problem. The problem is that some ‘nice white ladies’ have crossed the thin line between being an educator and being orientalist. When the ‘nice white ladies’ could not get over their fascination with the Qatari and Arab culture and traditions. Their preconceived stereotypes of Arabs living in deserts and moving around with camels confuses most 'nice white ladies' that come to teach in the Arab world, especially in Qatar. When these 'nice white ladies' see the real lifestyle of Arabs it conflicts with all the preconceived notions they have been socialized to believe in through years and years of reproduced stereotypes through different agents of socialization, but especially movies. When these ideas conflict, the 'nice white ladies' fascination with Abayas and high heels and brands make them disregard the fact that the people who wear such stuff still have brains.
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It is important to note that the dynamics in Qatar are different than those found in the films. In the films, the nice white ladies are from a higher social class than the students, while in NUQ, a lot of the students are from a higher class than the professors who usually come from a middle class background. Usually, social class can be defined as a group of people who share a similar position in society based on wealth, education, and occupational prestige. However, in Qatar, what matters the most to social class is race. So even if the professors get a lot of privileges when the come to work here, however, they are still in a lower class than the Qataris. Unfortunately we have some nice white ladies (and men) in NUQ and Education City, that just because they are white teaching Arabs mainly and other nationalities made them think of themselves as saviors, and just because Qatar chose to bring American Universities made them believe that we –as Arabs- aspire for “Western modernity”, and that they should teach the "spoiled Arabs and Qataris" the value of education and liberty.
References: Sutherland, Jean, and Kathryn Feltey. "Social Class." Cinematic sociology: social life in film. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 2010. 75-79. Print.
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