Positive Middle Eastern Action Archetypes

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by cptbutton

I recall someone like that being James Bond's contact in Istanbul in whichever Bond movie that was.

Come to think of it, should we be counting Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) in the Indiana Jones movies?

I think Sallah is good, but the problem is, he's never really well defined. There's not really much there, positive or negative.

As for James Bond's Istanbul contact, that's in "From Russia With Love", one of the best Bond movies ever, and far more realistic than almost all of the later ones. And that character was really good, in many ways. I used to assume the reason he had to die in the plot was due to some "only one surviving male" macho principle, which bothered me a lot, because I always thought that character had the potential to appear in a few of the later movies as well. But it turned out the actor portraying the character was terminally ill with cancer during the filming. Otherwise they probably would have used him in later movies.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

I think Sallah is good, but the problem is, he's never really well defined. There's not really much there, positive or negative.

As for James Bond's Istanbul contact, that's in "From Russia With Love", one of the best Bond movies ever, and far more realistic than almost all of the later ones. And that character was really good, in many ways. I used to assume the reason he had to die in the plot was due to some "only one surviving male" macho principle, which bothered me a lot, because I always thought that character had the potential to appear in a few of the later movies as well. But it turned out the actor portraying the character was terminally ill with cancer during the filming. Otherwise they probably would have used him in later movies.

Yeah, Kerim Bey (the character's name) was something special. As far as Sallah, here's the bits of definition he appears to have that might be borrowed for elsewhere.

* Physically powerful
* Large family that's willing to be of help when needed. ("Uncle Indy!")
* Does the right thing, even if it annoys his friends (such as gathering camels, despite Indy's orders, because Sallah needs the beasts to repay his brother-in-law for the loss of his car during the adventure.)
* Good-natured, but can use it as a mask. (Sallah has gained information from the enemy by hiring himself out as a laborer.)
* Never forgets a friendship, even one that hasn't been called on for years. ("Mr. Brody!!")
* Good network of contacts on his own stomping grounds.

[hari]

Don't be afraid to step out of the world of fiction. Sure, movies mostly portray Middle Eastern characters in action movies in a negative light. That doesn't mean you have to. I mean, in all honesty, you could portray terrorists in a good light if you wanted to. But more seriously, there's been a lot of upheaval and a lot of violence in the Middle East recently. It can and should be mined for inspiration.

Young and idealistic college student politicized and led to violence after seeing bad things happen to his family or community? Hard working family man trying to protect his loved ones in the midst of a civil war? Does he hate Islam? Is he faithful but hate what is being done in the name of Islam? There's plenty to work with there.