Can film really break down stereotypes?

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Ashoka Yobo Member
June 16th, 2010

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by Sarah Jefferson

Did you know that 48 percent of Americans hold an unfavorable opinion of Islam? (ABC/Washington Post poll, 2009) Many people see mainstream Islam as advocating for violence against non-Muslims; the misunderstandings that exist towards Muslim populations are vast and they have negative implications for the well-being of civil society. (For other stats on misunderstandings between mainstream Americans and Muslims go here.)

Alex Kronemer, founder of Unity Productions Foundation (UPF), recognized the direct correlation between tension and xenophobia towards Muslim populations, and the lack of familiarity with these populations. After releasing their first film, Muhammmad: Legacy of a Prophet, UPF saw individuals and groups around the world, both Muslins and non-Muslims, viewing and discussing the film, and building personal relationships around this emerging dialogue and debate. Alex and his colleagues recognized a fundamental power in film that they had not witnessed before. 20,000 Dialogues emerged from the insight that film has an amazing potential to facilitate positive dialogue about Muslims and Islam, and to ultimately build bridges of understanding.

Why film?
1) Films get people talking (everyone has an opinion) and they are low barrier (no one needs to be an expert to watch).

2) Dialogue breaks down barriers: Discussing a film is a practical, meaningful way of helping people share ideas and build new perspectives.

3) New perceptions turn into action: Equipped with the right tools and resources, people will want to get involved with a cause and share their experience with others – and the ripple effect begins.

How does UPF measure its impact?
A major challenge in using film for social change is measuring its social impact. UPF does it through measuring attitude shifts. After researching how the popular media portrays Muslims, it identifies key areas of misunderstanding. Across these areas, UPF measures participants’ attitudes before and after they watch and discuss a film. Participants have shown a substantial shift in understanding as a result of the 20,000 Dialogues experience. Over 80 percent of participants rate the experience as highly effective in breaking down stereotypes towards Muslims.

You can run your own dialogue
View 20,000 Dialogues’ award-winning films and choose one to screen in your own community. Check out 20,000 Dialogues resources to learn how you can run your own dialogue in your school, church, or even your living room. UPF empowers you from promoting and publicizing, to facilitating your own dialogue, to evaluating the program.

For more information contact Daniel Tutt at daniel@upf.tv

This story originally appeared at the Ashoka Peace Blog

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