maybe it all comes down to how we deal
with perceptions please welcome to the
TEDx stage Bashar al-assad Wow ok they
don't tell you there's an X here that
makes you feel like a target James that
doesn't help with the hammer earlier but
my name is Bashar Assad I am an actor
and a film consultant in hollywood
california I come from an Arab Bedwin
background from Jordan to be more
specific thank you Oh Jordanian all
right thank you Ben Howard for 17 years
and I want to talk about changing a
distorted image the image i'm talking
about is actually the image of Arabs and
Muslims in Hollywood this is something
I've been seeing for the last 17 years
and I've seen the change about the which
one is the clicker here all right I want
to talk about the this stereotype they
do stereotype ICS but actually recently
I just found out we also do it I'm sure
you all know about the show 24 very
influential in that and feeding into
that stereotypical image about the
Muslims and Arabs we just want to kill
the world we want to kill everybody at
least that's what they that's what the
show says but actually I just recently
found out that I do it as well let me
explain everybody please meet Leland I
met this guy at a coffee shop starbucks
in Hollywood and the first time I looked
at him I said okay here we go as another
guy rough rugged tough redneck who knows
nothing about nothing 45 minutes later I
found myself sitting with one of the
most intelligent
people I've ever met in my life this
gentleman build sets for movies like
hundreds and thousands in Hollywood for
living but his hobby is building
hydrogen fuel cells I technology we have
even understood yet his car has much
better fuel efficiency than the latest
model came out of GM I stereotype this
guy I was thinking he's stupid I did the
counter stereotypical thing so I thought
wow I just did what I'm always fighting
against the terrorist thing then I
thought what about how do we change this
who can accept the change do we accept
the change do they accept the change
well excepting the change is in
different ways you can accept the change
in your own thoughts you can accept it
with what you say with what you do in
different ways I'm a bad one I live in
Hollywood I have two beds but I sleep on
the floor I have a dining table but most
the time I eat on the floor I love
watching TV every night sitting on the
floor while I have a couch in the back I
guess you cannot as George you said you
cannot take the bed one out of a bad one
you cannot change that to the point
where my friends from Hollywood they
come see me stay sometimes they stay
over and they same they see my culture
the way I live the way I talk and speak
and walk and do things they started
calling me the bed one in Hollywood and
I thought this is like really
pigeonholing or you know another
stereotype or it could be a good
propaganda for me but then I overlooked
that and I thought a bad one in
Hollywood have they actually accepted an
Arab bed one in Hollywood they know that
I work with them for the last 17 years
have they accepted a bed one in
Hollywood they know I'm an Arab they see
me pray they see me fast they see me do
things they've accepted a bet on
Hollywood another example outside of
Hollywood one of the side jobs were a
long time ago about 12 years ago when i
was a student to support myself i used
to work as a country dance instructor
let's thank you that's that's the bed
one in boots but actually a better one
teaching Cowboys how to dance country
that was that was weird but actually
accepted because I talked to them I did
business with them I mingled with them I
lived within them and no matter what the
politics at that time said doers
September 11 I was doing this job as a
side job September 11 I had Cowboys at
the biggest country club in the world
called Cowboys actually and cowboys came
to the country their country club and
say Bashar you're great no matter what
they say on TV I thought that was really
powerful because they know who I am
people to people they've seen me work
with them so there is the will to change
one of the strongest tools human had
ever came up with is media before I go
any further is dr. knife here I want to
say thank you to this gentleman I met
him here on TEDx it's a couple days ago
please yes again I haven't told him yet
I wanted to keep it here saved to the
stage I heard about the 99 back in
Hollywood not from him here he did
exactly what I want out of you out of
everyone I'm not talking about Arabs and
Muslims I'm talking about everyone who
lives here in this region because that
affects everyone lives here I'm not on
the American side I'm not on the Arab
side I'm on the human side I realized
that people no matter regardless of
religion and background skin color and
language whatever it is people are
people can we use this media to connect
people to people I'll tell you how
strong media is politics is the biggest
user of media politics has a very strong
tool more than weapons more than
whatever fallen policies or whatever you
call it it's called media al-jazeera
channel comes out of an Arab state
called Qatar is the main source of news
in the u.s. believe it or not media use
it we don't use it enough now how do we
use it as a solution how do we use media
as a solution it tickles me every time I
see the commercial from Dubai department
of tourism in Hollywood Atlantis Hotel
commercial in Hollywood these little
things they're just commercial I know
the commercial but you know what it was
to the point that people would have
never been to the Middle East by the way
they want to come and see the Middle
East they want to come see the bite some
of them think Dubai is a country on its
own outside the Middle East that's how
much they don't know but you know what
they love to bite