A semiological analysis of Exodus (1960)

Abstract

This paper aims to present a semiological analysis of the film Exodus (1960). The representation of Arabs in the twentieth century, especially in the second half, is very much in parallel with the political developments of the period. After the First World War, the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled the region for centuries without any significant turmoil, lost its lands in the Middle East where different races had co-existed in peace for generations. The Western powers quickly filled the power vacuum, redesigned the Middle East and created new mandates. The British Government promised the Jews to create their own state in one such mandate, Palestine, in 1917. Conflicts arose between Arabs and Jews when the latter began to purchase lands and settle in Palestine in increasing numbers. The founding of the state of Israel after the Second World War only contributed to the bloodshed. The image of Arabs as bloodthirsty terrorists begins to appear in the Western media and especially in the Hollywood films in this period. The present study undertakes to explore one such film, Exodus (1960), in terms of its treatment of Arabs. The film relates the incidents that take place not long before the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.