Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I must say it is an honor to be here today in Los Angeles. I'm naturally delighted that so many of you came out today for the premiere, I'm delighted to see that so many of you are supporting the film. I know there are a lot of box office films that you could have seen, but that you chose to watch my documentary really means a lot to me. You know, movies are such a wonderful creation. I've loved going to the movies since I was a little boy growing up in Pittsburg. I remember going to the theater every Saturday with my wonderful grandmother. My mother worked there as a cashier, so it was a good excuse to watch as many movies as possible. I must have seen hundreds of films when I was a child. This probably explains my somewhat obsessive passion and interest in film and television, as well as my fascination with the power that media has to shape reality. When I was a little boy, I watched cartoons on television. But at the time I was only 5 or 6 years old, so obviously I didn't realize that negative stereotypes about Arabs were so common in cartoons just for the sake of humor. It wasn't until my early 30s that I really noticed it. At the time, my kids watched their cartoons every day and they basically said, “Dad, why are there bad Arabs on TV.” It's actually quite sad it took me this long to notice the trend, but it shows how harmful racial and ethnic stereotypes can be. The film and television industry has been doing this for so long, even back in the days of silent films; people got used to it. They believe that what they see on screen is a realistic representation of Arabs and the Arab world. When I started developing "Reel Bad...... middle of paper ......ng degraded in media. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I'm not sure. However, the overall act of stereotyping a certain group. Not just in movies, but in all forms of media. There is no appreciation for these people, whether they are Arab, African-American or Asian. Of course, this is not an easy task. But what I want to ask of you who have come today is to think carefully about what you see in the documentary. The first step to eliminating this stereotype is to be informed and educated about the targeted ethnicity. Only then can we spot and identify biases, stereotypes and inaccurate portrayals of people in the media. IF this film can help you better understand the stereotypes used, and show you all the harm they have and can cause. Then I say I achieved my goal. Thanks again for coming and I hope you enjoy the film..