Educational Media Reviews Online

This is an excellent documentary video about Arab-Americans living in Detroit, which is home to the largest concentration of Arab-Americans living in the United States. Arab immigrants originally came to the area to take advantage of automobile industry jobs provided by Ford Motor Company. With their earnings they were able to buy homes, establish businesses, and establish roots in the area. The video goes to great lengths to show that in many ways Arab-Americans are no different than other immigrants to the United States -- they have worked hard, saved money, and have made life better for their children. The third generation of Arab-Americans is now finding its niche in the Detroit area.

The major theme that emerges from this video is the conflict that is currently taking place between the various generations. One major difference between the generations is language usage. The youngest generation is almost totally monolingual-English, much to the consternation and lament of many Arabic speakers from the older generations. Another major conflict is the maintenance of cultural traditions. Many younger Arab-Americans, raised primarily in English-language, public schools and quite comfortable with American popular culture, find it difficult to relate to the traditions and beliefs held by elders in the community. And needless to say, the elders are not at all enthusiastic about the younger generation's fondness for rap music, excessive consumerism, American popular culture, or high school sports for girls. Stuck in the middle is the second generation of Arab-Americans who try to make peace between the two extremes, with varying degrees of success. The documentary portrays these conflicts, sometimes with humor, and always with respect to all the parties involved.

Director Joan Mandell brings these conflicts into focus by centering the video on Sheikh Ghanim Mansour, an Egyptian storyteller who recently performed in Detroit. He is an amazing man, one of the few remaining Egyptian storytellers who can recount the entire 1000-year-old epic story of the Bani Halal tribe of North America. His performances (with English subtitles) appear at various points throughout the video, interspersed with interviews of many ordinary individuals from a variety of backgrounds. In this unique and powerful way the video brings to life the many and varied tales of Arab Detroit.

Tales from Arab Detroit definitely fills a void. A comprehensive search of several databases uncovered only a handful of videos on this immigrant group. It does an excellent job of portraying Arab-Americans as real people living, working, and experiencing life in America. But it does have one shortcoming in that it avoids mentioning the differences that exist between the various ethnic groups that make up the broad group of Arab-Americans. Additionally, there are significant religious differences within this group that are not covered. But the many positive aspects of this video greatly outweigh the few negatives. The editing, video, and audio are of the highest quality.

This superb video is highly recommended for adult audiences in public libraries (particularly libraries that serve Arab-American communities) and for academic libraries and media centers that support coursework in ethnic studies, sociology/history of immigration, and popular culture.