Debbora Battaglia, a professor of Anthropology at Mount Holyoke College, worries that the Sept. 11 attacks have left Americans with a distorted view of Muslims. She, along with the Mount Holyoke Film Studies Program, has organized a “Muslim Worlds Through Film” series, in the hopes that the public can be educated about the realities of Islam.

The films chosen explore Muslim life in the United States and the Middle East. The series was created, Battaglia said, “to destabilize image of the Muslims as terrorist types.”

“We want to explore the humanity of Muslim subjects,” she said. “These films are trying to bring light to attitudes that are deeply entrenched.”

The series began as a direct reaction to the Sept. 11 attacks, and the reactions of many Americans to them.

“My readings of American responses toward anyone who appears different is that people are falling back into stereotyping ‘The Other’, in a way that could have grave societal consequences,” explains Battaglia. “I say that as an anthropologist.”

She hopes that the film series will help to shatter the stereotypes of Muslims by presenting an accurate portrayal of their lives.

Moshen Makhmalbaf’s film The Cyclist will be shown in Mount Holyoke’s Dwight Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28. The film revolves around an Afghan refugee who struggles to afford his wife’s medical bills. At the suggestion of a promoter, he enters a bicycle marathon.

“The series is not a romantic portrayal of Muslim worlds,” says Battaglia. “Rather, it eludes images of man’s inhumanity to man, which is part of the human story.

“The goal is to show the range of attitudes toward others,” she continues, “from hatred to nobility, so that we can have a better understanding of where hate is coming from.”

Thomas Waternberg, the chair of the Mount Holyoke Film Studies Program, explained in a press release why the department has chosen to sponsor the series.

“We believe it will allow students and other community members to develop a richer and more nuanced awareness of Muslims than the broadcast media have generally fostered,” he stated. “We hope it will assist in developing genuine understanding of different cultures that can lead to more sensitivity and less hostility. It’s just a small effort in these difficult and troubled times, but it’s something that we believe is necessary and that we can do as film scholars.”

Battaglia feels that film is an ideal medium for cultural education programs.

“Film images, being moving images, are accessible windows into other lives,” she said. “Moving images move people directly. And I believe that Americans tend to be sophisticated film viewers.”

The series will continue on Sunday, Nov. 4, also in Dwight 101 at 7:30 p.m., with the film Life and Nothing More, directed by Abbas Kiarostami.

The film deals with the effects of an earthquake in Northern Iran in 1990, and concentrates on the struggle of a father and son who travel to the Iranian city of Quoker. They meet many earthquake survivors along the way, and work to reconstruct their lives.