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Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, so much has been written about the "post-9/11" world and the "war on terror" that it can be easy to overlook the efforts being made toward East-West conciliation. One such effort spearheaded by entrepreneur Omar Amanat has taken an unusual form: movies.
The power of mass media to influence opinions is well known, but for Mr. Amanat, that truism was felt with much more urgency and specificity after 9/11. The electronic brokerage company he had founded, Tradescape Corp., was headquartered in the WTC North Tower. In the ensuing days, Mr. Amanat sought to understand why fellow Muslims would commit such a destructive act.
His research led him to several books on the topic of minority rage, specifically the role that media images play in the shaping of minority identities. Sociologist Peter Berger's plausibility theory defined the problem most succinctly: members of minority groups derive more of their self-esteem from media images of people like themselves than they do from their own personal interactions with others.
Mr. Amanat’s studies of the connection between perceived humiliation and minority violence inspired in him a desire to use media to promote tolerance and coexistence between different races, cultures, and religions.
With that purpose in mind, Mr. Amanat has turned his considerable experience and philanthropic passion into a new role as film financier. Mr. Amanat’s goal is to support the creation of feature films that will create large-scale social change and positive representations of minorities. He has founded or invested in several production and distribution companies, including:
For more information on Mr. Amanat’s philanthropic and cinematic projects, please visit www.OmarAmanat.com.
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