Arabizing Obama: Media’s Racial Pathologies and the Rise of Postmodern Racism Imed Labidi University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA. Abstract The media’s power to shape our views of reality, our socialization, and our politics is indisputable. As we increasingly discover and interpret the world through the screen of our TVs, media narratives and images construct for us confusing representations of reality. In the process, our ability to experience the real is reduced along with our commitment to engage with political and social problems. Confusion blurs our vision. Our rational capacities and certainties appear to have vanished. In the midst of this confusion, this article explains how the media have transformed identity politics in the United States by setting up Arab and Muslim American communities as the enemy within and institutionalized a new discourse of discrimination that relies on racial microaggression. Operating through Arabization, racial scapegoating, and misrepresentation, this discourse is similar to what sociologist Ramón Flecha calls postmodern racism in Europe. The article further argues that this discourse is used to question President Obama’s decisions, his ostensibly suppressed Muslim identity, and his patriotism. Introduction In the winter of 2010, a homemade YouTube video captured three-year-old Cody sobbing over the teen star Justin Bieber. Young, adorable, and surprisingly articulate for her age, Cody could barely stop crying over her love for Bieber and her inability to watch the singer all day long. Her palpable sadness resulted in the video going viral. Late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel was so captivated that he arranged for the toddler to meet her idol on his show. Viewers shared the extraordinary moments of Cody’s happiness, yet should wonder how this experience will affect her future ability to