Edward Said offers a very interesting look into how our culture approaches representation of people from the middle east. This is nothing new, as a Communication major I have come across many articles and films that address this same subject matter. However, Said did make a few points that I had not heard before. Said described orientalism as a lens to make people from the middle east seem different and threatening. That is such a simple, yet perfect way to describe the views of this culture. This is most obviously seen in films, with representation like this:
 |
| not exactly accurate... |
 |
| not Arab |
I liked Said's point about how orientalism started with art and literature. I had never really thought about that, because I was just so used to thinking about television and film. However, poor representation in art and literature could be just as harmful. Said told a story about how books about Egypt were written for Europeans. This meant that the portrayal of the Egyptians was very much constructed and not very accurate. It is the same notion that history is only written by the winners. Said mentioned how American orientalism has become politicized. This could not be more true. It has become a weapon to vilify an entire people. Islam has become synonymous with terror. This could not be more clear in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing. Immediately following the attack the suspect list was only Arab men. The attack was being described as a terrorist attack from an Arab threat. Then of course, when it came out that Timothy Mcveigh was actually responsible the conversation changed. However, it was clear that orientalism runs pretty deep in our culture.
Said was optimistic in thinking someday we could overcome orientalism and even bring peace to Israel and Palestine. While the Israeli Palestinien is a topic for another day, I cannot say I can be as optimistic as Said. At this point, the concept of orientalism is so ingrained in our culture that I fear that we will never be able to change. It's a shame really, but how would we even start to change the minds of Americans. Sure we could try to get more positive representation out there, but when a group of people are vilified by your government I do not think that would do much. I enjoyed the film, it had some interesting points, but I think other films did a better job. For example, I liked "Reel Bad Arabs" more than this. Be that as it may, Said is very insightful and demonstrates that well throughout this film.
I also was struck by Said's idea that the politicization of Orientalism has vilified an entire people - even despite the fact that it is a large, diverse group that spans across geographic and social spheres. And I also thought that the Oklahoma City bombing and its premature "Middle Eastern" ascription was a great illustration of this. I actually called my mom to ask her what she thought and remembered from the news. Not only did she immediately respond by saying the incident was "terrifying" (significant language here), but she surprisingly didn't say anything about the networks suggesting that it was Middle Eastern. Does this suggest that our theories are invalid? She did, however, point out that she was floored when they found out that Timothy McVeigh, an average white young male, had done this. So I wonder if it is more likely that the ascriptions by the major news networks (of the bombing as "Middle Eastern") did not strike her because even then, prior to post-9/11, it was so ingrained in our discourse?
ReplyDelete