The Concept of Orientalism in the Video of the Interview of Edward Said - Movie Review Example

Orientalism The main of the study undertaken is the concept of orientalism. Through the video of the interview of Edward Said, the main components of orientalism can be analyzed. Edward Said is one of the most important authors in the modern era that discussed the possible roots of orientalism, an important issue affecting the international community for the past half a century presented in his book published in 1978 entitled Orientalism (Said “Orientalism Part One”). Orientalism is defined as the modern exploration and investigation of the Middle East. The concept of orientalism is known to have initiated the commencement if the different modern throughts such as the post colonial theory. Upon the publication of the book, it had been recognized as one of the most controversial work in the last three decades. It had been considered as an important reference even in the academic institutions that it was translated to 26 different languages. There are two main concepts that are included in the theory of orientalism. These are prejudice and racism towards the people in the middle east such as the Arabic population. Orientalism is synonymous to stereotyping of the western region inclusive of the United States and Europe towards the Middle Eastern population. According to the thesis of Said, orientalism is a highly motivated notion resulting from a preconceived objective (Said “Orientalism Part One”). Points of Discussion There are different points discussed in the interview of Edward Said. These include the repertory of orientalism, the relationship between orientalism and imperialism, American orientalism, the present day orientalist view, effects of orientalism and the relationship with the Palistine question which is another issue explored by the author. In the repertory of orientalism, the main point of discussion is the components of orientalist perspective. Said described the unrealistic representation of the east that is even advocated by the specialists of different fields. The said view even established a representation of the Arabic people outside history such as the mystecism as if the people in the Middle East did not developed through the centuries (Said “Orientalism Part One”). Another point is the connection between the development of the orientalist thought and the age of imperialist conquest of the western region specifically Britain and France. During the era of the empires in Europe military and ideological conquests were undertaken. An example given is the Napoleon occupation in Egypt where scientific survey had been done by experts of different disciplines in every aspects of the culture and geography. Such conquests yielded results and bservations that the natives cannot observe in their own land. Thus, the said period can be considered as the onset of the prejudice to the people of the Middle East (Said “Orientalism Part One”). The third point presented is the American orientalist view which is different from the European version. For the British and French view on orientalism, the main bases are the first hard information and data gathered through the period of occupation in the said area. The imperialist view in the US on the other hand is indirectly based or gathered from second-hand sources which Said expressed as mainly based on ‘abstactions.’ In addition, there is a highly politicized momentum behind the view of the US on people in the Middle East such as the relationship with Israel and the issue on oil (Said “Orientalism Part Two”). For that matter, American orientalism is comparatively more prejudiced than that of the European view. Edward Said view orientalism of today to be expressed on the hostility against the religion Islam which can be considered as fanatic and extreme resulting to violent events. Said also expressed that orietalism can negatively effect the people living peaceful and decent lives in the Arabic region. The orientalism of today causes the view that teachings of Islam is equilavalent to terror (Said “Orientalism Part Three”). Orientalism in action is another point that discusses the effect of the view on the people with Middle East ancestry living in different parts of the world. According to Said, in cases and events of violents they become the main targets of investigations which is unjust since terrorism is present regardless of culture and racial background (Said “Orientalism Part Three”). Lastly, the discussion of the orientalism and the Palestine question which is the pursuit to justice and home for the people of Palestine which can only be undertaken when orientalism is ended and when differences in culture and race had been accepted without resorting to violence (Said “Orientalism Part Four”). Discussion of Two Sections In the notions and views presented by Said, there are two sections that can be considered to had immense effects in the present generation, thus, also considered as the most controversial. These are the American orientalism and the present view and indications of orientalism. The American orientalism can be considered as one of the most affective point for the modern society. This can be attributed to the influence of the US over the international community. Although what Said expressed that the American people have more limited interaction and less direct knowledge on the inhabitants of the Middle East, their opinions can decide the opinion of the majority of the countries all over the world. On a personal point of view, the perspective of Edward Said is important to be able to develop a peaceful and better world. The main concern in the issue of American orientalism is the fact that it is ‘highly politicized’ on the basis of personal reasons on the side of the US. These reasons are presented by Said which include the fact that Israel is an ally and the said country is located in a strategic location in the middle east. Another reason in the interest in the control of oil in the Middle East, a fact that can move the western world to intentional or unintentionally negatively publicized the issues related to the region (Said “Orientalism Part Two”). These notions can be considered probable and even degrading on the basis of two point. One is that it is hard to imagine the right path that is needed to be taken by the international community to eliminate orientalism. Another is the wanting to take the said path and act upon justice to clear up the reputation of the people in the Middle East and live in harmony through the eradication of racism and political intents. The second significant point to be discussed is the indications of orientalism in the modern world and the present society. One of the most evident is the opinion of the majority of the global population against the Muslim people. This can be attributed to the orientalist intention to ‘demonize’ the Islam religion specifically in the news and the popular culture of different forms (Said “Orientalism Part Three”). Due to the advancement of technology, the said forms of information dissepation can be considered to be highly responsible for the opinion of the masses. The different forms of media are powerful in molding the opinions of the masses specifically when the news presented are limited to propagandas and one-sided information. This goes down to the question on why the Arab people are permitting the said misconception for a long period of time without intent of correcting the preconceieved notions against the people of the Middle East. Said expressed that this can be attributed to the needed protection of the people. This can be considered probable since it is evident that there is unfair treatment specifically when Islam is the main issue. The unfair and conviction of the Muslim in cases of violence is limited in the Middle East when in fact Islamic population can be found in all parts of the world. This is another important evident presented by Said on the case of present day orientalism. Comparison between Said’s Orientalism and Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations The work of Said is aimed to discuss and explain the conflicts of the modern world on the basis of the prejudices of the Western world toward the Middle East. One similar attempt to explain the conflicts between nations, cultures and races had been undertaken by Samuel Huntington through the view on the clash of civilizations. There are differences between the two perspectives. In terms of the root of the conflicts, Said pointed out that orientalism is the main cause of the continuing conflict in the Middle East. But it had expanded as a religious fight of the Islamic people as what had been presented in misconceptions. Due to the geographical location of the Arab countries, orientalism had also been defined as the conflict between the near east and the western region including the US and Europe. On the other hand, Huntington’s view is on the stages of development of the differences in cultural and political perspectives among civilizations of different roots. Similar to the point of view of Said regarding the east-west demarcations in views, Huntington also presented the antagonistic assumptions of the western people on the differences of culture of people from the east. The main difference between the point of view of Huntington is that conflicts can be rooted on the clashing civilizations of different beliefs and culture. He gave the example that it is probable that Islamic people will work with the people in the far east due to the fact that their origins and civilizations are more related as compared to the western region (Huntington 1996). The two philosophers’ attempts to discuss the origins and effects of conflicts in the course of history through the present era ultimately lead to the strength of either the concept of orientalism or the concept of civilization. But the main issue is the prejudice that people of different races have for other people of different cultures and appearces. Analysis of the Interview of Edward Said The concepts of Edward Said had need delivered through a video recorded interview to the author and advocate of orientalism of the modern era. The points discussed and the issues covered can be considered as highly informative and an eye-opener. Most points can be taken seriously on the basis of the evidences in history that were presented and the analysis made by Said had been clearly expressed. On the basis of his views on orientalism then it can be considered understadable that his books became bases of academic studies and research explorations in the discipline. With regards to the manner of presentation of thoughts, it can be commended that the concepts had been expressed visually through an actual interview of Said. Learners and the members of the public are highly motivated in opening up to new concepts if the message is given with visual representations. On a personal note, the topic had been very interesting to the point of amazement since, the origin of the orientalism thought can be seen in the video and can be considered as a member of the present era. This makes his views more understandable and reachable. Even the manner by which his ideas had been presented can be described as well-organized. In addition, by dividing the video into six sections, the audience thought had been systematically led to the important conclusion through the enumiration of the different points of discussion in a motivating manner. Said’s views are significant to the achievement of a change in perspective of the modern population. Although this is the case one of the criticisms that can be expressed is his personal motivations for his views and perspectives. Due to the fact that he originated in the Middle East, it is inevitable that critics can question his impatiality towards the issue. Conclusion Upon the study of Edward Said’s view on orientalism, a certain form of understanding on the situation of the people in the Middle East had been achieved. This is important since the people from the said region can be perceived to suffer underrepresentation. They need to express their situations to be able to at least alter the prejudices of the world which had been created by the nations with louder voice and influence over the international community. But by staying confined in their world without caring to express the real situation, they seem to accept what people from outside can perceive which are often misconceptions. Work Cited: Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations. Simon & Schuster, 1996. Said, Edward. Orientalism Part One. 19 November 2009 Said, Edward. Orientalism Part Two. 19 November 2009 Said, Edward. Orientalism Part Three. 19 November 2009   Said, Edward. Orientalism Part Four. 19 November 2009   Read More