Orientalism Today - Movie Review Example

Video review This video is divided in six sections The repertory of orientalism 2. Orientals and empires 3. American orientalism 4. Orientalism today: the deionization of Islam in the news and popular culture. 5. Oklahoma city bombing 6. Orientalism and the Palestinian question The first section (the repertory of orientalism) deals with the repertory of images that keep reoccurring in connection with the issue of orientalism, like the image of sensual women that are meant to be used by men, and the image of the east being portrayed as a mysterious place with numerous monsters and secrets. Edward Said noted that the phrase ‘marvels of the east’ was used, which he believes is actually quite consistent with itself. These images have little or nothing to do with individuals who have actually being in the east. The second section, the topic of orientalism and empires is discussed. The introducer states that Professor Edward Said’s analysis of orientalism describes its content, as well as a sustained argument about why orientalism is the way it is today. The speaker goes on to talk about the examination of the solid institutional and historical contexts that result in orientalism. The location of the construction of orientation within the history of imperial conquest is also discussed. Edward Said then went ahead to talk about a kind of break which occurred in 1798, after Napoleon went to Egypt. According to Said, this was the first really modern imperial expedition, although Napoleon did not invade Egypt in the manner that the Spaniards once invaded the new world, in search of loot. In this section it is stated that “all throughout history, as empires spread all over the globe, the French and the British have proven to be the most important as regards the east, as these nations were able to conquer both in a military and in an ideological manner.” (Said, 1979) In the third section, professor Said talks about what he calls American orientalism, and the differences between the various forms of orientalism, and the differences between the various forms of orientalism. He talks about the long-standing relationships between Britain, France and the United States. The fact that these nations had an imperial role and a longstanding relationship in places like India and some other countries indicates that there is a kind of actual experience archive of ruling in a country for several centuries. In this section, Said also observes that the situation in the popular media is that Muslims are basically regarded as fanatics and villains, and a situation in which a lot of movies end up with a host of Muslim bodies strewn all over the place, having being killed or incapacitated by a Chuck Norris or Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Lots of movies about guerrillas going into kill Muslim terrorists. So the idea of Islam is something to be stamped out.” (Said, 1979) Professor Said observes that “the whole history of the Orientalist representations, which portrayed the Muslim and the Oriental in effect a lesser breed, in other words, the only thing they understand is the language of force. This is the principle here, unless you give them a bloody nose they wont understand. We cant talk reason with them.” But is this really the case? Some people believe that the Arab world is simply full of terrorist, but the truth is that there are terrorists in most parts of the world, just as there are in the Middle East. Terrorist situation are not the only thing going on in the east. There are hundreds of millions of people living in the Middle East, who have to endure the generalization about Moslems and the nature of their religion. There are vast differences between different middle-eastern countries when it comes to history, tradition and even language. These differences are so vast that Islam has at best, a tenuous meaning. (Said, 1979) The fourth section analyses the demonization of Islam in popular culture today and in the news. In this section, Americans are encouraged to think about the racism that comes from the United States towards Arabs and Muslims. According to professor Said, “discourse is a regulated system of producing knowledge within certain constraints whereby certain rules have to be observed.” (Said, 1979) The fifth section discusses orientalism in action, and uses the example of the media and its role in the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. In the video, there is a report of the CBS News coverage of the attack, in which the attack was reported to have Middle Eastern terrorism written all over it. The report stated that the Oklahoma City bombing “appears to have a familiar mark” and was carried out with the goal of inflicting the highest amount of damage to the highest number of casualties possible. This, according to the CBS News report, is a Middle Eastern trait. The last section deals with the issue of orientalism and the Palestinian question. It is believed that resolving the Palestinian situation and finding a humane and peaceful solution to the crises in the Middle East will require moving past the racist legacy of orientalism which encourages the separation of people of different races, and regards difference as “a threat that must be contained or destroyed.” (Said, 1979). Professor said sees the Israel-Palestinian situation as the ultimate test case of our ability to co-exist in peace and reconciliation, given our various differences in the 21st century. This issue will determine if we can live together in peace despite our cultural, religious and other differences, or “whether we will live apart in fear and loathing of each other, constantly at war and under continuous threat.” (Said, 1979) The term orientalism is a constellation of mostly false assumptions that are the root of the current attitudes of westerners toward people from the Middle East. In countries like the US, it’s the norm for Arabs and Muslims to be seen only as suppliers of oil and potential terrorists. Little or no detail of the actual human density and the passion of Muslim life have come to the awareness of most westerners. Instead, we have a situation where several crude caricatures of the Islamic world are brought forward in a manner that ensures that the Islamic world remains vulnerable to military aggression. In the second section about orientalism and empire, professor Said notes that orientalism aims at making the process of colonization and subduing of the natives of a race more formal. This process involves a situation in which there is an attempt to present orientation as objective knowledge. In section 6, which discusses the Israel-Palestinian problem, it is stated that one major issue which drives professor Said is the quest for justice, and the establishment of a homeland for Palestinians, most of who have been displaced. Professor Said’s intellectual work is closely related with his political activism as a result of this, as he has witnessed first-hand, the results of this problem. Professor Said draws upon the work of Antonio Gramsci, an Italian philosopher who enlightens us about the tools that can be used to understand these complex issues and look at them from a humane and more productive perspective. Said states that Antonio Gramsci believed that “history deposits in us our own history, our family and traditional history, as well as our nations history” and this leaves in us an infinity of various kinds of traces and marks through heredity, individual experience and collectively. Thus, the task at the outset should be the provision of an orderly guide or inventory in order to make some sense of this. This, he goes on to say, is the most interesting type of human task, which involves interpretation and provision of shape and sense for history. In his work, professor Said argues that a long tradition of romanticizing impressions about the Middle East in American culture has brought about an implicit justification for American and western imperial ambitions. He also believes that Arab elites should be discouraged from involving themselves in the internalization of western and American orientalist ideas of eastern cultures. All in all, the video was very enlightening, and I will recommend it to everyone, but especially to the American general public, as we are all affected by the issues presented here about the situation in the Middle East. Works cited Said, Edward. (1979) On Orientalism. New York: Vintage. Read More