Said's Video on Orientalism - Movie Review Example

30 November Saids Video “On Orientalism” Summary of Saids “On Orientalism The Repertory of Orientalism Said describes that during the eighteenth century, there was scant literature on Oriental countries, such as India and Egypt. When there were text or artifacts about the Orientals, negative repetitive images were dominant, such as the “sensual woman” and depictions of the East as a “mysterious” place. Said highlights the work of Gerard de Narval, a poet who wrote “Journey to the Orient.” Said realizes that de Narval subconsciously quoted Lang, who believed that all Orientals are the same. These historians developed the notion of the “timeless” orient, where they do not change and improve like the West. 2-Orientalism and Empire Said stresses that there was a “break” in the definition of Orientalism after Napoleon came to the Orient. Napoleons conquest can be seen as “the first modern expedition,” where he came with scientists, such as biologists, architects, philologists, and historians, who aimed to generate a “scientific survey of Egypt” that was specifically made for Europeans. Their findings noted the “power and prestige of a modern European country” in ways that only Europeans could see the Orients. This was the first attempt to formalize Orientalism through the written word. 3-American Orientalism Said argues that Americans use a lens that distorted the view of the Middle East. Said says that differences in Orientalisms depend on diverse experiences of what is Orient. Britain and France had colonies which differentiated their Orientalism from American Orientalism. Americans did not directly experience what Orientalism was because they did not occupy the Middle East. American Orientalism is more “indirect” and based on “abstraction.” Said stresses too that American Orientalism is also significantly politicized, because of its alliance with Israel. 4- Orientalism Today: The Demonization and Islam in the News and Popular Culture Said argues that Western media has demonized Islam in the news and popular culture, because of its economic and political interests. Media predominantly focused on a singular negative view of Muslims and Islam, where the latter were shown as a “threat” to Westerners. He gives the example of “Jihad in America,” a TV show, which reports the Orient as “extreme” and “violent.” Another view of Islam is something “magical” and “exotic,” which is the mysterious form of “demonization.” Both images undermined the Orients humanity, because the media generated a discourse that undermines the humanity and diversity of Islam. 5-Oklahoma City Bombing Said depicts the Oklahoma City bombing event as an example of Orientalism. The video shows news reports that stress that the bombing had a “familiar mark” of “Middle Eastern trait.” Said was also offended for being asked for an interview about this affair, not because he was a scholar of Orientalism, but because he was Middle Eastern. He notes that people who knew Oklahomas dynamics would easily identify the causes of bombing, that it had a white, not a Middle Eastern, origin. 6- Orientalism and the Palestinian Question Said argues that people should look at the Palestinian Question the way Antonio Gramsci has. Antonio Gramsci says that history leaves all kinds of marks, an “infinity of traces” and it is up to people to create an “inventory” that amasses these traces for humankind. Said emphasizes that if people will only collect all traces of what happened in Israel, they would understand the side of the Palestinians more. For Said, the Palestinians were also “victims of victims” and not the oppressors. In order to resolve the violence in Israel, Said calls for “creativity and vision” that would allow different groups to co-exist with each other without violence and hostility. Critical Analysis “American Orientalism” “American Orientalism” has had a shorter discussion compared “Orientalism and the Palestinian Question,” but Said clearly explains that American Orientalism portrays American economic and political interests. I agree with his definition of American Orientalism, because the U.S. does promote its interests when it views and propagates a negative and exotic image of the Orientals, which it does up to now, especially during Bushs time. I believe that American Orientalism can actually be connected to the demonization of Islam in the news and popular culture. After the U.S. emerged as a superpower after World War II, it was able to define history based on its own interests, where it actively used the media to redefine history along its personal interests. The U.S. has a powerful media conglomerate that works closely with other Western media companies and it used this media network to illustrate the Middle East as a people that was “demonic,” so that it can reduce these people into either the enemy and inhumane beings. Predominantly, American Orientalism aggressively promotes the image of Arabs and Muslims as “violent” and can only act according to force. This image turns one whole race into animals of violence. With this kind of image, America can justify its views of Islam and the Middle East and its subsequent wars. American can then show the world that the Middle East deserves conflict, because they are demons anyway. Furthermore, Americans vilify the Middle East when it shows them as “exotic.” As an exotic people, they are magical and unreal. They are cartoons or legends, and so even mythic qualities also undermine the Muslim peoples humanity. I agree then with Said that such media representations generate a powerful narrative for American Orientalism that serves its own interests, because Americans define Orientalism as a threat to humanity. The more the media controls what is defined as Oriental, the more limited people know about the “East.” The less people know about Orientalism, the more powerful American Orientalism becomes. “Orientalism and the Palestinian Question” Said quotes Gramsci who made an important contribution to understanding history. Said is right when he says that interpreting history cannot be done on oneself alone, but should also be seen with respect to others understanding of our history. This is especially true for the Palestinians, whom Israelites also oppressed. But since Israel is a close ally of America, the Palestinians were only portrayed in the media as terrorists and as violent people. Presently, there are alternative images of Palestinians as people who also deserve respect, and yet the main media narrative continues to help justify the violence against Palestinians in general, especially those who cannot defend themselves and are innocent of the allegations against them. I believe that this part of Saids analysis should be closely connected to the demonization of Islam in the media and the repertory of Islam and the Middle East in modern institutions. On the one hand, Said makes a poignant analysis in that in order to answer the Palestinian question, people should re-trace what happened to them. By re-tracing history, people will view the Palestinians from a more balanced viewpoint. Once they have developed this viewpoint, they would be fairer in their analysis of the Israelite-Palestinian conflict and they can provide balanced recommendations on resolving it. Basically, Said is saying that people should re-write history first, before they can even attempt influencing the present and the future. Blind of the past, people are also blind of the future. On the other hand, Said says that it will take “creativity and vision” to answer the Palestinian question. He implies that all stakeholders should work together in defining creative solutions, but that is not an easy task. Incremental and radical changes in how people see and respond to the Orients must be changed first, before people can see real improvements in the Palestinian condition. Otherwise, everything will be rhetoric. Some people might feel the Palestinian as being “wronged” too, but the main discourse is that the international community should not focus too much on the Palestinians because Israel is promised by God to the Jews. The first step to answering the Palestinian question is to actively criticize the demonization of Islam in the media and the repertory of Islam and the Middle East in modern institutions. The media, the academe, and communities should criticize the demonization of Islam in the media. In as early as pre-school levels, schools should question racism and teach respect for diversity. They should promote images of diversity in Islam and the Middle East, so others can see the Orient as “human beings.” Then, the media and local communities should also conduct regular and creative media depictions of Islam and the Middle East that represent the latters amazing diversity. These means of re-representing Islam can remove negative images that make it a struggle to answer the Palestinian question in a balanced manner. Furthermore, the stakeholders should also analyze the repertory of Islam and the Middle East in modern institutions. The analyses can reveal underlying stereotypes and biases and from there, stakeholders can promote a wider re-reading and interpretation of Islam and the Middle East. People should work on a modern repertory that is not one-sided but rather generates a plural understanding of Islam and the Middle East. Overall Strengths and Weaknesses The strengths of the video are Professor Jhallys initial summaries for the videos segments and the wide range of analysis on Orientalism. Jhally provides an introduction of Saids arguments and claims, which defines the audiences expectations. This will help familiarize and prepare people who are unfamiliar of Orientalism and Saids work. In addition, the video also discussed a wide range of analysis on Orientalism. Said explores the historical development of Orientalism and the main factors that affected its growth and changes into the modern world. For instance, he covers the Empires contribution to Orientalism and Orientalism today. The weaknesses of the video are that there is lack of “wrap-up” or concluding segment for what Said discussed and a balanced focus on each of the topics of Orientalism. The concluding remarks would have connected Saids ideas on the different themes of Orientalism. Professor Jhally or Said should have connected the points of discussion and how they affect the view of Orientalism today. In addition, there should have been a balanced focus on each of the topics of Orientalism. There is lack of discussion on “Orientalism and Empire” and how it affected the modern repertory of Orientalism. I also believe that the analysis on American Orientalism should have included its connections with Western media and Israelite-Palestinian question. These concerns are related to one another and form a more textured analysis of Orientalism. I will recommend this video to all people, because we all should know more about Orientalisms causes and consequences. This knowledge will help us check our biases and assumptions and help us develop a fairer view of Islam and the Middle East. This video is especially helpful for children, but should be modified to their language levels, so that early on, they would learn to develop healthy and balanced images of the Orient. Read More