Orientalism in America and Terrorism - Movie Review Example

 Orientalism refers to the way in which people from different races are perceived by the rest of the world. It is therefore a framework that is adopted by people to explain the unfamiliar and the strange. American orientalism on the Middle East nations is that the Islamic states are violent and threatening states. It is therefore based on the demonization of the Arab states which is characterized by the perpetuation of a violent and paranoid culture. Said thus argues that this orientalism is basically a repetition of what the European governments say and paint the Arab nations to be. The media and other organizations do not therefore carry out any investigations, but rather report on the government views of these nations. This in turn shapes the views of the people towards the Arab nations as rogue nations who permeate violence in their everyday lives through their hatred on the western nations. On orientalism and empire, Edward Said argues that most of the European states were just aiming to exert influence and political mileage in the Islamic states of the Middle East. He bases this argument on the fact that throughout the period of history and colonization every empire told itself that it was not like the other empires (Orientalism). That its territorial occupation was based on noble ideas of education, enlightenment and liberation, rather than political control and plunder. However, as time passes the true intention of the occupiers become evident. In this respect, orientalism is a tool for colonialism and political dominance. On American orientalism, Edward Said gives the distinction between the American orientalism and other European orientalism. Unlike the French or the British, America did not have direct colonial experience in the orient. American orientalism was thus more indirect and abstract. As a result of this abstraction, American orientalism is very much politicized by the presence of Israel as their main ally. The view of Israel that all Arab states are its enemies is thus imported into the American orientalism, which plays a significant role in portraying all Arab states as enemies (Orientalism). Whereas the terrorism exists in the middle east as a result of the violence and the political problems there, much of the images portrayed by the media only serve as to demonize the Arab nations and do not tell the whole story behind the problems in the Middle East. In this respect, American orientalism is informed by the demonized image of an Islamic terrorist that is elaborated by the American news agencies and Hollywood. It is this narrow view of the Islamic nations that erodes from humanity the diverse picture of millions of people living decent and humane lives in the Islamic states. The Oklahoma City bombing is the greatest evidence of the persistence of the American orientalism. The event evidenced the paranoia that the American culture has attached to the Islamic states of the Middle East. Immediately the bombing took place, the media was quick to point the blame on Islamic states and formulation of conclusions that the bomb magnitude and patterns was similar to those of attacks carried out in the Middle East (Orientalism). Edward Said also argues that orientalism presumes that everyone from the Middle East is always knowledgeable about terrorist activities. He evidences this form of orientalism through the numerous calls made to him immediately after the Oklahoma bombing seeking interviews about the attack. This is ironical as the bombing turned out to be instigated from a domestic act of terror, thus evidencing American orientalism towards the Middle East. Edward Said envisions the idea of peaceful Palestine. He affirms that the Palestine conflict is part and parcel a product of the orientalism directed towards Islam and the question of Palestine. He proposes that a solution to the question of Palestine lies in the eradication of the racist orientalism that requires the different races in Palestine to live in separation and difference with one another (Orientalism). In this light he argues that the greatest challenge of the twenty first century is to find a peaceful and lasting solution for the coexistence of Israel and Palestine. B Repertory orientalism forms one of the greatest challenges to how Islam and Arabic states are perceived by the American society. This is because it does not only lead to the demonization of the Islamic culture, but also brings about pre-planned misconceptions that are spread by the government, literary works and the national media alike. Whereas terrorism is a real threat to national security, it does not mean that every attack that is carried out on the American soil is instigated by the Islamic extremists in the Middle East. However, this is the kind of coverage and description attributed to Islam and Islamic states. The effect of this kind repertory orientalism leads to misconceived notions and stereo types about Islam and Islamic states. Years and years of research and literature have always portrayed Arab countries in the same picture. If you picked a book today, on any subject about Arab culture or Islam, you are most likely going to draw the same conclusions. This is because the preconceived notions are repeated over and over again through different mediums, and thus formed some sort of culture on how the Arabs and Arab states are viewed by the general public in America. It is this view from the repertory of the orientalism that has permeated the general view and mindset of the American people thereby creating some placid and somewhat eternal view of the Middle East. Among the common repertory orientalism about the Middle East is that it is a place of mystery and some form of barbaric culture, and this is reflected through literature that is centauries old. However, according to Edward Said the problem is not the old orientalism, but the current orientalism which is static as a result of constant repetition throughout history (Orientalism). The view of people ought to evolve with time and change according to societal needs. However, this orientalism has been static through history and is unlikely to change in the future due to its repetition and encouragement by most of the European nations. The American understanding of the Islamic world has been very problematic and one-sided. This narrow understanding of the Islamic world and culture has led to the demonization of the religion of Islam by the American media. Edward Said has argued that he does not dispute the existence of terrorism and the threat it poses to the national security, rather what he advocates for is the exclusion and the generalization that Islam is a religion that advocates for violence through vengeance. It is this generalization of all Muslims as terrorists and people tolerant to violence against the west that has greatly hurt the American relations with the Middle Eastern Arabic countries. The existence of religious extremists is not a feature based only in Islam, but a feature that is common even among the Christians. The American orientalism is thus based on the victimization of the Islamic faith. This belief that the Islamic faith is violent is permeated by the American media and Hollywood. The American media is full of negative images about the Middle East, which include public beheadings of people over the internet, religious extremists expressing their contempt for the west, suicide bombings and chaos (Orientalism). There are thus no images or stories on the projection of the other side of the Islamic religion which is peaceful and advocates for the peaceful coexistence in the turbulent Middle East. The result of this orientalism has been the escalation of tensions between the Islamic faithful and the Christians in the West due to the misconceptions that are permeated by the media. C The film “On Orientalism” by Edward Said is very informative on orientalism and the role it has played in shaping the Western ideologies on Islam and Arabic states. It eloquently captures the debatable issues on the perceived misconception that is directed towards Islam as a violent religion, and the prevalent misconception that all Arab states are violent. The film clearly adopts historical facts and contemporary examples of how this orientalism is permeated. He proceeds to give examples on how generally the media and political decision makers have led to the persistence of the American orientalism towards the oriental. He also addresses present tensions between the Middle East and the West from the perspective of the Arab states so as to give a glimpse of their views towards the West and the perceived source of tension between the two cultures. Edward Said also uses the film to clearly express his ideas and opinion on orientalism has strained the relations of the Middle East and the West. He uses these examples to advance solutions to the crisis by arguing that instead of the West and Israel trying to impose their ideologies on the Middle Eastern Arabic states, they should be able to appreciate their differences and correlate with each other (Orientalism). By adopting a solution to the some of the problems he addresses possible solutions that can be used to minimize the tensions in the sections of the movie, a task that he succeeds in very well. The major weakness in the film is that he accepts the fact that terrorism exists, but he does not go further to elaborate some of the truth behind American orientalism towards the Middle East. His argument can thus be considered one sided, rather than adopting a neutral role in the advancement of his arguments. The movie is however a good watch generally, and would recommend it to all the people interested in understanding orientalism and the perceptions it advances towards Islam and Arabic states. Work cited Edward Said - On Orientalism Executive Prod. & Dir. Sut Jhally, Prod. Sanjay Talreja. Video Cassette, (1998) Read More