Orientalism
Orientalism, a term reappropriated by the scholar Edward Said, once defined a field of academic study on the “Orient.” These studies were done by Western and Euro-American scholars who would visit the ‘East’ and write about their visits. These writings and scholarly work revealed a structural pattern of producing certain generalizations about the part of the world known as the ‘East.’ As Said states, “Orientalism was ultimately a political vision of reality whose structure promoted the difference between the familiar (Europe, West, “us”) and the strange (the Orient, the East, “them”). In the process of defining and constructing the Oriental East, the European West was also defining and constructing itself in opposition. According to Said, the failure of ‘orientalism’ was that self-criticism did not happen on the part of the West. Instead, the East was criticized and in doing so a dichotomy was created between the East and the West.
The field of orientalism developed and generated stereotypes about “oriental cultures” and “orientals.” They were seen specifically as individuals who were authoritarian and tribal. When in positions of power, they became authoritarian and dictatorial, but when in subservient positions they were seen as scheming and devious, and also exotic and sensual. To the west, “orientals” were seen as mistrustful. They were a strange people incapable of rational thought and practical organization. Therefore, the East was seen as backwards and inherently inferior to the superior and advanced West. In his book Orientalism, Said asks us where is this authoritarian, deceptive, scheming oriental? According to Said, these “oriental” people do not exist with all these qualities. In fact, they are a myth that has been produced under European thought especially after the eighteenth century. These stereotypes and myths over time span of two hundred years were no longer just simply myths, but had become systematic knowledge about a so-called ‘east.’ They had become a discourse. This myth of the oriental was possible because of the political power Europe had over the Middle East and Asia. That this discourse was knowledge produced through unequal power dynamics. Meaning that when a person dominates another person they have the power to write a book about it and to define that person. Orientalism forces us to acknowledge that about how studies on eastern cultures and literatures did not emerge from nowhere, but from western thinking during a time of political dominance and colonialism.
An example of Orientalism in pop culture would be the film ‘Aladdin.’ The film is set in a fictive Middle Eastern country named “Agrabah.” A place filled with people who will “cut off your ear if they don’t like your face.” This again defines the East as a nonsensical violent and backward place. The film’s protagonists Aladdin and Jasmine have fairly light skin, European features, and American accents. They are to be seen as “beautiful,” “liberated,” and “smart.” However, their dress attire and appearance still allows them to be exotic and sensual to an extent that is desirable by a Western audience. While the film’s antagonist is an Arab villain named Jafar who has a heavy ‘middle eastern accent’ and features such as darker skin, a large nose, and a beard. He has no redeeming qualities and is a one dimensional bad guy. Here, the film reinforces the orientalist image of Middle Eastern people as other, devious, and violent. The clip below discusses this in further detail.