NEW IB ENGLISH LITERATURE COURSE BD SOMANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL MUMBAI. EMAIL andrew.callahan@bdsint.org
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Orientalism is a term used to define stereotyping; it is a study of why people tend to have preconceived notions regarding societies. Although we may not be familiar with these societies, we still manage to have fixed beliefs regarding its people and their lifestyles. Orientalism argues that these preconceived notions are a direct result of the images the western civilization provides of the east. These images often misrepresent reality, and are why many people harbor wrong impressions regarding eastern civilizations such as Asia and the Middle East.
Edward Saids book tell us how we know about the stereotypes of different cultures. It is more like a ToK moment. It revolutionized the study of the Middle East and helped create and shape new fields of study such as post-colonial theory. Stereotypes of different Asian cultures emerged long ago in the 1850's. Many factors could have contributed towards this and i feel that there are factors still contributing towards developing stereotypes. For example, in many Hollywoods movies or sitcoms like The Simpsons, Indian characters are shown to be very backward-minded and ld fashioned, where as this is to the case anymore. India is one of the fastest developing countries in the world today.
Orientalism is a really interesting and intriguing concept that is used to stereotype people belonging to different races by the West. Edward Said defines Orientalism as a small lens by which the West view Middle Eastern countries. People are under the pre conceived notion that citizens of the Middle East are threatening and dangerous without even meeting them due to pre conceived judgements about other people. Orientalism masks the truth and instead clouds peoples minds with misconceptions about other people. Thus, Orientalism is the main reason of arousing fear and hatred into peoples minds by altering the of reality of the situation. Thus, the West has conquered us military as well as ideologically.
What is Orientalism? To me, it seems little more than lies strewn through the truth to make the whole more agreeable to an Occidental, instilling a sense of superiority and reinforcing stereotypes about Middle Easterners and Asians. For example, Hollywood portrays the Middle East as a hidden gem or mysterious paradise (with the occasional flying carpet), most notably in films such as Aladdin or Indiana Jones. From my own experience, I recall mixed feelings of amusement and indignation when told by an elderly American that she didn't want to visit India "because of all the snakes". In fact, with the rise of jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, we seem to have entered a period of modern Orientalism, where the Middle East is no longer seen as a mystical desert land, but as a war-torn terrorist spawner instead. Through the lens of Orientalism, one still sees Middle Easterners as backwards barbarians, the only difference being that they have swapped magic lamps for AK-47s.
well to begin with, Orientalism is not “to mock East Asian cultures”, although it can certainly culminate in the mockery of East Asian cultures. Popularized by the theorist Edward W. stated that, Orientalism has become one of the founding principles of post-colonial and critical race theory. Orientalism is, in a nutshell, “the way that the West perceives of and thereby defines, the East”.
Thank you students for this feedback online. Please do remind your classmates to post here and we will open this in class too for reflection and further discussion.
What is Orientalism? Imagine trying to take a picture with your phone. The phone is not always able to capture the true beauty of the object. Sometimes, it may give you a distorted image. Orientalism is the phone that some Westerners use to look at Asian countries and the Middle East. They do not get the true beauty of the object, but only see a distorted image of what is there. In other words, Orientalism is the set of stereotypes that distort some Westerners' perception of Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Orientalism tries to answer the question of ‘why when we think of the middle east we already have a preconceived notion of the kind of people who already live there’. We do this unconsciously because we may have never met them or visited that region. More generally it asks how will we come to understand people, strangers who look different to us by the virtue of the colour of their skin. Edward Said believes that the way we obtain this knowledge is through a process that reflects certain interests, Western interests. It distorts reality, because we look through this lens of orientalism. Therefore people can’t freely address the subject of the East, without any realistic representations available. For the British and French did not just conquer militarily but also ideologically.
Orientalism is a tool used by westerners to form a very critical opinion of the middle east. It clouds society’s judgment through negative pre-conceived notions that are not always true. It is an easy way for the world to categorize a group of people, without knowing too much about them. It can change the reality of a situation, the case of the middle east is on a large scale; but this occurs on a small scale too, in our day to day life. In my personal experience, when I was on vacation, I was asked by one of my American friends if I go to school on an elephant. This opinion of India is not even near to its reality, however due to the mindset of people shaped by movies and other media, the reality of a place is at risk.
“The snake charmer and his audience” is a painting by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme created around 1879. Constructed out of his imagination, the young boy in the painting holds a serpent and the old man plays the flute as he mesmerises the snake and his audience. The seemingly realistic aspects and refined style of the painting allows Gérôme to portray an unrealistic scene as if it were a true representation of the east. The deceptiveness in this painting suggests such nudity was a regular and public occurrence in the "East". Known as an orientalist painting, “the snake charmer and his audience” explores Western perspective on Eastern culture. Moreover, this idea has fabricated a global hierarchy in which the western world has places itself above the Eastern world. According to me orientalism is an example of how our personal knowledge is misleading. It is constantly accompanied by media, which should help in erasing these misconceptions but instead enhances them through stereotypical portrayals.
"What is Orientalism?"
ReplyDeleteOrientalism is a term used to define stereotyping; it is a study of why people tend to have preconceived notions regarding societies. Although we may not be familiar with these societies, we still manage to have fixed beliefs regarding its people and their lifestyles. Orientalism argues that these preconceived notions are a direct result of the images the western civilization provides of the east. These images often misrepresent reality, and are why many people harbor wrong impressions regarding eastern civilizations such as Asia and the Middle East.
Thanks Ani, great to see students engaging with this important topic. Well done.
ReplyDeleteEdward Saids book tell us how we know about the stereotypes of different cultures. It is more like a ToK moment. It revolutionized the study of the Middle East and helped create and shape new fields of study such as post-colonial theory. Stereotypes of different Asian cultures emerged long ago in the 1850's. Many factors could have contributed towards this and i feel that there are factors still contributing towards developing stereotypes. For example, in many Hollywoods movies or sitcoms like The Simpsons, Indian characters are shown to be very backward-minded and ld fashioned, where as this is to the case anymore. India is one of the fastest developing countries in the world today.
ReplyDeleteOrientalism is a really interesting and intriguing concept that is used to stereotype people belonging to different races by the West. Edward Said defines Orientalism as a small lens by which the West view Middle Eastern countries. People are under the pre conceived notion that citizens of the Middle East are threatening and dangerous without even meeting them due to pre conceived judgements about other people. Orientalism masks the truth and instead clouds peoples minds with misconceptions about other people. Thus, Orientalism is the main reason of arousing fear and hatred into peoples minds by altering the of reality of the situation. Thus, the West has conquered us military as well as ideologically.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Orientalism? To me, it seems little more than lies strewn through the truth to make the whole more agreeable to an Occidental, instilling a sense of superiority and reinforcing stereotypes about Middle Easterners and Asians. For example, Hollywood portrays the Middle East as a hidden gem or mysterious paradise (with the occasional flying carpet), most notably in films such as Aladdin or Indiana Jones. From my own experience, I recall mixed feelings of amusement and indignation when told by an elderly American that she didn't want to visit India "because of all the snakes". In fact, with the rise of jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, we seem to have entered a period of modern Orientalism, where the Middle East is no longer seen as a mystical desert land, but as a war-torn terrorist spawner instead. Through the lens of Orientalism, one still sees Middle Easterners as backwards barbarians, the only difference being that they have swapped magic lamps for AK-47s.
ReplyDeletewhat is orientalism?
ReplyDeletewell to begin with, Orientalism is not “to mock East Asian cultures”, although it can certainly culminate in the mockery of East Asian cultures.
Popularized by the theorist Edward W. stated that, Orientalism has become one of the founding principles of post-colonial and critical race theory. Orientalism is, in a nutshell, “the way that the West perceives of and thereby defines, the East”.
Thank you students for this feedback online. Please do remind your classmates to post here and we will open this in class too for reflection and further discussion.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Orientalism? Imagine trying to take a picture with your phone. The phone is not always able to capture the true beauty of the object. Sometimes, it may give you a distorted image.
ReplyDeleteOrientalism is the phone that some Westerners use to look at Asian countries and the Middle East. They do not get the true beauty of the object, but only see a distorted image of what is there. In other words, Orientalism is the set of stereotypes that distort some Westerners' perception of Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Orientalism tries to answer the question of ‘why when we think of the middle east we already have a preconceived notion of the kind of people who already live there’. We do this unconsciously because we may have never met them or visited that region. More generally it asks how will we come to understand people, strangers who look different to us by the virtue of the colour of their skin. Edward Said believes that the way we obtain this knowledge is through a process that reflects certain interests, Western interests. It distorts reality, because we look through this lens of orientalism. Therefore people can’t freely address the subject of the East, without any realistic representations available. For the British and French did not just conquer militarily but also ideologically.
ReplyDeleteOrientalism is a tool used by westerners to form a very critical opinion of the middle east. It clouds society’s judgment through negative pre-conceived notions that are not always true. It is an easy way for the world to categorize a group of people, without knowing too much about them. It can change the reality of a situation, the case of the middle east is on a large scale; but this occurs on a small scale too, in our day to day life. In my personal experience, when I was on vacation, I was asked by one of my American friends if I go to school on an elephant. This opinion of India is not even near to its reality, however due to the mindset of people shaped by movies and other media, the reality of a place is at risk.
ReplyDelete“The snake charmer and his audience” is a painting by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme created around 1879. Constructed out of his imagination, the young boy in the painting holds a serpent and the old man plays the flute as he mesmerises the snake and his audience. The seemingly realistic aspects and refined style of the painting allows Gérôme to portray an unrealistic scene as if it were a true representation of the east. The deceptiveness in this painting suggests such nudity was a regular and public occurrence in the "East". Known as an orientalist painting, “the snake charmer and his audience” explores Western perspective on Eastern culture. Moreover, this idea has fabricated a global hierarchy in which the western world has places itself above the Eastern world. According to me orientalism is an example of how our personal knowledge is misleading. It is constantly accompanied by media, which should help in erasing these misconceptions but instead enhances them through stereotypical portrayals.
ReplyDelete