Essay Orientalism - 865 Words

Misunderstanding between East and West has become so common today that the clash between the two civilizations has become a clichà ©. In recent history, numerous wars and conflicts have erupted as a result of Occidental misperceptions of the Orient and vice versa. To the European mind, the Maghreb, Persia, the Levant, Arabia, Anatolia, and the adjacent lands are but a single entity evoking poetic visions of the Orient. While it may be true that among these regions, certain commonalities exist, diversity and the richness of several cultures more aptly describes the Orient. Edward Said’s â€Å"Introduction† to Orientalism aids readers in understanding the basis for Rhonda Vander Sluis’s companions – prejudice and stereotype – in her search for†¦show more content†¦Whether general or specific, the West’s perception of the East is just that – a perception – it is the view of an outsider, not reality. The problem this creates is that the â€Å"Orient† is merely what the West has decided it is. The East is alien and therefore it can be studied with a pretense of objectivity and distance without the constraints of veracity. It was the romantic images of an exotic Oriental civilization promulgated by European and American writers that prejudiced Vander Sluis upon her arrival in Turkey. However beautiful, the Orient was a backward place to Western sensibilities. She initially believes that Muslims of the Orient were â€Å"‘unreached people’† who can be evangelized and brought into the Western and Christian sphere (Vander Sluis 274). Rather than being unreached, the Turks Vander Sluis encounters are even more fervent in their religious convictions than she. Making such broad assumptions about people of another culture is not only unfair to the people who are judged, but also unnecessarily limits the opportunities and experiences of those who pass judgment. Vander Sluis warns her readers to avoid the stereotypes she brought with her to Turkey so that, unlike her, we can appreciate the goodness of the people we encounter in life without suspicion. The specter of Orientalism is so pervasive in Vander Sluis’s experience that it initially prevents her from accepting the hospitality of her hostsShow MoreRelatedOrientalism in Pocahontas971 Words   |  4 PagesOrientalism in Disney’s Pocahontas While the name suggests an allusion to only Eastern Asia, or the Orient, Orientalism is a branch of Cultural Studies, an area of literary criticism that has applications in various mediums. The school of critical theory, created by Edward Said, is applicable to novels, essays, social situations, films, and epics alike. One film, to which Orientalism is applicable, is Disney’s Pocahontas. To understand how Orientalism is applicable to a film that takes placeRead MoreEssay on Orientalism 2396 Words   |  10 PagesOrientalism is a study of language and traditions of the people and their culture in the Middle East. These studies are mostly done by people outside of the culture that is being looked at, and mostly the studies are being performed by white western men. Edward Said believed that there was a problem with the way in which other people were studying and writing about his culture. He was upset and spoke up when he wrote a booked called â€Å"Orientalism,† in his book he points out many reasons why the studyRead More What Is Orientalism? Essay593 Words   |  3 PagesWhat Is Orientalism? Said made a clear analogy between orientalism and colonialism. They are both set with the same binary opposition. white/ non white occidental/ non occidental In a very detailed and structured study of the orient (behavior, habit, tradition ...) we document a large amount of fact and data. All compile in a general study they produce the illusion of a well understood and objectively constructed knowledge. These are, in fact, mere observations and purely subjectiveRead MoreEssay about Orientalism2624 Words   |  11 PagesThe definition of orientalism takes up no more than two sentences in the dictionary. Coincidentally, Orientalism came to be such a complex and deep concept which Said devotes his entire book in discussing about it. His book – Orientalism unfolds the history of the Orientalism, reveals the â€Å"dark† side of an orientalist’s mind and describes the different dimensions of Orientalism. He also attempts to expose the truth of the Orient, which he warned that: â€Å"One ought never to assume that the structureRead MoreOrientalism in Art Essay1840 Words   |  8 Pagesvocabulary that have given it reality and presence in and for the West.†[3] In another words, Orientalism is derived from an experience by Britain and France of the Orient. Paintings such as â€Å"Turkish Bath†, â€Å"The death of Sardanapalus† and â€Å"Odalisque and Slave† reflect the fascinations which the artists experienced or imagined of the Orient. Said argues that roughly from late eighteenth century, Orientalism was a â€Å"Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.†[4]Read More A Passage to India and Orientalism Essay1530 Words   |  7 PagesIndia and Orientalism When in 1978 Edward W. Said published his book Orientalism, it presented a turning point in post-colonial criticism. He introduced the term Orientalism, and talked about 2 of its aspects: the way the West sees the Orient and the way the West controls the Orient. Said gave three definitions of Orientalism, and it is through these definitions that I will try to demonstrate how A Passage to India by E. M. Forster is an Orientalist text. First, Said defined Orientalism as anRead MoreEssay on Introduction to Orientalism by Edward Said1478 Words   |  6 PagesIn his introduction to the term â€Å"Orientalism,† Edward Said begins by paraphrasing the writing of a French journalist’s view of the present-day Orient in order to express the major common Western misconception about the East. This misconception exists in the Western mind, according to Said, as if it were irrelevant that the Orient itself was actually sociologically affected. He then goes on to describe the basis of Orientalism, as it is rooted in the Western consciousness. Said uses the phraseRead MoreAladdin And Orientalism : A Little Bit Of The Middle East1239 Words   |  5 PagesSonia Maryam IB English Ms.Rowe February 20 2015 Aladdin and Orientalism Could anyone have thought that the movie Aladdin had more to it than just showing a little bit of the Middle East? That is because the movie Aladdin shows Orientalism in many ways. Orientalism is a canonical text of cultural studies where Said has challenged the concept of Orientalism by: the difference between east and west, the start of European colonization the Europeans came in contact with the lesser developedRead MoreThe Idea of Orientalism Portrayed in James Camerons Avatar3778 Words   |  16 PagesThe Idea of Orientalism Portrayed in James Cameron’s Avatar Abstract In brief, this study discusses about the representation of orientalism idea which is portrayed in the film Avatar. The film tells about the conflict between human and native people in Planet Pandora, where human exploits the land and oppresses the native. This study explores in what way the idea of orientalism is represented and how both narrative and non-narrative aspects of the film helped in delivering that representationRead MoreStuart Hall s The West And The Rest And Edward Said s Orientalism1653 Words   |  7 PagesStuart Hall’s The West and the Rest and Edward Said’s Orientalism both explore notions of power and discourse with regard to the dynamics of the Western world and the non-Western world. The works engage with the concept of a worldwide binary of two unequal sides, and how certain discourses, namely that of â€Å"the West and the Rest†, and Orientalism, have both stemmed from this idea and worked to maintain it. While Hall engages with the idea o f â€Å"the West and the Rest† – the Western world and how it has