Rana's Wedding

Rana’s Wedding and Private


Today was the last class of the year and we watched perhaps the best films of the semester. I am extremely grateful to have been able to take this course. I learned to break down my own barriers in my judgments of another person, and the dehumanizing effects of Orientalism.
I really enjoyed Rana’s wedding because of its lightheartedness. It was the first film that I felt humanized the life of the everyday middle-eastern girl. The film was lent an authenticity in its production.
The second film we watched was Private. It told the story of a Palestinian family living on the border between Israel and Palestine. The family’s home was occupied by the Israeli army. The film was filled with wonderful performances. The film was haunting in its portrayal of Israeli occupation. The class couldn’t help but draw parallels to the Holocaust. This sickening tale of humanity, shows how quickly creating an “other”, can lead to history’s greatest crimes being recommitted.
After taking this course, I leave with a greater appreciation of the middle east and a greater understanding of the importance of education.

The Clash in the eyes of an African-American

The Clash in the eyes of an African-American

This class was my first formal education on the culture of the Middle East. I had studied the governmental policies of Iran and Egypt, but I had never looked at the culture of the people.
Over the course, I have recognized many parallels between the treatment of Arabs and African-American. The exploitation of the culture in media, the trinity of stereotypes and the treatment by Europeans all have interesting parallels. I wrote my first post with this idea in mind. And throughout the course, the idea never left my mind. I was particularly affected by the idea of the media image of Black people and Middle Eastern people. Both are exploited for profit, the women are either incredibly over sexualized or incredibly angry, the men are brutish, lazy and greedy. These stereotypes or used to enforce racist government agendas, from lack of proper funding for education to illegal wars that devastate entire nations.
I do not know if the two communities will ever relate to each other and fight against the negative images that both receive. After all, both of us are educated about each group through the media. The only entity that can ever unite us is education. Without education I will forever be the rap video vixen, and my Arab counterpart will be the colonial harem.

Is there always an other?

Is there always an “other”?

We often asked this question in class. Will there always be an other? And the answer is yes; there will always be another being or population to construct our identities against.
The act of creating an other isn’t the evil, however. The evil lies in the creation and manipulation of the ”other”. Whether it be for economic, social or sexual purposes, when this image and idea is manipulated, the construct of the other becomes the most damaging.
The east has always been quite different from the west. The language, dress, religion, food, and general culture are vastly different from that of European and American nations. However as westerners, we must remain vigilant in the fight against ignorance. There are many nuances of eastern culture that the west may never understand. But we must fight to respect them. We cannot become cowboys of the world and go tearing down institutions of the east, simply because they are different. Because just as the east is different from the west, England is different from France, New York is different from San Francisco, Harlem is different from Midtown. We are all blessed with the gift of diversity, a gift I cherish every time I eat a gyro, dance salsa, or watch Britain’s got talent. Its okay to have “others”, because we are all human, and all different, but the humanity of every being must never be denied.

Susan Boyle

In a class based on Edward Sad’s classic Orientalism, one would expect all discussions to be directly related to such. I expected all classes to be directly related to middle-eastern topics in order to understand the course’s main goal. However, a short YouTube sensation changed everything. Susan Boyle, an English woman, who meets few of the basic standards of beauty, challenged all of the public stereotypes. She provided an interesting add-on to our conversations about the other. How quickly do we make another being “the other”? I found it interesting that the public creates a familiar stereotype for women. In order to be considered attractive and worthy of attention, there has to be some sort of sexual element to their personality. Susan came out immediately and let lose any sort of sexuality she had. A pronounced virgin (though later debunked), she was void of any attractive qualities. And then she sang…. The beauty of her voice shocked a worldwide public. So many of us create borders and judgments about people very quickly, and Susan Boyle was the one of the first time that we could all publicly look at ourselves.

Is Orientalism Real

Is Orientalism Real?
Last week we watched a film titled Loose Change, it detailed the attack on the World Trade Center that subsequently led to the Iraq War. The construct of the Arab enemy who terrorized major American centers became an icon of the Iraq War. Orientalism is the construct created by Westerners of Eastern image and stereotypes. And Orientalism is the leading foundation for the Iraq War.
Orientalism is real, every single day an American soldier dies, or an Iraqi child is killed, and Orientalism is proven real. When humanity is overlooked for the sake of wealth and in the name of the White Man’s Burden so to speak, Orientalism is as prevalent as it ever was.
The more relevant question would be, can we ever change the status quo, can we ever rid ourselves of the Oriental constructs. Is it human nature? How do we stop hating one another? Will we ever be able to really understand each other?
As long as Orientalism is real, none of these questions will ever be answered.

Loose Change

Loose change is a conspiracy film about the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. It was written and directed by Dylan Avery and became an internet sensation. Prior to watching it in class, I had seen it online and dismissed the film as ludicrous. However, two years later, as I watched it in class I didn’t focus so much on the supposed conspiracy as I did the critique of the government. As I was watching the film I became very angry at the arrogance of the Bush administration.
The bush administration used stereotypes and xenophobia to manipulate an already divided nation into a war. The documentary addressed many unanswered questions. From practical problems such as the location of the debris of the plane that hit the pentagon, to questions of political connections. As an American who takes pride in my country, and loves my country, I was insulted by the sheer betrayal of our rights.

Not Without My Daughter

We watched a 1991 film starring, American sweetheart Sally Field, appropriately titled Not Without My Daughter. In the film Sally Field, her Iranian husband played by Alfred Molina and their daughter set out on a proposed two-week vacation to Iran. Once they set foot on Iranian soil that are greeted by a crowd of fully clothed people coming to aggressively hug and kiss the three of them. In the film this seen is visually alarming; Sally Field looks terrified as she is swarmed by an army of black cloaks. Within weeks, her husband changes for the worse. His Iranian roots come to light, and after five years of marriage, a trip back home was all it took for him to become an abusive maniac, or at least that’s how its portrayed in the film. The film is portrayed with a xenophobic anger; the women are all constantly victimized by the villainous bearded dark-skinned Iranian men. Little attention is given to Sally Field’s character’s manipulation of her daughter and the racist rhetoric of the film. The film ignores any manic behavior from Molina prior to his arrival; it just reinvigorates the stereotype of the heathen oriental. They may try to cover it in American appearances, but at some point that heathen blood takes over.