Orientalism and its Effects on Today’s Society essay part 2
Orientalism and its Effects on Today’s Society essay part 1
In addition, in the United States, the major focus for the development of criticism of colonist representations in art was India. Actually, this criticism reflected the influences of Orientalism on human minds (Burke & Prochaska 22). As the United States was focused on cultural, economic and political domination, the ambitions of many Americans were captured by the Orientalist views. According to researchers, “as the United States expanded its sphere of influence into the Pacific Rim, motivated strongly by Manifest Destiny, American Orientalism also expanded and shifted, reflecting the Unites States’ increasing global influence as well as its increasing interactions with Asia and the Pacific Rim” (Leong 8).
Undoubtedly, the development of Orientalist views depended on a number of factors, including the growth of industrialization, the growth of population and the growth of prosperity of the nation. In the late 19-th century – early 20-th century, the Gilded Age in America contributed not only to considerable social changes, but also to the formation of progressive ideas in different spheres of human activity (Leong 8). American Orientalism was based on the reflection of the key aspects of American ideology, including the ideology of race, gender and class (Rotter 1205). American progressivism influenced the formation of American Orientalism through adoption of new progressive idea aimed at converting Asian people to American lifestyle. Manifest Destiny was the major cause of the spread of American identity to promote American Orientalism based on special virtues, beliefs and attitudes of the American people. America’s mission was based on the idea of remaking the West through expansion (Leong 8).
The Effects of American Orientalism on Art, Literature and Music
American Orientalism has a strong impact on art, literature, music, theatre, cinema, and photography. Many researchers define American Orientalism as a national cultural dialogue, which influences various aspects of American culture (Gersdorf 102).The intense interest of Americans in the Orient, especially the Oriental culture and traditions contributed to the American Orientalist thinking (Gersdorf 102). For example, the increased widespread popularity of the Arabian Nights among Americans influenced the development of tourism to the Orient. According to Catrin Gersdorf, “America entered the Oriental landscape during 1850-1860s by way of the literary and visual faculties in some of the nation’s most popular writers and painters”(103). Among the most popular writers was Mark Twain. In his The Innocents Abroad (1869), he placed emphasis on the new development associated with Orientalism (Gersdorf 103).
Actually, the significance of the Oriental culture was found in aesthetic and ethical discourse in America. The Oriental images were found in the representation of Oriental landscapes. Sanford Robinson Gifford, a well-known American landscape painter was impressed by the Oriental landscapes (Gersdorf 108). His paintings The Desert at Assouan (1869), Long Branch Beach (1867) and other works exemplify Oriental approaches to landscape painting (Gersdorf 108). According to researchers, the works of many American painters show that “the discourse of Orientalism was highly instrumental in gauging the significance of the desert for the cultural and historical imaginary of the United States (Gersdorf 113).
Besides, Orientalist views were reflected in American music. Many composers produced Oriental music in response to the growing rate of Asian immigrants. Researchers state that American popular music revealed various patterns of Orientalism, including “de- masculinization, exoticism and dehumanization” (Garrett 127). Due to musical representation of Asian immigrants, Americans could establish and assess the difference between the East and the West. The Orient emerged in American music as a fantasy projected by the civilized society (Garrett 127). For example, “Jerome and Schwartz’s song, which portrays local Chinatowns as foreign entities within the U.S. borders, participated in an American brand of internal Orientalism” (Garrett 127). In general, music industry reflected American Orientalism and contributed to the construction of national identity.
The Effect of American Orientalism on Cinema and Film Production
American Orientalism influenced film production through the representation of Asian culture in films, documentaries and television shows produced in the United States. According to researchers, there were “four major stereotypes of Asians and Asian Americans emerged from the imagination of primarily white cultural producers in Hollywood: Yellow Peril, Dragon Lady, Charlie Chan and Lotus Blossom (Shah 1). The images of Asians and Asian Americans could be interpreted as the so-called “controlling images” because of the effects of negative and positive stereotypes developed in American society. In fact, these negative stereotypes provide justifications for the necessity of social control, while positive stereotypes provide justifications for the development of normative models for Orientalist thought (Shah 4). At the same time, researchers place emphasis on the role of resistance to the development of these images, which was found in the late 1960s. The development of “triangular cinema” by Asian American filmmakers was focused on the political strategy aimed at promoting Asian American community, developing political mobilization, and the establishment of the so-called “Asian American film aesthetic” (Shah 4). Many films that were produced in the context of triangular cinema are considered to be “liberating images” that “stake out a position for independence and autonomy for Asian American communities” (Shah 4).
The Effect of American Orientalism on Political Decision Making
Many recent works are focused on analysis of the U.S and Middle East relations which helps to understand the real effect of Orientalist discourse on politics in general and political decision making in particular (Halabi 375). The effects of the “War on Terror” can be found in the domestic perception of people from Middle East, Islam and Arabic World in the United States. American Orientalists describe Muslims as people with anti-Western ideology (Halabi 375). Because of the increased role of political Islam in Iran, Algeria, Sudan and other countries, the West has no ability to influence the development of political trends in the Middle East, as well as to control oil market in a proper way (Halabi 375).
In addition, the former president Regan linked the growth of terrorism with Muslim movements. In general, American Orientalism influences political decision making for a number of reasons. First, the West is interested in participating in the establishment of political trends in the Middle East, “which contains 60% of world oil reserves” (Halabi 376). Second, the United States is involved in the developing methods to promote security of Israel (Halabi 376). The third reason is that “the geographical proximity of the Middle East to Europe makes the latter vulnerable to the influx of legal and illegal immigrants” (Halabi 376). American Orientalists believe that Islam is the major enemy of the West, and that the political decision making should not promote democracy in Islamic states because democracy will contribute to the growing power of Islamic fundamentalists (Halabi 377).
As a matter of fact, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon that occurred on 11 September 2001 (the events of 9/11) have led to complete destabilization of the U.S. philosophy of morale and sense of self. As a result, American identity required considerable restatement of ideological views regarding gender and race. These changes influenced political decision making. According to Meghana Nayaka, “this identity draws upon hyper-masculinity, a religious code of ethics and the constitutive differences between Self/Other necessitating the persistent and forceful coding, interpretation and targeting of particular actors and politics as Islamic fundamentalist” (42). Thus, the events of 9/11 created negative attitudes toward the Orient and the representatives of the Orient in the United States. The U.S. participation in an orientalist project was a necessity as it could help to “institutionalize gendered and racialized violence through the infantilization, demonization, dehumanization and sexual commodification of the Other” (Nayaka 42). The U.S. was involved in the project in order to protect national identity from the negative effects of Orientalist views, linking religious matters, American ideology and conflict (Nayaka 42). In general, American Orientalism’s logic developed in recent years affects the new identity formation.
The Effect of American Orientalism on Gender Politics
The gender politics that involves the representation of Afghani and Iraqi people in American society created a new concept of Orientalism, namely Gendered Orientalism. Besides, after the events of 9/11, the images of the Middle Eastern, or the so-called Muslim ‘Other’, have been criticized in the Western world. Although Edward Said’s book Orientalism provides much important information regarding the criticism of Orientalist views, today’s criticism of the Orient is connected with examination of the Muslim images’ functioning in ‘War on Terror’ discourses (Khalid 15). Special attention is paid to the role of gendered representations of people in the so-called ‘War on Terror” discourse. In this case, Orientalism can be viewed as an effective tool of critical interpretation of events (Khalid 15). Researchers use the concept of ‘gendered orientalism’ in their analysis of current events. They effectively apply this concept to the images taken from the War on Terror. American Orientalists are focused on the construction of masculinities and femininities based on race, “manipulating and deploying representations of the ‘Other’ to justify military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq” (Khalid 15)
Conclusion
Thus, it is necessary to conclude that Orientalism as the concept that influences various aspects of human society highlights the role of the Orient in the life of the West. The study of the Orient helps to better understand people, places and civilizations through the Westerners’ views regarding the Arab and Islamic world. Orientalism refers not only to the study of ancient traditions and customs and artistic representation of the Orient in Western world, but also it influences political decisions and gender politics in the United States. This paper relates to the discussions in the conference threads and the textbook assigned for this course because it provides much important information on the effects of Orientalism on today’s society. In other words, the continuing effects that Orientalism has on today’s American society include the effects on attitudes, image and knowledge reflected not only in art, literature and music, but also in political decisions and gender politics.
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