Orientalism and Post 9/11 Novels
I. Introduction: Islam forms the main focus of many English writers and orientalists whose works have, to a great deal, followed the stereotypical position in presenting Islam as a retrogressive religion and Muslims as aggressive, anti-modernity, and death lovers. Such stereotypical portrayal of Islam and Muslims in general and Arab Muslims in particular, is originated from what Edward W. Said has defined as Orientalism. Orientalism as a discourse is concerned with studying the cultures of Orients and provides a rationalization for European colonialism and Western’s interventions in East. In his pioneering book, Orientalism, Edward W. Said, explains the term orientalism as the acceptance in the West of “the
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Orientalism: this is a scholastic term often used in literary studies, cultural studies, art, history and geography to describe the Orient phenomena. It can also be viewed as the representation of Asia, more so the Middle East in a more stereotypical approach with an emphasis of colonialism. …show more content…
The authors argue that Western media including televisions, newspapers and social media platforms continue depicting Islam as an intolerant religion that abhors fight to attain its religious gratification. The book is a series of cartoons from Western authors portraying Muslims unfavorably. The focus depicts oversexed violent males and oppressed deceptive females (Gottschalk & Greenberg 35). The work of Islamophobia is also supported by Bayraktaroğlu in his work that focuses on the perception of Muslim males in cinema post 9/11 by the American society. Bayraktaroğlu (349) indicates that there have been increased filmic stereotypes of Muslims generally and particularly of Arabs with new negative characters. The attributes researched in his work were Arab characters, physical attributes, and behavioral attributes, prior and post 9/11. The general conclusion by Bayraktaroğlu (359) was that there has been reconstruction of Arab and Muslim characters within the ten-year period after
9-12: Post-9/11 America “doug robinson: before and after 9/11” “9/11: the week before - the atlantic” “while america slept: the true story of 9/11 - NBC” “9 things you should know about the aftermath of 9/11” .hunter wade. How have the events of 9/11 and its aftermath shaped what it means to be an American? Consider the actions the government has taken after these events, how it changed people 's lives and how you think of yourself living in a post-9/11 America. “Consider that before September 11, 2001, there was no cohesive system in place to vet passengers in advance of flying; only limited technologies in place for uncovering a wide array of threats to passengers or aircraft; no comprehensive federal requirements to screen checked or carry-on baggage; and only minimal in-flight security on most flights” People stood frozen in front of their TVs for hours watching in disbelief as replays showed airlines fly into buildings and skyscrapers tumble before 9/11 you could stroll to the gate at the airport without a ticket and greet family and friends as they arrived or see them off as they
Safi also made it known that terrorism is happening everywhere. However, the world only seems to care when it takes place in a major city, or cities in the West. In order to beat this problem, the world must open their hearts and “let the light permeate us,” (Safi, par. 36). Sadly, in today`s world, any religious violence that occurs is immediately associated with Islam. Many people in the world isolate Muslims because of the fear that all Muslims are bad.
“9/11 changed America fundamentally, far more so than outsiders realized at the time. For Americans it genuinely was a new Pearl Harbour, an attack on the homeland that made them feel vulnerable for the first time in 60 years,” (Powell, 2003). The terrorist attacks of 9/11 affect America today because they instigated the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the “War on Terror,” and led to an increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes. “Often referred to as 9/11, the attacks resulted in extensive death and destruction, triggering major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defining the presidency of George W. Bush,” (9/11, 2010). The most noticeable of these effects was the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
Presenter: Hi. Today I am going to be talking about how Muslims have been depicted in Hollywood after the events of 9/11. [PROJECTOR: IMAGES of the films that I have researched, fading in one by one as I am introducing them.] The films that I have chosen for my research are Iron Man (1), The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2), Zero Dark Thirty (3) and Argo (4).
Samira Ahmed’s realistic fiction novel, Love, Hate, and Other Filters, takes place in modern-day Chicago where a suicide bombing has engrossed the attention of America. Maya Aziz, a Muslim teenager, is targeted for her heritage while attempting to lead a life free of high school drama, controlling parents, and difficult relationships. As Maya copes with Islamophobia, prejudice against Muslims, she begins to understand the horrors and shortcomings of violence. One lesson the story suggests is that hatred is an infectious and blinding motive. From the very beginning of the story, readers are familiarized with the source of terrorism through thorough description and sentence structure.
America has gone through difficult times with war, but has gone through harder times with the war on terror. Terrorism is defined as the use of terror or threat. The war on terror became a big deal on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by hundreds of Japanese fighter planes, but has been a bigger deal since that attack on the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.. The bombing of the Twin Towers and to the Pentagon was like a Pearl Harbor but for the 21st century. Terrorist turn to violent means such as killing and bombing of the government.
Muslim Americans endured more government scrutiny after September 11, 2001. The United States government decided to monitor this population. This involves surveillance on phones, worship place and funds. The US government needed to pass a law to collect data to use concerning risks. Consequently, the Several days later after the 9/11 attack, the U.S. passed the USA PATRIOT Act which is an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” (Stan, 2014).
As a result, the media that cover these events dictate what and how they are shared. However, it only helps to feed our sense of fear towards terrorism as well as fuel the Muslim stereotype. In fact, according to a study on deconstructing the terrorism- news media relationship, “terrorists use media as a tool to gain increased coverage and communicate their message,” but sometimes the news does it for them (Ross). For example, in the UCLA shooting, where two men were killed in a murder-suicide, the news’ portrayal of the situation led many to believe that there were multiple attackers instead of just the one. While this may not directly convey terrorists’ message, it helps to spread unnecessary fear of terrorism in our communities.
Victimization After 9/11 Unexpected and eye opener was the tragic event of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Being an unexpected event it proved to the United States that it’s border control and protection were not at it’s best level of skills. Not only did it create awareness in politics but also in the society. The fear this attack created led to generalizations and stereotypes of people from the Middle East or people that simply appeared to be Muslim. These generalizations and stereotypes eventually navigated and made their way through schools and young minds, causing many limitations, struggles, and depression to those being targeted.
In “Some Are Born to Sweet Delight” written by Nadine Gordimer, foreigners and especially Arabs are portrayed as poor, secretive and different as opposed to the Westerners who are classified as “normal”. Gordimer represents this negative portrayal through the characterization of Rad and Vera. The negative representation of foreigners is made to underline and criticize the stereotypes and generalizations that Westerners tend to make about them. In this short story, Gordimer focuses on Arabs as her main representation of foreign populations.
Post 9/11 increased the negative image placed on Muslims in the United States and unfavorable attitudes toward Muslim Americans originate in broader concerns about
Media has a great role in shaping audiences ' perception of members of a particular social group. The way it can appropriately represent these groups is more pressing. This article examined the types of racist images and stereotypes used for Iranians in the drama film 'Not Without My Daughter ' and the way these stereotypes contribute to the prejudicial understanding among people. The main focus of this article was to concentrate on the negative aspects of orientalism portrayed in this film. Said 's concept of orientalism and Van Dijk 's ideological square was used in its analysis.
9-11 Attack " On October 4, 1998, at 10:00 in New York City at the Twin Towers, as I was walking through the subway station. I heard a big crash-like sound," I said drastically. Christina had just gotten of a plane because they said that hackers hacked their plane. When she got in New York, she gasped in horror as the two planes hit the two towers.
The Foundation of stereotypes When you pick a documentary, what’s the first thing you notice: color, the image and the bold letters on the cover? They are usually no more than three words just burning on the cover. But we never consider from where the author or authors came up with them, or what purpose do they hold. In the documentary Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People, the title holds a significant meaning. It represents the movement of how Hollywood has portrayed Arabs through the decades.
The book entitled “Islam the Misunderstood Religion” written by Muhammed Qutb is a book talks about how the world, mostly the non Muslim communities, see Islam from their perspectives. This book means to clarify those wrong perspectives. The book can be read both by Muslim and non Muslim. According to my understanding, this book is divided into two main topics; Islam and ideologies, and Islam and applications. Islam and ideologies parts talk about how people correlate Islam with feudalism, capitalism, idealism and communism.