Edward Said Orientalism

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Student’s Name Professor’s Name Subject DD MM YYYY ORIENTALISM Orientalism is an imagery pictured from the Western lens that visualizes differences of the Middle-east(Orient), specifically the Arab people, to the West(Occident) in terms of culture, norms, and sometimes, appearance. However, a significant amount of early oriental literature is not empirical, but imaginative. It involves seeing Arab culture as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and at times dangerous. Evolution of Orientalism The inception of Orientalism dates back to the early 19th century, however, it was revolutionized and shown in stark contrast only in 1978 by Palestinian writer, intellectual, and literary/cultural critic Edward Said in his book Orientalism. This essay will …show more content…

Said, in his book, drastically altered the term and its connotation. He re-appropriated it suggesting that the elite society of Europe used this contrast between the West and the East to reinforce its own ideas of superiority. This narrative allowed it to carry out barbaric practices and justify them in the facade of necessary measures to bring cultural stability. According to Said, Orientalism came to effective use for the empire during the period of European Enlightenment and Arab colonization. Europe could justify its heinous acts in the colonial era owing to a self-serving history in which the Occident construed the Orient as radically distinct, oppressive and inferior, laying grounds for the need of rescue by the West. He …show more content…

During the time of French colonization of Algeria, businessmen in France produced postcards of Algerian women to be circulated in the country. The misrepresentation in the images wasn't visible to the population, who thought that the photographs were taken from the everyday lives of the women, they were set up in the photographer's studio, often mistreated and abused. These photographs served as evidence of the inferiority of the Algerian culture, where men of the community were projected as imbeciles, savages, and incapable of living lives on their own, and women were projected as exotic objects only capable of being objectified by the lustful men in the West who fantasized penetrating their private

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