I just finished reading Professor Hardig's post on Orientalism. I'm very interested to discuss this in class. In conversations I have had with Hayley about comments we have exchanged with one another-- I know that we both feel that there are misjudgments and generalizations being made in our own arguments. We know we are wrong with what we say, but we try to be as honest as possible with how our mind is processing this information. I might say in a post that 'People vote based on religion'...I know this must not be true and I know that by saying this I am 'orientalizing'..and yet I still post it because I want to be as honest as possible to how I am understanding the information. There is a dirty feeling that comes with saying these things in blog posts and yet we say them anyways. It almost excites me to think of reading my reflections at the end of the semester and seeing how my thought process has changed.
As was said in the documentary we watched with Edward Said speaking; Orientalism is driven by media and Hollywood movies. Our generation is in the perfect position to change this. On one side, we are still bombarded and influenced by news stations and movies and on another side, (SOCIAL MEDIA, MY FAV TOPIC) we have blogs and twitters giving us the side and views of actual Real people from the MENA region. We can self educate to change the way we view the middle east.
I think my family has given me a more real view of the world and my father has always constantly reminded me that I must disregard the media and learn about the people for myself. When we heard about the Benghazi attack, it could be easy to go with our pre-existing notion that the MENA people are *hostile*. I will admit that even I had underlying feelings that were telling me that this was a typical reaction from these people. My father made sure I was correctly informed that our media did not report that large groups of people protested the death of Ambassador Stevens in front of government buildings in a country where it is very dangerous to do so. Why is it that our media lets us believe that all of the people in that country are hostile towards the US? Why would they not want us to know that these people are as equally inclined to be angered by death as a western person.
If I was to break down what I really wish to gain from this class....it would be to break down my own stereotypes that I have given to the middle east. Despite my family giving me constant correction when I say something that is a stereotype or when I make a generalization...those feelings are still there and have been deeply rooted in all of us through our media and through Hollywood movies. If the only thing I get from this class is an understanding of the people in the MENA, than i will be happy.
It's really quite interesting that your family is quick to point out stereotypes and disregard some media coverage- my family is on the way other end of the spectrum. In my area (the Carolinas), it seems like a fair amount of my parents' generation is unaware of just how Orientalist, and frankly racist, many of their views are. I agree with you that one of my main goals for this class was to dispel any incorrect preconceived notions I had of the MENA region- and I feel like so far, our discussions in class have done that job.
ReplyDeleteI think the misreporting of situations my Dad has been involved in is what got them in this mindset. My Dad has always been very aware but my Mom was not like this earlier in my life. I was raised all-over, but I have spent a large portion of my life in North Carolina (not the nice part, the country part) so I definitely know where you are coming from. Awareness is key. I think that although our generation has inherited a lot of the same prejudices as our parents...we are aware that we have them and therefore can work towards changing our mindset.
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