The Theory of Orientalism and Discussion

Orientalism as said by Said is the generalizations one makes about the East specifically, how the West views the East as the strange and unknown and promotes the West as being superior. The idea of the East is that they are the ones who the West can not trust. Just because of the origins of Orientalism, the West still has not changed their views of the East. As Westerners, the general views of the “East” is characterized as being more strict, less tolerable, and more conservative. The stereotypes and characterizations are often portrayed in the mainstream media, entertainment, literature, internet and other forms of creative expression in American society. For example, children's movies specifically Aladdin, comic books like TinTin, and works of art have been accused of supporting the ideas of Orientalism. These stereotypes have been largely and collectively internalized by Western society and have mostly negative associations for Americans. Westerners view themselves as being superior to the East because society has lead people for years to believe so horribly of the East even when the West itself is nowhere near perfect. The population is influence by media which in turn allows Westerners to internalize what they hear from the repetitiveness in the media, literature, and other forms of entertainment.

The idea of Orientalism just emphasizes the privilege Westerners exhibit and take advantage of. The fact that Westerners view themselves as the only ones who are civilized and safe is what promotes the idea of Orientalism; its a way to make sure the West will remain dominant over the East. In all honesty, I find myself permitting to Orientalism primarily because I grew up in the Westernized society and have not fully educated myself. I find that this is the problem for most people, being uneducated about Orientalism. I found that most people do not even know what Orientalism is and that being aware is the first step.