The Trap of Orientalism

As Edward Said and so many of my peers put so well, Orientalism is the patronizing attitude of the West towards the East/everywhere that is not the West.  It is largely influenced by past colonialism and is so ingrained in our culture that it tends to affect every Western citizen until they become aware of it and actively work against it.

It makes sense that Orientalism would come about -- we are all brought up within our own culture, and that culture becomes normal and expected.  It's all we know for the first years of our lives, and anything that does not fit within the confines of our cultural norms is obviously going to appear strange.  So when the West came into contact with the East, it would makes sense that both sides would want to learn about the other and come up with their own ideas as to why the other is so strange.  I'm guilty of this -- the whole reason I took Modern Middle Eastern History last year instead of AP Euro was because I didn't want to learn about white people any more.  There was this mysterious region that's always on the news that I wanted to learn more about.  They were different and interesting.  My curiosity more or less arose from the systematically accepted "oriental myth" that Said mentions.  The Middle East is always portrayed as this complicated, confusing place with crazy religious ideas and cultures, and I wanted to find out what was true and what wasn't.

Fortunately I had the wise and mighty Mr. Goldberg to teach me and lead me through the history of the region, because I've learned that one of the biggest problems with Orientalism is that it is self fueled.  By this, I mean that almost any portrayal of the east, whether it be the Middle East, China, India, Vietnam, whatever, will reinforce the image already in the heads of most Westerners.  The first example I think of is the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup, perhaps more well known as the book Slumdog Millionaire was based on.  The book is an honest attempt by Swarup to address issues of corruption and poverty in modern India while promoting a sense of connection beyond class boundaries through a common Indian identity, as shown by the main character Ram Muhammad Thomas, whose name captures three of the main religions in India.  The book subtly hints at the cost of imperialism and even addresses Orientalism in a funny scene where some American tourists give Ram free money because he looks poor and they feel bad for him.  Yet some people still embody those same Americans who just throw money at Ram and feel good about themselves.  A number of the reviews I read online from the average reader referred to the book as a good portrayal of "what life is like for the average Indian."  While these people are certainly a minority, their existence proves the enduring problem of Orientalism.  They read this book, meant to be social commentary, and use it to justify their view of India as a poor, scary, hostile, dirty place with heroic orphans that deserve to be pitied.  The sad fact about Orientalism is that no matter what proof is given, some people will always find a way to maintain their own personal myth of the oriental.