Orientalism is essentially the set of ideas used to establish authority over and control the Orient/East by the Occident/West. People think of the "Orient" and the "Occident" of just being geographical locations and logical designations. However, they are more a reflection of ideas about the regions/cultures, and as a rule these ideas tend to be those that favor the West and negatively portray the East. These basically reflect the difference in power between the East and West.
I'd say that Orientalism is... a thing that exists. I think you can pretty easily find things like negative stereotypes and portrayals of the "Orient" (although if anyone's still calling it that you're probably ten times more likely to be in for racism and stereotypes.) I can't say I think all that much has changed, really, except to add a lot more fear and Islamophobia to the mix. Other than that I don't really feel qualified to say anything on the matter, especially without having a more detailed understanding of what Said is arguing in the first place.
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