In 2012, Paramount released The Dictator, a movie about a dictator from the Northern African Republic of Wadiya (fictional). The main character, General Haffaz Aladeen, travels to New York City to speak to the United Nations over concerns with his country's nuclear plans. While this movie displays extreme examples of orientalist thought, I do believe that it was intended to be satirical and speak out against the misconstrued ideas of the "Western World" in our pop culture.
First off, the setting says enough for itself. The movie is set in the middle of an African desert with a large palace smack in the middle. There are no modern buildings whatsoever and it appears quite desolate. Having travelled to Africa (and I know that Africa is a large continent and has many different settings), this is not realistic. Believe it or not, western countries have booming cities just like us!
Also, all Middle-Eastern men in this movie are depicted as angry, savage, and violent. The main character, Aladeen, often orders random executions at the slightest infractions. Furthermore, Aladeen is depicted as a full-on tyrant- which is an impactful misconception of Middle-Eastern leaders.
Finally, it is often believed that women in Middle-Eastern countries are heavily oppressed and lack education. There are certainly cultures in which women do experience severe oppression, but in no way does that apply to the entire Middle-East. In the movie, Aladeen shows interest in a woman that attended Amherst University. After learning this, Aladeen comments on how seeing educated women is comparable to a monkey on roller skates. He believes that it means nothing to women, but to men, educated women are adorable. Furthermore, after Aladeen's birth, his mother is killed by the doctor- intensifying the stereotype that all women are mistreated or abused.
Once again, I do believe that this movie was produced as a satirical piece. It's purpose was to fight against orientalism and demonstrate just how absurd the whole phenomenon is. By 2018, we should all, as educated Americans, be able to recognize that this is not an accurate depiction of the Middle-East. However, I am sure there are still many individuals out there who let this film act as reinforcement to their orientalist perspective.
I really liked this post because it is true that when we think of the middle east we do not at all think of the modern towns and cities that exist, we only think of the past (which for the most part is only what we are taught). I think the media has the incredible power to change how we view the rest of the world and if used for good, can create more accurate stories of the middle east.
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