The Gravity of Orientalism

The Gravity of Orientalism

In Orientalism, Edward Said argues the countless aspects of the term “Orientalism”, as well as its roots, the principal philosophies and arguments behind it, and the influence that Orientalism has had on the relationship between the West and the East. Several reasons including political, economic, moral, and cultural justify the necessity for conquest of the Orient. Said’s concept of Orientalism analyzes the concepts that offer the political, economic, and cultural motives for imperialist actions by more powerful nations like the United States and Europe.

I think Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism asks us to ponder whether or not the global West is driven by selfish ideas that inspire foreign involvement into sovereign nations’ affairs and therefore the spread of Western ideologies to independent cultures. Orientalism in Said’s reading is mainly concerning power and knowledge. Western hegemony as implied by Said empowers the concept of Orientalism since the Occident is politically, culturally, and economically superior and it justifies the incentive that they need to be in control. Said asks us to reflect on whether intervention by force is a higher, effective way to change a country, or whether there might be more peaceful ways in which the West can help countries within the Orient conduct their own self-government in ways that which are appropriate to them.

I believe that Orientalism is vital not solely to our philosophies of the ways in which the West creates representations and images of the East, however to how the dogma of orientalism is portrayed through art and literature in order to portray the idea of inferiority. My argument is that the concept of Orientalism is a Western misconception ...

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...t. Misinformation and prejudice are various outcomes of popular culture’s illustration of foreign cultures.

Yet, when discussing the origins and impact of Orientalism, the concept continues to be bolstered by the trendy era of technology. The illustration of the Orient is currently being viewed on television, in films, and on the World Wide Web. These representations of the Orient are available in a lot of condensed forms, and are simpler and more effective than before. The concept of Orientalism is a European created mirror reflecting itself. The Orientalist described himself by defining the Oriental and this helped him be superior. The representation of the Orient through arts and literature empower the thought of Orientalism, and whereas people at large will write their own history, i feel this distorts the facts and results in misconceptions about the Orient.