What is Orientalism? Study of “A Passage to India” by E. M. Forster & “Slumdog Millionaire” Movie from Orientalist point of view. & Representation of Arab (Middle East) in media and movies.

Assignment

Name: - Dave Nimesh B

M.A. Sem: - 3

Paper No :- 11 ( The Post colonial Literature)

Assignment Topic: What is Orientalism? Study of “A Passage to India” by E. M. Forster & “Slumdog Millionaire” Movie from Orientalist point of view. & Representation of Arab (Middle East) in media and movies

 Academic Year :- 2015-16

Submitted To :- Department of English ( MKBU)

• What is Orientalism? Study of “A Passage to India” by E. M. Forster & “Slumdog Millionaire” Movie from Orientalist point of view. & Representation of Arab (Middle East) in media and movies.

To evaluate my assignment Click Here

• Introduction:-

Before Orientalism, Lets talk about ...

• what is Manhood?

• Manhood is rather construction. The qualities of manliness, courage, bravery and resolve are attached with men. Image of men of Gujarat is different than men of Rajasthan or say image of men of India is different from image of men of England or America. In ancient Indian caste system, Brahmins, Kshatriya etc. are also construction. A Brahmin cannot be sweeper or merchant, similarly Kshatriya has to be full of valor. They cannot be themselves. They have defined position in society. WE HAVE FIXED IMAGE IN OUR MIND.
•  similarly there is image of colonized as savage, barbaric etc. and colonizer as superior, civilized is there.

•  my point is that everything is about construction of Image. And this image is foundation of Orientalism. Images turn into system and system turns into discourse. Discourse is something systematized archeology of knowledge. After some time knowledge becomes power& through this one starts to examine other.

Orientalism:-

• Orientalism is a foundational book in the field of Post Colonialism, by Edward Said- a Palestinian born in Jerusalem in 1935, and was educated in Cairo before continuing his studies& developing his career in America.(Hiddleston)

   What is Post Colonialism? & Orientalism?

v Post Colonialism is an approach, a lens to see, understand and subvert notion of Western superiority.

v It is an approach, in which colony writes back.

v We have to relook, rethink, and revisit whatever written or spoken by the white people.

v Europeans have developed pre conceived notion about the East.

v Doubt whatever comes from West; every step taken by them is under doubt& question.

Orientalism: - 

•    In figurative arts, the tendency to represent Eastern subjects, to assume stylistical characteristics original of east.

the term Orientalism covers three interrelated meanings:

(1) Said argues that it names the academic study of the orient, in the multiple disciplines of anthropology, sociology, history or philosophy.

(2)Orientalism is a "style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between the orient and the occident.

In this way Orientalism tends to rely on a binary opposition between East & West. And this dichotomy is both misleading and destructive, since the Orient comes to stand for all that is ‘Other’ to the West and therefore threatening.

(3) Orientalism can be seen as "a Western style for dominating, restructuring and having authority over the Orient.

It is a way of representing the Orient, a discourse that reconstitutes the East using a number of preconceptions and assumptions, and this discourse helps to reinforce the position of the West as the site of power.

Orientalism is from point of view a discourse in Foucault's sense. It is wide ranging network of texts, images and preconceptions, all of which serve to designate Eastern other as a 'sort of surrogate and even underground self'.


( Edward Said talks about this in his interview. so what i have written above that same things is elaborated in detail by Said himself. So here is a video of Said about Orientalism)

Said's definition of Orientalism relies on the argument that the ideas about the Orient propagated by Orientalist have concrete and empirical effects.

•  West seeks to govern east.

Orientalism is not an airy European fantasy about an Orient, but a created body of theory and practice in which, for many generations, there has been a considerable material investment.

Orientalist views of the orient acquire hegemony and serve to prop up myth of European superiority that is largely accepted by the society in which they are propagated. The link between Orientalist ideas and concrete power structures is not, according to Said, direct or unidirectional, and yet these ideas clearly participate in a sort of uneven exchange with various sites of power.

( This video is also about Edward Said's interview by American professor- in which he discussed Orientalism in detail. so here is a video...)

• Exotic image of East in West
•  massive construction of women
•  for West entire middle East is one and the same
• misrepresentation of Islam
•  The way we acquire knowledge is not innocent.
•  Islam symbolizes barbarism, fanaticism and terrorism in West.

To evaluate my assignment Click Here

• The main body of Said's work sifts through multitudes of examples of Oriental discourse in political and historical texts, literature & the media.

•   Said gives example of Balfour's lecture, at House of Commons, which revolves that British know the civilization of Egypt. & this knowledge gives Britain authority over the Oriental country.

• ◆It means that Western people produces the knowledge about the orient through literature, paintings and media. They rather exoticized orient in west, which is problematic. Even without firsthand experience they spread misconception about orient. The way orient- Middle East is represented is far away from reality.

• ■Said himself was born in this background, but he has never seen the kinds of things which represented by West in media, literature and painting. They have created image of East as a mysterious place, of sensual women which is not true.

• ◇Even religion Islam is also represented in negative way as if the  chief aim of Islam is to spread terrorism. West defines the religion & culture that accompanies it and through this process it becomes derogative.

• □Arab is stereotyped as gullible as well as cunning, lethargic and dishonest.

• →If Orientalism is conceived as a drive for knowledge of the Other, that knowledge is structured by a set of images that serve to encapsulate and classify its objects.

• Islam, for example, is a focal point for the Orientalist, and it comes to symbolize barbarism, fanaticism and terrorism. The Orientalism seizes on preconceptions such as there and uses them to define the entire religion and culture that accompanies it.

• Said also now associates the Orientalist drive with the 'mission civilsatrice' and with a move towards modernization. The modern orientalist was, in his view, a hero rescuing the orient from the obscurity, alienation & strangeness which he himself had properly distinguished.

• ▲Said gives example of Nerval that, for Nerval, the Orient is a place of sexual intrigue, the locus of the mysterious & desirable feminity; although the female sexual object always nevertheless exceed his grasp.

• ★Nerval, Flaubert and his character Emma Bovery & Frederic Moreau associates the orient with sexual desire, erotic energy and discovery.

• →In the final section of Orientalism, Said moves away from literary criticism to both academe and the media.

• Orientalism is now conceived not just as a discourse prevalent at the particular historical moment of colonial expansion, but as a tradition & doctrine affirming the superiority of west.

• Even in Second World War & in Arab-Israeli wars, the Arab is increasingly & repeatedly stereotyped. Arab is blamed for oil shortages. The Arab is also disrupts of the Israel and the west's existence.

• Even the Cambridge history of Islam published in 1970 is vague and methodologically flawed, and continues multitudes of misconceptions about the religion as well as its history.

•  In his book Covering Islam (1981). He writes about reductive and ignorant perception of Islam propagated by media.

• Said criticizes the use of clichés & labels, the construction of, Islam as a monolithic entity and the association of that entity with hostility and fear.
• Said also criticized that his concept of Orientalist discourse is vast and generalized.

• Stereotyping India in 'Slumdog Millionaire'

• Slumdog Millionaire is a movie- mixed of Indian and foreign talent, and English and Hindi dialogue, has sparked a debate here over whether it's an Indian or foreign film. It was based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup, directed by Briton Danny Boyle, best known for "Trainspotting," adapted by British screenwriter Simon Beaufoy of "Full Monty" fame, and acted by Indians and foreigners of Indian descent.

• But Indians don't feel good about 'Slumdog Millionaire' The story of an impoverished street child in Mumbai, which has won 10 Oscar nods, is a stereotypical Western portrayal that ignores the wealth and progress of India. "Slumdog," which earned 10 Oscar nominations this week, including one for best picture, is set in Mumbai, is based on an Indian novel and features many Indian actors. Yet the sensibility is anything but Indian, some critics argue. They attribute the film's sweeping international success in large part to its timing and themes that touch a chord with Western audiences.(Magnier)

• "It's a white man's imagined India," said Shyamal Sengupta, a film professor at the Whistling Woods International institute in Mumbai. "It's not quite snake charmers, but its close. It's a poverty tour."

• "These ideas, that there are still moments of joy in the slum, appeal to Western critics, “said Aseem Chhabra, an Asia Foundation associate fellow and culture critic.

• The film focused too much on prostitution, crime and organized
• Begging rackets. There is still a fascination with seeing how we are perceived by Westerners.

• A columnist at London Times called it poverty porn.(Dennis)

• Some locals have questioned its selective portrait of Mumbai, which ignores middle class as well as other progress. Indians are groaning over what they see as yet another stereotypical foreign depiction of their nation, accentuating squalor, corruption and impoverished-if-resilient natives.

• All these views suggest that Westerners are still looking towards India, in traditional way, as it was during time of colonization. Image of India is still of poverty, slums and even India as a land of snake charmers. The same happens in the movie that they ignore the bright side of India. Why they choose only slums of Mumbai? And even the portrayal of slums is also excessive, which is problematic.
• So from Orientalist point of view we can conclude that this movie is a stereotypical presentation of India.

• To evaluate my assignment Click Here

•  A Passage to India

•  A Passage to India is a novel by English author E. M. Forster, published in 1924.
• 
  
•  Story revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested. During a trip to the Marabar Caves. Adela fined herself alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the caves, panics and flees; it is assumed that Dr. Aziz has attempted to assault her. Aziz's trial, and its run-up and aftermath, bring to a boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between indigenous Indians and the British who rule India.

• In this novel Forster attempts to present this ‘real’ India.  This India is remote, ancient and unknowable, a Himalayan India becoming covered by the ‘newer lands’.

• This novel is based on Forster's two trips in India. His account of India is culturally and historically specific. During his stay, Forster was closely involved in Indian affairs. Readers can find Forster's sympathy for Indians in this novel.
• Then even, novel looks towards India traditionally. Consciously or unconsciously stereotypical portrayal of India and Indians is there. India as a mysterious, fascinating place in the mind of the white people.

• For example: Adela's desire to visit India.
• Adela Quested, a young British school mistress decides to visit fictional city of Chandrapore, British India.

• But why?

• She had never visited India. She knew nothing personally about India. It means that she was mesmerized by tale and stories of India. In Britain representation of India as a golden land increases her curiosity to know about India.

• And she visits a cave, which also suggests that white people thinks that magic and mystery is characteristic of India, so as a setting he selects mysterious cave.

•  So we can understand that what kind of image they have about India.
•  There is also incident in the novel that new comers. (Adela etc.) had expressed a desire to see Indians. Mr.Turton, the city tax collector invites numerous Indians to the party.

• VISIT TO CAVES & MISUNDERSTANDING (PRECONCEPTION)

• Dr.Aziz, Adela, Mrs. Moore etc. visits caves.In the first cave, Mrs. Moore is overcome with claustrophobia. But worse than that was echo. There Adela asked Aziz whether he has more than one wife. This shows white people's thinking about Muslims.

•  Aziz finds the guide alone outside the caves. The guide says Adela has gone into a cave by herself. Aziz looks for her in vain. Deciding she is lost, he strikes the guide, who runs away. Aziz looks around and discovers Adela's field glasses lying broken on the ground. He puts them in his pocket.

•  Then Aziz looks down the hill and sees Adela speaking to another young Englishwoman, Miss Derek, who has arrived with Fielding in a car. Aziz runs down the hill and greets Fielding, but Miss Derek and Adela drive off without explanation. At the train station, Aziz is arrested and charged with sexually assaulting Adela in a cave. The run-up to his trial releases the racial tensions between the British and the Indians. Adela says that Aziz followed her into the cave and tried to grab her, and that she fended him off by swinging her field glasses at him. The only evidence the British have is the field glasses in the possession of Aziz. Despite this, the British colonists believe that Aziz is guilty.

•  Later on, Adela becomes confused as to Aziz's guilt. She has a vision of a cave. The echo had disconcerted her so much that she became unhinged. At that time Adela mistakenly interpreted her shock as an assault. She admits that she was mistaken & the case is dismissed.

•  British superintendent of police Mr.Turton considers that “Dark skinned races are inferior to light skinned races".(A Passage to India)
• During Aziz's trial, he publicly asserts that IT IS SCIENTIFIC FACT THAT DARK MEN LUST AFTER WHITE WOMEN- preconceived notion about people.

•  This shows white people's mentality towards Indians. Adela also thinks that all Indians are like this. Aziz actually didn’t do anything, but she thought so because of her preconceived notion.

•  So image of India and its people is rather constructed one, not real.
•  Aziz relies heavily on intuition over logic. His chief drawback is inability to view a situation without emotion - which Forster suggests is a typical Indian difficulty.
•  Thus it shows that how Britishers or Europeans looks towards India. Their image is self-restricted and constructed one. Any how they tried to build their image as superior & other as inferior, which Edward Said challenged in Orientalism.
• 
  

• Representation of Arab (Middle East) in media and movies.

Various Images to show how Arab is represented in Media, movies etc......

Exotic Image of Woman

Middle East as Land of Desirable Feminity.

Exotic image of Woman & Man of Middle East.

how Middle East is represented in West.

Religion means terrorism. All are the same in America.

Islam as threat in West.

Said views Alladin as Exotic image of East as Land of magic & mystery.

This kinds of things comes again and again in News.

American Media represents Islam in negative way.

Exotic Image of Woman from Middle East.

American Movie's Hero Fight against Muslim & people enjoys this kinds of movies.

Misrepresentation of Arab in Films or Exoticizing East in film.

Said looks even this cartoon as Imagination of East by West.

Islam symbolizes Terror ism in West. so continuously wrong image presented.

Said argues in his book that How white have portrayed Middle East women in movie, art, literature by West.

Conclusion:-

Thus, Orientalism is the system of ideological fictions about East produced by Europeans.

Work Cited

A Passage to India.  30 10 2015 <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Passage_to_India>.

Dennis, Lim. What, Exactly, Is Slumdog Millionaire? 30 10 2015. <http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_oscars/2009/01/what_exactly_is_slumdog_millionaire.html>.

Hiddleston, Jane. "Foucault and Said: colonial discourse and Orientalism." Hiddleston, Jane. Understanding Postcolonialism. New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2012. 76-97.

Magnier, Mark. Indians don't feel good about 'Slumdog Millionaire'. 30 10 2015. 30 10 2015 <http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/24/world/fg-india-slumdog24>.

To evaluate my assignment Click Here