Orientalism is the study of Near and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, and peoples by Western scholars. It can also refer to the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists.
In the former meaning, the term Orientalism has come to acquire negative connotations in some quarters and is interpreted to refer to the study of the East by Westerners shaped by the attitudes of the era of European imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. When used in this sense, it implies old-fashioned and prejudiced outsider interpretations of Eastern cultures and peoples. This viewpoint was most famously articulated and propagated by Edward Said in his controversial 1978 book Orientalism, which was critical of this scholarly tradition and also of a few modern scholars, including Princeton University professor Bernard Lewis.
From Wikipedia.org
9 Comments
Crazy-drummersays...http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=n0HYX9JVH8o&mode=related&search= (Part2)
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=tlF5ED-gE5Y&mode=related&search= (part3)
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=tZLA-mwOdSs&mode=related&search= (Part4)
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gwaan*save
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jonnyThis is truly sad. It is an incredibly one-sided, and historically short-sighted view of imperialism. I could spend the rest of my day taking it apart piece by piece, but it's a waste of time. I will only ask the questions Said asks of the West about its view of the East. What were the artistic interpretations of Europe in the East when it was conquered by the Moors? What were the artistic interpretations of the American West when it was conquered by Europeans? The answer is the same in all cases - romanticism. And that romanticism is nothing new to the "modern" world. How did Alexander perceive Persia? How did Ch'in interpret the 'wildlands' to the east? The fundamental aspects of his argument are right on, but he seems to be attributing them solely to Western Imperialism, which is simply incorrect. It is human nature. And to ignore that gets a downvote.
stumblingjonI believe the important aspect you are missing is the fact that many of these Europeans who came to the asian lands came with preconcieved ideas. In my studies, most people of the asian lands did not assume aspects of foreign culture, and then search out evidence in support of it. Also, they changed their ideas of Europeans as history moved on. This is really not the case of Western culture. Ask a westerner what their image of middle eastern culture is, chances are they will give the Indiana Jones answer. When asking an asian the same question about westerners, you will not get an answer painting westerners as they were hundreds of years ago.
This is a good video which supports my comments on the video by Kevin. In his video (along with many others) he constantly hints that the Japanese are a wacky bunch, then proceeds to find only the occasional oddities that are about. He never goes in search to find out why this stereotype exists, nor tries to disprove them. Instead he uses the ideas to plaster his face on youtube and crack a few jokes at the expense of another culture.
jonnyWell, I'm a westerner - and my impression of middle eastern culture is a) it's not all one culture, and b) some of it incredibly ancient and wonderful and some of it is not. I would argue that your impression of westerners demonstrates my point, except that you weren't addressing my point. Namely, the romanticism talked about in the vid is typical of imperialism and colonialism, not how members of one culture view "exotic" cultures in general. How did the Japanese view Chinese culture during their imperial period?
raven*waronterror
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