Orientalism

Racism, prejudice and discrimination rely upon an “other” to act as scapegoat, a scapegoat that is mirrored against the dominant racist culture as inferior making the dominate culture appear superior. As Windschuttle maintains, “The construction of identity in every age and every society involves established opposites and ‘others.’ This happens because the development and maintenance of every culture require the existence of another different and competing alter ego,” (31). While art is often thought to be apolitical, such is seldom the case. In the writings of Edward Said, we see that literature is often one of the key mechanisms for defining an “other” in order to provide an aggrandized ethnocentrism to those formulating a culture or people that are different and inferior. As Whalen-Bridge maintains, Said’s analysis of Orientalism is fundamental in removing the façade of art to get at the political currents underneath, “In the scholarly discussion of Orientalism…Said’s writing is useful as a way of unmasking the imperial dimension of supposedly apolitical art,” (197). It is largely through the revisionist, even artful, construction of an “other” that racism, prejudice and discrimination are manifested in a culture and its peoples. An examination of Apocalypse Now, Flower Drum Song, and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life demonstrate how different cultures are often represented by a dominant c

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m Song portrays the struggles and difficulties of Chinese living in America in San Francisco. While we are privy to an Americanized Asian family, we still see they are surrounded by ignorance and prejudice with respect to their culture and being. In Culture and Imperialism, Said maintains that studying the relationship between the “West and its dominated cultural ‘others’ is not just a way of understanding an unequal relationship between unequal interlocutors, but also a point of entry into studying the formation and meaning of Western cultural practices themselves,” (191). We see in Flower Drum Song that one of these cultural practices is forced acculturation of “others” into American culture. If “other” cultures do not heed such coercion, they are often perceived as an enemy or against American values and ideals. This even impacts interactions between members of “others” culture. As Wang says to another Chinese American, “You’ve been going to U.S. citizenship classes for five years, and the only thing you can tell me is ‘this is not China’?!” (Koster 1961). We do see at one point in the film that the discourse turns American ethnocentrism and stereotyping on its head by putting such sentiments in the mouths of Chinese Am
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Introduction Racism, Captain Willard, Cradle Life, De Bont, Drum Song, Orientalist Kissinger, Apocalypse West, Middle East, Hell Chef, Japanese Americans, lara croft, drum song, flower drum song, flower drum, croft tomb raider, croft tomb, lara croft tomb, tomb raider, de bont, raider cradle, cradle life, de bont 2003, tomb raider cradle, coppola 1979, bont 2003,
Approximate Word count = 1902
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)