Orientalism and Its Significance
Orientalism is a perspective that emphasizes, highlights, exaggerates, and alters the differences between Arab people and their views and those of the United States of America and Europe. It frequently includes thinking of Arab culture as peculiar, reclusive, segregated, and occasionally very risky. Orientalism dates back to the period of Arab colonialism and European enlightenment. Early Orientalism can be seen in European paintings and photos, as well as in American photographs that are kept in museums. Orientalism is still present in how Americans and Europeans treat Arabs today. For example, the Arabs visit Europe or America where they undergo thorough security checkup at the airports because they are perceived to be very dangerous. This piece of work will give a critique on how Orientalism is shown in the video provided for this assignment. Orientalism in this video can be seen in the way the Arab man in the video is dressed up, in the act of blowing himself in a car and the fact that he is walking alone.
Dressing Style of the Arab man
In the video provided by VW AD (2013), the Arab man is dressed up in clothes which are only alleged to be worn by Arab people only. He has wrapped around his neck with a sheet or cloth that only the Arabs wears, also, the man is in dark glasses implying he is trying to hide his face from the public. It is a rare occasion to find a European or an American wrapping such as sheet around his or her neck or wearing dark glasses unless it is a ravishing summer day. European and Americans perceive such clothing styles as outdated and uncivilized, however, on the other hand, the Arabs always oppose this idea by maintaining their way of dressing even if they visit the western countries. Therefore the Arabs dressing styles shows how the western people are racist against the Arabs.
The Way Middle Eastern Females Dress
The way the Middle Eastern females wear as compared to the western women reveals orientalism in the perspective of Europeans. The Arab ladies wear long dresses and they always cover their whole body including their heads leaving just a small space for the eyes. This culture is observed by all Arab females regardless of their ages whereby a small female Arab is brought up been educated that this kind of dressing is only ethical and acceptable to God. On the hand, the western female dressing styles are very flexible, and it is mostly determined by the current fashion and age. Young western ladies, especially at the teenage stage, are allowed to choose the clothes to wear, and in most cases, they do their cloth shopping alone in the absence of their parents. This scenario has seen the right to choose the dressing style been violated by wearing very indecently. The western females can wear trousers and shorts while such a dressing style in the Arabian countries is an offensive and can lead to disowning of a lady by her family members. Middle aged and old western women have their way of dressing which is very different the eastern women way of dressing. However, this manner of dressing by the people from the Arabic countries is associated with terrorism, evil deeds and barbarism as portrayed in the video.
Lack of Recognition in Clothing Line Companies
Most famous clothing line companies in the world are founded and based in America and Europe, but the disturbing observation is that no single company out of those manufactures or trades Arabian clothes. This situation clearly shows that the western people perceive the Arabs culture and dressing styles as backward and not valuable. The major United States of America shoe companies, for example, Nike, Inc. does not recognize Arab countries as their main market rather the company trade mostly internally and in Europe.
The Arab Man is Walking Alone
The point that the Arab man in this video by VW AD (2013) is walking alone proves the presence of orientalism as it portrays antisocial and preparedness to commit an offence. The region the video is recorded must be somewhere in America of Europe because some white men can be seen seated chatting but having no attention to the Arab man. This scenario shows that Americans and Europeans view the Arab people as dangerous and unfriendly hence they avoid socializing with them. Even in a situation where an Arab person needs help, it may be difficult for an American or a Europeans to help such a person because Arabs are thought to be harmful, and they can use such a situation to harm the western people.
Orientalism in Schools, Universities, and Workplaces
In the contemporary society, there is the presence of Orientalism in schools, university and working places. When an Arab person goes for studies in the West, he or she is isolated from others, and most of the time he or she will be alone. The young Americans and Europeans grow up knowing Arabs are dangerous and unfriendly therefore socializing with them would cause harm. Such isolation is also present in working places whereby if an Arab is posted the same working office with an American or a European, the Arab will receive less attention, and he or she will spend most the time alone.
The Act of Blowing Himself Proves Orientalism
The Arab man in the video by VW AD (2013) blows himself with a boom, though it fails to kill the people he had targeted, this shows clearly that the man is dangerous and he is a killer. This situation proves the American and the Europeans right in their perception that Arab people are dangerous and they can kill people anytime. Even the title of this video proofs that the Arabs are harmful. Currently, many terrorists’ attacks that happen in America and Europe are all claimed to have been done by Arab people. The Arab terrorist's group always communicate through the social media when terrorists’ attacks occur in western nations to take responsibility for the attacks. Such a communication shows the enmity of these two parts of the world because under normal circumstances no person will kill another and take responsibility for the actions immediately. America and Europe have been fighting terrorists from Arab nations, though the actions have borne fewer fruits, the western nations have been able to kill the terrorist’s masterminds like Osama Bin Laden.
Conclusion
Conclusively, from the video provided for this assignment, it is evident that Orientalism is present and the end of it is not probable. The Americans and the Europeans have continued to views the Arab people and the Arabian culture as inferior and backward. This view started a long time ago when the European nations colonized the Arabs nation and currently, it is still existing. Orientalism has demotivated socialization and commercial engagements between the west and the east and consequently encouraging war through terrorists’ attacks. This racism will end when these two parts of the world will consider themselves equal and when they will appreciate every culture in the world.
Work Cited
VW AD. "Terrorist Blows Himself Up in Car but Fails LOL Banned VW Ad." YouTube, VW AD, 29 July 2013, m.youtube.com/watch?v=xXzzmOZP_RI.
