The term Orientalism is subject to a lot of whole hearted debate as to whether the West has indeed distorted the world’s understanding of the Eastern world as Edward Said would say, or is what is depicted in Western media an actual version of the truth. If so then the East is an uncultured land, rife with oppression of women and bordering on the barbaric, not to mention that it is a constant threat to the Western populace. If this understanding is untrue then, it can be surmised that the Western world has indeed played a devious hand in a bid to obtain mastery over a people and a culture that they have no full conception of. The middle ground to these radical views becomes whether there might be a bit of truth in each aspersion, or maybe it could just be a big misunderstanding brought on by the clash of different civilizations, cultures and histories. Given the wide variance between all these views, the purpose of this paper tries to question the versions of truth behind popular orientalist media and the nature of the lie that has been perpetuated over time about the Orient.
From the three interdependent ways in which Said defines Orientalism, it is the one about it being an institution used by the Western world in “dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient” (Edward W. Said Orientalism that has stirred much debate. The idea of the Western world trying to control the Orient by institutionalizing ideas and characteristics that are demean the Orient, may seem farfetched to some but there is something to be said in that many portrayals of the Orient or Arabic world are negative. Granted, the Orient itself is does have laws and practices that would invite criticism such as in regards to the rights of women.
To understand the nature of the lie of Orientalism, one needs to look at it historically when Western scholars were reaching out and discovering the Eastern world. Early understanding of the Orient can be seen depicted in the paintings of 18th and 19th century artists such as the popular image of the harem as a reflection of the backward, opulent and libidinous nature of the Orient. Even literature such as 1001 Arabian Nights associated a certain view of the patriarchal Arabic male were you have an unreasonably harsh king, Shahryar, who goes on a rampage of marrying virgins and killing them the next day because he has discovered the infidelity of his wife. Other distorted images of the orient were encouraged by the accounts of western travelers to the East whose accounts were made the basis of a lot of historical and social thinking in the West. It is only now that these accounts are being questioned that the historians are looking to sources other than these travelers.
Not all accounts of European travelers to the Orient were bad however, as signified by the accounts of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, an ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor at the Sublime Porte. Busbecq desired to bring about reform in his homelands so to do so, tried to show how improvement could be brought about by taking a leaf out of the Ottoman Empire’s governance. In his letters he marveled about the Ottoman military supremacy and how its success was based on discipline, and merit as opposed to power being in line with aristocracy. This admission of competency within the Orient was important in showing that there was more to the Eastern world than what popular media suggested. (C. T. Forster and F. H. B. Daniel, eds)
Over time, modern society has become more enlightened as regards the Orient and it is now more common to find different sources that report both the good and the bad about the oriental cultures. Even then, some sources continue to perpetuate notions of an untrustworthy, harsh and violent Orient. A movie such as “Not without my daughter”, which describes the true story of the escape of American citizen, Betty Mahmoody, from her husband in Iran, seems to encourage this viewpoint. In the movie, Moody lies to his wife Betty about the duration of their trip to Iran, and only when they are in Iran does he reveal his true nature, turning into this unreasonable, domineering tyrant who would deprive Betty of her daughter (Not Without My Daughter (1991). It bears saying that the recounting of these events is done from Betty’s perspective, whose story might be biased by the active role she played as well as the fact that being an American, she could not have fully understood the Iranian culture. Neither Iranians as human beings nor Islam as their religion is well represented. Rather, the movie seems to make an association between the religion and the brutal and uncivilized behavior of the movie characters. Such is the nature of portrayals of the Orient which support Said’s claims of institutionalization of the Orient.
To look at it from the other side of the point, one has to admit that there are practices and laws that are common place in some countries in the Orient, that make it difficult for to understand or even accept from a Western perspective. To pick up from Betty Mahmoody’s story, regardless of how far the truth is exaggerated or even if the film misrepresented Iran, the fact remains that legally, Betty was bound to Iran against her will and could not leave with or without her daughter, unless she had her husband’s permission. Although this law is not upheld in all countries in the Orient, it is an example of restrictive practices that undermine and intrude on the women’s rights to not only movement but free choice.
The Orient has been subject to numerous misconceptions and theories of understanding over time. The nature of the lie greatly lies in a Western driven misconstruing of the Orient thereby formulating its own version of characteristics that the Orient supposedly upholds. Relations of the Western world with the Orient have not always been the best, therefore any reflections of the Orient from the Western perspective are not be taken as law. In the same manner, the Orient is not totally innocent of customs and behavior that is unacceptable to Western ideals. Because there are two sides to any account, truth cannot be deduced to favor either the Western or Oriental perspectives. Rather it is my opinion that there is much yet to be learned about the Orient and in the process clashes of opinion and understanding are bound to abound. In this case, it is the duty of a worthy historian to seek and question truth then depict it in all objectivity.
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