In the span of time between 1798 and 1801, Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for the “Orient” initiate the French Campaign of Egypt and Syria for improving French trade and scientific progression. In the conquest of Egypt, Bonaparte demanded his scholars to formulate a survey analysis of every conceivable aspect for enhancement of European knowledge regarding the “Orient” (Said, as quoted in Jhally 1998). Thus Bonaparte’s array of studies constituted the concept of “Orientalism” under which the diverse societies of the East would forever bound to be a homogenous, stagnant and static society. The term “Orientalism” is often defined in two manners: “The study of ‘oriental’ societies by Europeans (Vandergeest,2014, Lecture 19).” And “The way that Asia and people from Asia are systematically stereotyped (Vandergeest, 2014, Lecture 19) .” Contemporary media spectra display “Orientalism” on a daily basis for a mostly “Western” audience “whereby ‘... a dynamic First World contrasts itself with a static, timeless and unchanging Third World (Morgan and Pritchard:169, 242).’ (Echtner and Prasad, 2003, p.661)” Generally, media outlets for english speaking individuals are under American influence in which American “Orientalism”, a politically driven, indirect and abstract basis of the East, is presented. Showtime’s season 4 Homeland promotional poster is a phenomenal sample of modern-day usage of orientalist ideologies. The poster consists of a group of burqa clad women and a sole an anglo-saxon woman draped in a bright red head scarf amidst them. The title of the show, Homeland, is presented in bold, bright, capitalized, red font at the top centre of the poster in which the ‘e’ is facing backwards. The role of American “Orientalism” in contemporary media outlets such as Homeland predefines and reiterates the role of Eastern civilization as heinous, ignorant, segregated and oppressed society.
The variety of television series in the United States extend from comedy to crime nevertheless, the persistence of racial, ethnic and religious undertone is frequent. Homeland is no exception to the profusion of intolerance that plagues the media spectra with its unique instillation of current political perspectives. Its poster exhibits women covered with dark grey burqas, a cloth that covers a person from head to toe, whereas the female, anglo-saxon, protagonist named Carrie wears a bright red head scarf halfway across her head in which modest quantity of hair is visible. Firstly, this presents a matter of identity to which Carrie is given but her fellow dwellers are deprived of forcing the retraction of the sensual mysteriousness of “Orient” women. It also juxtapositions the factors of freedom and oppression through the burqas symbolic emphasis of religious restriction and uniformity which completely contradicts the modernity of Western livelihood. Another interpretation is the poster’s reenactment of Little Red Riding Hood surrounded by the darkness and unpredictability of the forest and wolves due to Carrie’s facial expression. This stresses the ideology of oriental people as immoral as well as savage characters. “…Arabs almost always play the role of a terrorist, violent people and irrationals and so forth (Said, as quoted in Jhally 1998).” Irrationality is expressed through the zombie-like dawdling of the burqa clad women and on the other hand, Carrie who appears to be considerably resistant. An additional oriental aspect is the backward letter “E” in the title which is symbolically engenders the revisiting of the literal backwardness of the East as presented in oriental theory. Overall, the poster emphasizes the superiority of the Western World through the adjacent placement of ‘Orient’ women and a Western woman (Echtner and Prasad, 2003, p.667).
The “East” is often categorized as weak, helpless, and homogenous yet currently considered a demonic and despotic society. Complications that are common and featured on the Homeland promotional poster comprise of cultural misrepresentation, and the division of the public sphere. Though the bulk of season 4 was set in Pakistan, the poster only innovates the Afghan burqa rather than the Pakistani khamez and shalwar. Even so, the Afghani burqa is traditionally blue rather than black which is a Saudi tradition. An additional issues arose from the depiction of orientals their homogenous character; the women were all in burqas of similar colour and size. “…quoting Lane on the Egyptians and on the theory that orientals are all the same no matter where you find them whether it is in India, or Syria, or Egypt, it is basically the same essence (Said, as quoted in Jhally 1998).”This quote suggests that the concept of “Orientalism” remains completely oblivious to the existence of diversity which the poster further reiterates. Based on the image of the poster, there is no male presence in the mass of women, thus indicating a gender division in the public sphere. This approaches the less prejudiced factors of orientalist: “tradition and religious restriction (Vandergeest, 2014, Lecture 20).” The indicated factors do place restraints on the activities of both on matters such as fornication, and the consumption of alcohol and pork but are distorted to justify American imperialism in the East (Said, as quoted in Jhally 1998). By hyperbolizing the aforementioned restrictions, the Western audience is more bound to suppress interest in oriental livelihood.
The universal belief that oriental images of the East appeal to a broader spectrum of consumers as well as correctly represent the cultures of the East is a common misconception. It not only provokes xenophobia but incorporates it into regularly absorbed forms of popular culture.With the illustration of the Homeland poster, it is possible to revise it yet serve its original purpose while avoiding the act of generating stereotypes. The first aspect of change would be applied to the diversification of the crowd surrounding Carrie by means clothing them in their traditional attire, incorporating men into the image and giving the other characters an identity. The heterogeneity of the crowd would absolutely eliminate the factors of homogeneity and oppression alongside the implementation of a realistic representation of the East.
In conclusion, the role of American “Orientalism” in contemporary media outlets such as Homeland predefines and reiterates the role of Eastern civilization as heinous, ignorant, segregated and oppressed society. Most of the audience who view Homeland, failed to notice the indisputable distortion of Eastern cultures and traditional on the promotional poster signify prevalent lack of awareness. With a growing number of xenophobic media outlet towards Arabs and Southeast Asians, American imperialism is fast approaching its peak.To successfully eradicate oriental misconception, hasty generalization of a nation, race or ethnic group should minimized in mass media. Thus the latter along with the correct depiction of Eastern cultures, the concept of “Orientalism” will be resolved.
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