The Girl with No Shadow

[Omnirizon]

i didn't make value judgments, just stated that it is. The problem with Orientalism is that everyone and everything is to some degree Orientalist (and Edward Said got this position of authority where he got to claim what was good Orientalism and bad Orientalism).

It probably wouldn't take much argument for most people to reasonably agree that something like Bogarus could be classified as Orientalism; nobody really thinks of it that way though because Russia was never really colonized.

A primary application of Orientalism today is cultural education. Young children in Western schools don't make paper mache Coats of Arms as a part of learning European history, but they might make Native American headresses by gluing together a bunch of feathers and cardboard as a part of cultural education on Native Americans. What if Cub Scouts were based on Mexican heritage and the scouts regularly wore ten gallon hats and danced to mariachi music as part of honoring Mexican culture? It would seem a little silly.

[chrispedersen]

Originally Posted by Omnirizon

i didn't make value judgments, just stated that it is.

But even claiming that it *is* orientalist demonstrates a value judgement. Its as if you had sneered.. oh its just another ill informed occidental book.

We agree that young children today might make indian headdresses. Just as they have thanksgiving pagents, european cultural exchanges, and diversity encouraged in higher centers of learning such as Harvard.

We disagree on whether Orienalism is a valid criticism - aka whether it exists at all as Said posited it did; and if it exists whether indian headdresses are an example of it; and whether or not its a bad thing.

If you've ever watched Mexican TV: how often is the Yankii stereotyped as prototypical bad guy.

Exposure to and participation in other people's cultures is neither necessarily bad nor cultural hegemonism.

Quite the contrary: Part of the american experience is adoption of ideas, phrases, technology - the adoption of good ideas from whatever their source.