Western nations travel to other countries and become a part of that culture. When they leave the country which they originally colonised too there are noticeable impacts on the culture.
Study of interactions between European nations and the societies they colonised too.
An examination of the impact of the European conquest, colonisation and domination of Non-European lands peoples, and cultures.
An analysis of the inherent ideas of European superiority over Non-European peoples and cultures. For example Western culture portrays other cultures as less advanced. We even named most Eastern countries 'the third world', which defines them as being economically underdeveloped and ridden with famine and poverty. It gives Western countries a greater sense of power as it means that they're more dependent on us.
Others:
Something which isn't the same as us (European) must be different.
An analysis of the role of representation in installing and perpetuating such notions. The way in which the East was represented in the West.
Key Concepts:
- Representation
- Identity
- History
History- constantly changing and evolving
Identity- when in another culture people tend to lose their identity/their identity is less important within a different culture compared to their own
Representation- we perceive other cultures differently to our own
Edward Said:
1935-2003
1948 Israeli troops capture Jerusalum
Flees to family to Cairo
Move to USA
The orient was seen as bizarre and strange as it was out of the norm.
The West understands the East from what Western culture has written about it, so therefore nothing which we read is necessarily accurate as it has been written from a biased point of view and the way in which someone wants to perceive it not how it actually is.
The West understands the East from what Western culture has written about it, so therefore nothing which we read is necessarily accurate as it has been written from a biased point of view and the way in which someone wants to perceive it not how it actually is.
Orientalist Pastiche:
Orientalist- Eastern countries are represented in the way Western society see's them, for example in a majority of paintings they're wearing bright and exotic clothing. This is a typical portrayal of their culture as we see them as 'The Others' we believe that everything must differentiate to our own culture.
Orientalist- Eastern countries are represented in the way Western society see's them, for example in a majority of paintings they're wearing bright and exotic clothing. This is a typical portrayal of their culture as we see them as 'The Others' we believe that everything must differentiate to our own culture.
Pastiche- A portrayal of something which already exists. For example the modern interpretation of the film Romeo and Juliet is an example of a pastiche as the the story already exists and it stills follows the same generic conventions such as the language used, the basic storyline and the characters, however there is a modern twist put onto it.
Blade Runner
Despite the fact that a majority of the signs/iconography is oriental we're still unsure of where the film is set. The culture isn't clear.
During the film you can hear a mixture of languages being spoken including Hungarian, French, Chinese, German and Japanese.
It's set in a Western city which is allowing Eastern cultures in, however Western culture is still dominant.
Post-colonial theory
Plundered:
What we take/choose/select from other cultures (music videos)
Agency:
The ability/freedom to self-represent
Hybrid culture:
Where as a pastiche lacks respect for the original culture a hybrid culture does respect it. A hybrid culture is a mix of different cultures for example Latin American which is a mix of Spanish, African and indigenous.
(http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080911063301AABlSQ1)
My Response:
Even within fantasy video games the characters are represented in the way in which Western culture perceives Eastern culture to be. So the visual interpretation isn't accurate but still encourages us to believe that the way that the East has been represented is true to the real world. This image is from the Prince of Persia (game) and is a prime example of orientalism, the character is wearing what Western society would consider to be very Eastern. For example he is topless and the clothing which he is wearing doesn't look very durable, this could imply that we assume Persian culture is undeveloped, as a majority of English/American characters in hard hitting games are usually suited up with a lot of armor (e.g. Gears of War). The weapon which the prince is holding could suggest that our culture perceives the East to be less advanced as a majority of games nowadays equip the main character with a gun of some kind. The player is unable to equip a gun at any point in the game.
This isn't just seen in video games like the Prince of Persia where the character's wear scarf's and flowing bright coloured clothing, it's also seen in art and literature. For example in this painting:
During the film you can hear a mixture of languages being spoken including Hungarian, French, Chinese, German and Japanese.
It's set in a Western city which is allowing Eastern cultures in, however Western culture is still dominant.
Post-colonial theory
Plundered:
What we take/choose/select from other cultures (music videos)
Agency:
The ability/freedom to self-represent
Hybrid culture:
Where as a pastiche lacks respect for the original culture a hybrid culture does respect it. A hybrid culture is a mix of different cultures for example Latin American which is a mix of Spanish, African and indigenous.
(http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080911063301AABlSQ1)
My Response:
Even within fantasy video games the characters are represented in the way in which Western culture perceives Eastern culture to be. So the visual interpretation isn't accurate but still encourages us to believe that the way that the East has been represented is true to the real world. This image is from the Prince of Persia (game) and is a prime example of orientalism, the character is wearing what Western society would consider to be very Eastern. For example he is topless and the clothing which he is wearing doesn't look very durable, this could imply that we assume Persian culture is undeveloped, as a majority of English/American characters in hard hitting games are usually suited up with a lot of armor (e.g. Gears of War). The weapon which the prince is holding could suggest that our culture perceives the East to be less advanced as a majority of games nowadays equip the main character with a gun of some kind. The player is unable to equip a gun at any point in the game.
Both of the men are wearing headscarf's, robes and bright colours. Although this is a Western representation it could also be argued that their attire is also a part of their culture/religion. In this painting they have been represented in a relatively negative light as they're trading in weaponry which suggests that Eastern culture either has high crime rates, is violent or that they're very relaxed about crime.
I think that most of the imagery used in Eastern based games are what Western culture perceives as typical to that culture however it is used to such a great extent that we have become desensitised to it, it has become the norm. Also the East isn't just represented as brutal and barbaric place, it's just that we take all the negative portrayals of the culture and use them to make our own look more positive. The fact that we don't go deeper into the culture means that we don't see a realistic view of it but merely scratch the surface.
