Whilst searching for media for this project, I couldn't help but notice the overwhelming number of Orientalist, and sometimes overtly racist, depictions of Muslims and the Arab world in general. Take these two cartoons. Not only are Arabs and Muslims depicted as violent, barbaric people, but cartoons of this nature have largely gone unnoticed. The cartoons in large part center around depictions of Muslims as bearded, turban-wearing, and somewhat less-than-human, buffoons. In the first cartoon I've posted, members of the Hamas party are depicted as gray-bearded rats that need to be exterminated by Israel, while in the second, Muslims are depicted as barbaric, demented, and, to an extent, mentally challenged (the caption reads "Abdul always knew how to impress the ladies").It's also key to note that the cartoonist, like many others, has incorrectly depicted the stereotypical Muslim wearing a turban— barely any Muslim men wear a headpiece that looks like this, and yet it is possibly the most embedded symbol in Western depictions of Muslims. Furthermore, there is something very troublesome about mass media infantilizing a serious issue, like the Muslim world's anger with Dutch cartoonists depicting Mohammed, especially when it serves to propagate these types of representations. So, with that, here's a starting question for this post: Why don't we as a society take more issue with these representations?
You make an interesting point about the cartooning representation of Arabs. Do you think that the Danish cartoons gave some sort of permission or perpetuate some ugly representations of Arabs? Or do you think that these were in place long before them? The first analysis of the cartoon of extermination is very good. It tries to make a different point (Hamas caught by Israel) but subliminally makes another (dirty rodents).
ReplyDeleteTo the heart of your questions, I think that perhaps it is what is noticeable and recognizable to people not from that culture; Said’s othering. We see turban and think Muslim, setting the cartoonist’s assumptions to move on to his argument in a quicker way. This does need to be question about why this image instead of others. I think that we put up with these because since we think they are the barbaric, we are allowed to make fun of them. Cartoonists and the audience do not make a fuss since they “deserve” to be lampooned due to their actions against Israel (society). While these media does not set the message, it reflects moral worth of people/groups.
One of the interesting things about political cartoons is the fact that they do stereotype. The "language" is that of the image, of conveying to the audience a subtext about a particular situation. The mousetrap plays on the fact that most people have had to deal with a pest problem and that the only way to get rid of such a problem is through extermination.
ReplyDeleteThe second cartoon also plays on stereotypes. As Jackie stated, "we see turban and think Muslim." I think this can be pushed further. Look at what the woman is wearing, the full clothing that is associated as repressive in Western cultures. The reactionary view of Muslims/Islam is further elaborated as the head is that of a cartoonist, thus expressing the lack of free speech in the Arab world.
While all of this is Othering, and most of it is accepted in the West, the creation of the Self is that defined against the Other. We know who we are because we are NOT the Other. In these cartoons, particularly the second one, we have free speech and are able to mock religion and politics. Now this is not to defend Orientalism or Othering but simply to suggest that there is a rationale behind our perceptions, even if it is a subjective, and at times derogatory, rationale.
Good point, but the purpose of Othering and Orientalism is not so we can define who we are, but rather to justify the oppression and subjugation of other groups, because THEY are not us, rather than the other way around. For Said, these processes are part of a larger colonialist project.
ReplyDeleteThis is not humour. This is a shame. You can't say anything that comes to your head. We are human. We must respect each other. You're bombing the people and want them to love you. Think about it.
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