Abstract
This article provides a textual and visual analysis of Hirsi Ali and van Gogh’s controversial short film Submission (2004) and Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner (2007). Emphasis is placed on rhetorical and plot strategies, aimed at reinforcing unproductive Orientalist stereotypes of Islam and Muslims. The aim of this analysis is to find out how Muslims and Islam are presented in Submission and The Kite Runner, based on E. Said's (1978) work “Orientalism” and to identify Theo van Gogh's assassination, influenced public attitudes towards Muslims. The following means are used to reach the aim: to analyze the concept of Orientalism and stereotypes, connections with the media and the influence of popular culture on their expression; to find out the role of the Muslim minority in the process of constructing social reality (stereotypes); to analyze how Muslims and Islam are presented in the films Submission and The Kite Runner. Summarizing the analysis of the film Submission, it should be noted, that the main character is supposedly portrayed as being oppressed by Islamic culture, who lived in complete isolation, thus reinforcing the negative attitudes and stereotypes in society towards Muslims, especially women. However, the subject of Submission, feminism or the oppression of women was never the main subject of discussion, on the contrary, it was Islamic radicalism, extremism and terrorism. Meanwhile, after analyzing the film The Kite Runner, it should be noted, that the plot reveals stereotypes about Islam and Muslims that exist in both Western and Eastern societies. Oriental characters are portrayed in the film as much lower in morality and values than, for example, Westerners. The film’s episodes emphasize the fanatical consequences of both terrorism and Islamism, and the relationship between the main characters reflects the orientalist culture of Afghanistan.
Highlights
More than 30 years have passed since E
Discourse analysis and a comparative method are used to show the links between Orientalist imagination and film-based stereotypes in Western societies, or in other words, the links between Muslim representation in films and the evaluation of Muslims and Islam in society after Theo van Gogh’s assassination
The other main character, Assef, is portrayed as “inhumane”, “barbaric” and “foreign”. This creates a contrast, as his role embodies the opposite of liberal Western ideology. It can be said, that Western viewers find themselves in the framework of orientalist stereotypes
Summary
More than 30 years have passed since E. Said wrote the book “Orientalism”, in which the author completely deconstructed his approach to the Orient. His assumptions have provoked controversial debates that remain relevant today. Orientalism remains one of the most important concepts in post – colonial studies, which require detachment from the dominant Western approach to the Orient. An increasingly prominent new field of study, called neo-orientalism, where the dichotomy between the East and the West was prepared and transferred to the global system level. This dualism has been more or less influenced by increasing globalization. It is important to take a broader look at today’s expression of Orientalism, both in politics and in the media, and in social relations between different cultures
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