Essay Sample on Orientalism in the Film and Books

Orientalism in "Hideous Kinky," "In Morocco" and "Morocco the Bizarre"

Introduction

The concept of Orientalism, as publicized by Edward Said, views the representation and nature of Western and Eastern cultures. These often present the East’s cultures as exotic, backward, uncivilized, or mysterious, thus again creating a binary of the West as rational and superior as opposed to an irrational and inferior East. This paper critically deals with the issues of surveillance, appropriation, aestheticization, eroticization, and affirmation, investigating their articulation in the film and book “Hideous Kinky,” Edith Wharton’s “In Morocco,” and George Edmund Holt’s “Morocco the Bizarre.” The above texts show how the Western eye interprets and transforms the Moroccan experience into a consumable narrative. This paper contends that these works, whether intentionally or not, further such orientations within the construction and continue to support the conceptual dominance of the West in representing Moroccan culture, further conforming to Said’s critique of Orientalism.

Understanding Orientalism

As per the theory coined by Edward Said, orientalism is the construction of how Western societies understand and describe Eastern cultures: usually exotic, backward, or mysterious. This is a direct result of European imperialism and colonialism, where the “understanding” of the East was driven by power and control over foreign territories. Orientalism facilitated the reduction of complex societies to mere stereotypes that were primarily simplistic, and literary, artistic, and scholarly works carry this exaggeration. It determined and governed the academic and cultural scene and established a false conception of the Orient.

As such, Orientalism, therefore, becomes the epicenter of narration and visual representation by which Morocco and its people take shape in “Hideous Kinky,” “In Morocco,” and “Morocco the Bizarre.” In this manner, the texts, through their narrative choices and imagery, construct a Morocco formed out of Western fantasies of the mystical, primitive East (“Hideous Kinky”). This is not a mirror reflection in such a position but an act of creation that guides audience perception by positing a created “other” that is now and must always be separate from Western norms. They show Western narratives’ deep-seated prejudices and how they shape storytelling and cross-cultural understanding.

Surveillance in Orientalist Context

In “Hideous Kinky,” surveillance seems to serve as a way of dominating subtly and overtly, sketching out the power relations between the Western protagonist and the Moroccan location. Unfolding the scenes attesting to this fact, the story exposes that Julia, the central figure, hardly ever gets by the eyes of the locals who watch her with curiosity and observation. Thus, the gaze emphasizes this outsider status and draws attention to actions and behaviors constantly under surveillance in front of the Moroccan backdrop of social norms. This ranges from the market scenes of attention drawn to Julia and her daughters as singled out, thus magnified by their otherness, to more intimate settings in which Julia’s encounters with Moroccan men, for instance, with Bilal, are under scrutiny from his community and hers.

Moreover, surveillance is represented in how the exotic in the story is framed for the Western gaze. The experiences of Julia in Morocco are watched and read against the exotic nature of the local customs and lifestyle, which is construed as backwardness (“Hideous Kinky”). This is evidenced in scenes showing Moroccan rituals and the local bazaar, wherein the eyes of the camera function as a proxy for the Western audience, dissecting and presenting Moroccan culture as a spectacle to be observed and evaluated. It shows the scenes of Bilal trying to teach her Arabic or when they visit the spiritual leaders: it subtly underscores the sense in which such “exotic” experiences are enjoyed voyeuristically, reinforcing stereotypes produced by Orientalism.

The significance of such surveillance in an Orientalist context is to underline the unequal power dynamic between observer and observer. As Edward Said writes, “The Orient was watched since its strangeness would appear more easily under European surveillance” (“Orientalism,” 40). Both “Hideous Kinky” and works such as “In Morocco” reproduce a power imbalance by continuously characterizing the Eastern through the Western surveilling gaze. As the culture is objectified, a narrative emerges that Eastern society is so beyond help that they need the West’s careful eye and intervention.

Appropriation of Culture and Identity

One of the best examples of hyperbolic cultural appropriation can be seen in “Hideous Kinky,” in which the heroine of the movie, Julia, appropriates Moroccan cultural practices and attire. A Western woman, Julia only skin-deeply immerses herself in the local culture by wearing Moroccan clothes and engaging in local customs, not with genuine respect for understanding but rather for her quest for identity and spiritual fulfillment (Holt 43). The same can be said of the larger narrative in Orientalist discourses, where Eastern practices are appropriated and re-contextualized within Western frameworks, with their meaning and significance mainly getting lost. Cultural appropriation occurs when Julia wears the hijab as an exotic accent to her bohemian lifestyle instead of as something religious or cultural.

Similarly, in Edith Wharton’s “In Morocco,” one also gets a sense of conquest and possession in her descriptions of Moroccan palaces, landscapes, and souks. For Wharton, these were merely elements in an aesthetic object, something to be admired and consumed by the Western eye, not part of a living, breathing culture with its history and significance. The story is, thus, a device through which Wharton can advertise her trip through Morocco as a series of exotic experiences and position herself as a high-brow observer and collector of Moroccan culture. This reflects a common practice in Orientalist literature, constructing the East as a tapestry of rich decor and little agency, always ready to be appropriated by Western narratives.

Cultural appropriation in these texts is part of the exotic decoration and a move to establish Western superiority over “otherness” in the East. As Said explicates, “The relationship between Occident and Orient is a relationship of power, of dominance, of varying degrees of a complex hegemony” (“Orientalism,” 5). This is sharply outlined when Western characters interact with the environment and practices of the East, which puts their interests and advantages into perspective. Indeed, the Eastern cultures remain passive landscapes waiting for the West to discover and redefine them, further propagating the Orientalist trope. Focusing on such interactions, the texts often criticize and inadvertently reinforce power imbalances at the heart of Orientalist thinking.

Aestheticization of the East

In the film “Hideous Kinky” and Edith Wharton’s “In Morocco,” Morocco is aesthetically depicted by exoticizing its landscapes, people, and general cultural practices, giving a vague idea of the East. “Hideous Kinky” cinematography frames Morocco as an almost mythical land. The winding streets, markets, marketplaces, and desert are all blanketed by cinematographic ability with an aura of enchantment and danger. This visual strategy heightens the appeal of the exotic but simultaneously removes the viewer from the reality of Moroccan life and makes it otherworldly (Wharton 23). A reality that is only available to the Western viewer. Wharton’s “In Morocco” descriptions similarly frame the country as a stunning tableau rather than being relevant to cultural or historical particulars. Her narrative tends to wallow in the sensual and visual pleasures of the Moroccan landscape and architecture, turning them into a spectacle for Western consumption.

The process of aestheticization wanted to serve two purposes: beautifying and simplifying complex societies into an easily consumable stereotype of Orientalism. These works evoke the exotic and picturesque that were made part of the Moroccan people but strip away the nuances and everyday realities of the Moroccans, rendering them part of the scenery rather than agents of their rights. It adds to the general narrative because it looks at Eastern cultures only through the eyes of Western fantasy, where the East is frozen in time and perennially fixed, rather than as part of a vibrant society with its set of modern challenges and attainments. Such portrayals reinforce an exoticism view of Eastern cultures that prioritizes aesthetic enjoyment over-involvement and representation.

The Eroticization of the East

In “Hideous Kinky,” the East is eroticized in the depiction of the encounters of the Western heroine, Julia, with the landscape and the people of Morocco, most notably her romantic involvement with a Moroccan acrobat, Bilal. Exoticism weaves the basis of this relationship – from the active markets to the silent and undiscovered corners, the sensual atmosphere of Morocco is underlined – by the descriptions of the physical space around and between them, Bilal becomes a romantic element, the embodiment of the mystical, and sensual Orient, which Julia wants to discover and feel. Even Moroccan customs and festivities are described as boldly physical and intensely sensual, reinforcing the sense that the East is sexy.

Through these, the movie builds up the courtship and mystery of the Western viewer around the Moroccan culture under the heavily tinted Orientalist fantasy light. All this does is romanticize and simplify cultural practices into nothing more but a backdrop for Western fantasies. Scenes like Bilal and Julia talking about their precious lives in that gloomy light or dance sequences that express passion eroticize and exoticize the surroundings and characters. Such representations further foster the distorted image of Eastern societies as the sensual and primitive Other of the rational and civilized West.

Thus, the pattern of eroticization is dual-edged—it is an enticement of the viewer to an attractive world of vision and emotion and, at the same time, an estrangement of the subjects by being emphasized in their otherness. As Edward Said presumes: “The Orient was almost a European invention and had been since antiquity a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable experiences” (“Orientalism,” 1). Western tales like “Hideous Kinky” focus on Eastern cultures’ sexuality, but they also create a cultural and sensual exoticism barrier that promotes Orientalist prejudices.

Affirmation of Orientalist Stereotypes

In both “Hideous Kinky” and other texts like “In Morocco,” the Eastern characters and landscapes reinforce most Western stereotypes given to the East. For example, in “Hideous Kinky,” the Moroccan landscape is represented as this vast, untamed space with chaotic markets and mystical deserts, thus pushing the stereotype that the Orient, as seen in the West, is mysterious and out of control (Wharton 31). Characters such as Bilal in “Hideous Kinky” or Julian Sands in “A Room with a View” are embodiments of the exotic: sensual, native, fascinating, and primitive in their ways. Such image constructions of the East affirm for the West a fantasy land, somewhere one could escape from modern civilization into a place of spirituality and easy exotica.

This thus results in deep affirmations of the authenticity and authority within the story. The texts authenticate this exoticized, highly romantic, and inaccurate imagining of Eastern settings and characters. This not only belittles the authority of the Eastern characters but places them solely as backdrops for the Western narratives, deforming the audience’s comprehension regarding these cultures. Therefore, audiences and readers may even consider these exoticized images authentic, discrediting the complex reality of Eastern societies and consequently maintaining cultural misconceptions that hinder accurate cross-cultural understanding and respect.

Comparative Analysis

Though all of them represent different images of Orientalism, these texts have specific common themes that represent the views of authors and directors on the East. The personal change among the exoticized Moroccan landscapes is the dominant factor in “Hideous Kinky.” The themes of eroticization and aestheticization are portrayed through intimate relations and sensual landscapes. “In Morocco,” on the other hand, is more like a travelogue by Edith Wharton. Exotic and opulent descriptions of the landscape and Moroccan architecture display the serious indulgence in aestheticization and stereotype affirmation here, portraying Morocco as a timelessly, greatly unmodernized society. “We also get a sense of exoticizing within the culture of Morocco, which could be seen in George Edmund Holt’s ‘Morocco the Bizarre.’ However, even these follow the same general guideline of more anecdotal but affirmation, with more stress on the odd—well, that is in the title.

Holt’s and Wharton’s works bring out the vision of Morocco welcomed by the Western exotic Orientalist dream, from which Holt often injects a tone of amusement and novelty. At the same time, Wharton usually keeps a much more severe and sometimes even awed tone. The variation in the respective tones of their works underlines that each wrote from an Orient-based vision: Wharton was romantic, while Holt was amusedly curious. These depictions show that directors and authors explored Orientalist topics and showed their cultural and personal biases.

As Edward Said explains, “The Orient was created—or, as I call it, ‘Orientalized’—and the Occident accordingly defined itself by the scope and specialty of that Orientalizing” (“Orientalism,” 40). Although both engage with themes of orientalism, their focus and execution are different from molding the perception of the readers or viewers in line with the intended narrative or critique of the creator, be it a personal journey, a celebration of exoticism, or an exploration of cultural curiosity.

Cultural and Political Implications

The Orientalist themes in “Hideous Kinky,” “In Morocco,” and “Morocco the Bizarre” do not only reflect the cultural imaginations of these writers but also the more significant historical and contemporary concerns about colonialism and cultural interaction. These works draw from the times in which they were written to reiterate the colonial attitudes of the times they are set in. There is a reflection not only of fascination but also of patronization toward cultures of the East. Like colonial ideologies that portrayed Western powers as civilizers and benefactors of a stagnant and backward Orient, they romanticized and exoticized the East to defend Western hegemony and cultural supremacy.

Such texts can have a massive impact on cultural dialogue and political policies. Thus, they create impressions of the East and dictate how audiences, primarily Westerners, will view current events and international relations with Eastern countries. Stereotypes and oversimplified cultural representations can lead to policies based on misunderstanding rather than knowledge, perpetuating cultural imperialism and unequal power dynamics (Wharton 44). This can shape everything from foreign policy to attitudes about immigration, aid, and international cooperation, trapping the East in a cycle where it is not treated as an equal but as an exotic other that must be managed or saved. More responsible cultural representations will aim to break down prejudices rather than reinforce harmful stereotypes entrenched in Orientalism.

Critical Reception and Interpretation

Critical reception and critical interpretation of works such as “Hideous Kinky,” “In Morocco,” and “Morocco the Bizarre” have varied over the years due to the changes in academic and cultural attitudes towards the topic of Orientalism. Initially, these texts were often feted for their vivid portrayals and insightful glimpses into ‘exotic’ cultures, appreciated for their aesthetic and escapist values (Holt 36). But then came postcolonial criticism, and the likes of Edward Said began the uproar in criticism of such works, questioning their attitudes and preoccupation with Orientalist themes in general. Such a critical discourse has informed media understandings of Orientalism as the problematic reduction of complex cultures to stereotyped images and narratives. This changed pattern of reception has been instrumental in developing among the public an orientation of reception towards Orientalism that is not merely passive but is sensitive to the finer points and biased elements of cultural representation. Thus, the critical reception of these works sometimes serves as a litmus test for the balance between artistic expression and cultural sensitivity in portraying ‘other’ civilizations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Orientalist themes in “Hideous Kinky,” “In Morocco,” and “Morocco the Bizarre” are yet other examples in the long tradition of looking at the Other through an exotic and superior lens, that is, cultures in the East. Indeed, issues of aestheticization, eroticization, and cultural appropriation are raised in the works; through outdated stereotypes, they are reflexive of skewed power dynamics in the context of colonial attitudes. Such representations are not innocuous, as they go on to shape contemporary cultural dialogues and international perceptions, leading all too often to policies and attitudes that perpetuate the marginalization of Eastern societies. To read such texts with a clear sense of understanding of the issues involved will reveal an urgency for more balanced and correct cultural representations that are conducive to actual development in mutual intercultural relationships and respect, which at least move beyond the oversimplification and most often damaging narratives that have established Orientalist points of view.