Edward Said On Orientalism: "The Orient" Represented in Mass Media

Edward Said On Orientalism: "The Orient" Represented in Mass Media

1998 · 40 min · Documentary

Edward Said's book Orientalism has been profoundly influential in a diverse range of disciplines since its publication in 1978. In this engaging and lavishly illustrated interview he talks about the context within which the book was conceived, its main themes, and how its original thesis relates to the contemporary understanding of "the Orient" as represented in the mass media. "That's the power of the discourse of Orientalism. If you're thinking about people and Islam, and about that part of the world, those are the words you constantly have to use. To think past it, to go beyond it, not to use it, is virtually impossible, because there is no knowledge that isn't codified in this way about that part of the world." -Edward Said

Directed by Sut Jhally

Your Rating

Cast

More from Sut JhallySee all →

Atrocity Inc.Atrocity Inc. · 2024
Atrocity Inc.
10.02024
MovieDocumentaryWar
In an exclusive new documentary, Max Blumenthal rips the cover off the media deceptions and atrocity hoaxes Israel pushed after October 7 to create political space for its gruesome assault on the Gaza Strip. Blumenthal exposes the US mainstream media's role as a megaphone for the Israeli government, introducing new lies even after their initial ones were debunked. Atrocity Inc raises serious questions about the official narrative of October 7, while revealing how Israel's army has consciously engaged in the same hideous atrocities which it falsely accused Palestinian militants of committing.
The Occupation of the American MindThe Occupation of the American Mind · 2016
The Occupation of the American Mind
8.42016
MovieDocumentary
Over the past few years, Israel's ongoing military occupation of Palestinian territory and repeated invasions of the Gaza strip have triggered a fierce backlash against Israeli policies virtually everywhere in the world—except the United States. This documentary takes an eye-opening look at this critical exception, zeroing in on pro-Israel public relations efforts within the U.S.
Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American EmpireHijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire · 2004
Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire
7.02004
MovieDocumentary
This documentary places the Bush Administration's original justifications for war in Iraq within the larger context of a two-decade struggle by neo-conservatives to dramatically increase military spending while projecting American power and influence globally by means of force.
Capitalism Hits the FanCapitalism Hits the Fan · 2009
Capitalism Hits the Fan
7.02009
MovieDocumentary
With breathtaking clarity, renowned University of Massachusetts Economics Professor Richard Wolff breaks down the root causes of today's economic crisis, showing how it was decades in the making and in fact reflects seismic failures within the structures of American-style capitalism itself. Wolff traces the source of the economic crisis to the 1970s, when wages began to stagnate and American workers were forced into a dysfunctional spiral of borrowing and debt that ultimately exploded in the mortgage meltdown. By placing the crisis within this larger historical and systemic frame, Wolff argues convincingly that the proposed government "bailouts," stimulus packages, and calls for increased market regulation will not be enough to address the real causes of the crisis, in the end suggesting that far more fundamental change will be necessary to avoid future catastrophes.
Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image Of WomenKilling Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image Of Women · 2010
Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising's Image Of Women
6.72010
MovieDocumentary
The documentary focuses on images of women in advertising, in particular on gender stereotypes, the effects of advertising on women's self-image and the objectification of women's bodies.
Peace, Propaganda & the Promised LandPeace, Propaganda & the Promised Land · 2004
Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land
6.62004
MovieDocumentary
This video shows how the foreign policy interests of American political elites-working in combination with Israeli public relations stratgies-influence US news reporting about the Middle East conflict. Combining American and British TV news clips with observations of analysts, journalists and political activists, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a brief historical overview, a striking media comparison, and an examination of factors that have distorted U.S. media coverage and, in turn, American public opinion.
No LogoNo Logo · 2003
No Logo
6.42003
MovieDocumentary
There's a bad mood rising against the corporate brands. No Logo is the warning on the label. In the last decade, No Logo has become a cultural manifesto for the critics of unfettered capitalism worldwide. As the world faces a second economic depression, No Logo's analysis of our corporate and branded world is as timely and powerful as ever. Equal parts cultural analysis, political manifesto, mall-rat memoir, and journalistic exposé, No Logo is the first book to put the new resistance into pop-historical and clear economic perspective. It tells a story of rebellion and self-determination in the face of our new branded world.
Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising's Image of WomenKilling Us Softly 3: Advertising's Image of Women · 2000
Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising's Image of Women
6.22000
MovieDocumentary
Jean Kilbourne's pioneering work helped develop and popularize the study of gender representation in advertising. Her award-winning Killing us Softly films have influenced millions of college and high school students across two generations and on an international scale. In this important new film, Kilbourne reviews if and how the image of women in advertising has changed over the last 20 years. With wit and warmth, Kilbourne uses over 160 ads and TV commercials to critique advertising's image of women. By fostering creative and productive dialogue, she invites viewers to look at familiar images in a new way, that moves and empowers them to take action.
Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a PeopleReel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People · 2006
Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People
6.12006
MovieDocumentary
This documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged form the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. The film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs--from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding "terrorists"--along the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypic images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today.
Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFLBehind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL · 2022
Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL
2022
MovieDocumentary
Celebrated author and Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin tackles the myth that the NFL was somehow free of politics before Colin Kaepernick and other Black NFL players took a knee.
Consumerism & the Limits to ImaginationConsumerism & the Limits to Imagination · 2014
Consumerism & the Limits to Imagination
2014
MovieDocumentary
Consumer capitalism dominates our economy, our politics, and our culture, even though a growing body of research suggests it may be well past its sell-by date. In this illustrated presentation based on his latest critically acclaimed book, media scholar Justin Lewis makes a compelling case that consumer capitalism can no longer deliver on its promise of enhancing quality of life, and argues that changing direction will require changing our media system and our cultural environment. After showing how consumer capitalism has become economically and environmentally unsustainable, Lewis explores how our cultural and information industries make it difficult to envision other forms of human progress by limiting critical thinking and keeping us locked in a cycle of consumption. And he argues that change will only be possible if we take culture seriously and transform the very way we organize our media and communications systems.
Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop MusicMoney for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music · 2001
Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music
2001
MovieDocumentaryMusic
The hallmarks of popular music - artist independence and diversity of voices - are threatened by a contracting marketplace of record companies, radio ownership and playlists, as well as increased use in advertising. Big-name artists, historians and economists explain how popular music is produced and marketed and critique its current state.
Flirting with Danger: Power & Choice in Heterosexual RelationshipsFlirting with Danger: Power & Choice in Heterosexual Relationships · 2012
Flirting with Danger: Power & Choice in Heterosexual Relationships
2012
Movie
Social and developmental psychologist and author Lynn Phillips explores the line between consent and coercion in this thought-provoking look at popular culture and the ways real girls and women navigate their heterosexual relationships and hookups.
This Land Is Our LandThis Land Is Our Land · 2010
This Land Is Our Land
2010
MovieDocumentary
For more than three decades, transnational corporations have been busy buying up what used to be known as the commons -- everything from our forests and our oceans to our broadcast airwaves and our most important intellectual and cultural works. In This Land is Our Land, acclaimed author David Bollier, a leading figure in the global movement to reclaim the commons, bucks the rising tide of anti-government extremism and free market ideology to show how commercial interests are undermining our collective interests. Placing the commons squarely within the American tradition of community engagement and the free exchange of ideas and information, Bollier shows how a bold new international movement steeped in democratic principles is trying to reclaim our common wealth by modeling practical alternatives to the restrictive monopoly powers of corporate elites.
GuylandGuyland · 2015
Guyland
2015
MovieDocumentary
In this powerful new film based on his bestselling book, sociologist Michael Kimmel maps the troubling social world where boys become men -- a new stage of development he calls "Guyland." Arguing that the traditional adult signposts and cultural signals that once helped boys navigate their way to manhood are no longer clear, Kimmel provides an astonishing glimpse into a world where more and more young men are trying desperately to prove their masculinity to other young men -- with frequently disastrous consequences for young women and other young men. Guyland offers a way for all of us -- parents, young men and women, community members, and professors and administrators -- to envision new ways to support young men as they navigate this often perilous world.
Edward Said: The Myth of "The Clash of Civilizations”Edward Said: The Myth of "The Clash of Civilizations” · 1998
Edward Said: The Myth of "The Clash of Civilizations”
1998
Movie
In this important lecture delivered at the University of Massachusetts, Edward Said takes aim at one of the central tenets of recent foreign policy thinking -- that conflicts between different and "clashing civilizations" (Western, Islamic, Confucian) characterize the contemporary world. "The real question is whether in the end we want to work for civilizations that are separate, or whether we should be taking the more integrative, but perhaps more difficult path, which is to see them as making one vast whole, whose exact contours are impossible for any person to grasp, but whose certain existence we can intuit and feel and study." - Edward Said

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter