Orientalism in Sex and the City 2 (Movie Review) - 1925 Words

Orientalism in Sex and the City 2 (Movie Review) (Movie Review Sample) Content: Orientalism in Sex and the City 2NameInstitutionOrientalism in Sex and the City 2IntroductionThe Sex and the City media franchise is largely renowned and is comprised of six television seasons and two films. In particular, the television series, throughout its course had been extensively acclaimed and applauded with respect to its brand-new and revolutionary attitude towards different societal aspects, addressing modern-day themes including feminineness, promiscuity, as well as sexuality, and at the same time delving into the complex perspective of both passionate and amicable relations. It was this major acclaim that propelled the creation of the first film, which also obtained considerable praise. However, the second film, Sex and the City 2, had an entirely novel societal issue come into play. For a considerable part of the scenes in the film, the main protagonists of the film, Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, all take an all-paid luxury trip to Abu Dhabi. What comes about from this subsequent portrayal within the film is a substantially orientalist and racist representation of the Middle East.In delineation, orientalism is a manner of perception that visualizes, accentuates, embellishes and misrepresents differences of Arab people and cultures in comparison to that of Europe and the United States. More often than not it encompasses perceiving the Arab culture as unusual, backward, uncivilized, and from time to time unsafe. It takes into account the recognition in the West of the basic difference between East and West as the origin and basis for extravagant philosophies, blockbusters, narratives, social portrayals, and political accounts with reference to the Orient, its societies, civilizations, and the like (Said, 2001). In accordance to Said (2001), the Orient is created and characterized as incessantly in need of rectifications and assistances from somewhere else and on account of being superior. With respect to advancement, belie fs and race, it is deemed that the West meets the requirements for that role. In addition, bearing in mind the Orient does not have the ability to depend on its own, to give its own remarks, to undertake essential improvements for itself, it has come to be an important aspect for the West to assist the Orient. Said makes the argument that this is the manner in which Orientalism offers the coherent basis for why the Orient ought to continue being under Western domination. On the basis of the orientalism presented by Said (2001) as well as on characteristic descriptions of the media and films, it can be posited that there are issues with regard to the Western comprehension of Eastern cultures. To begin with, the Western perspective of the East is largely swayed by the stereotypical damaging depictions that are incessantly presented by Hollywood films. This kind of a wrong depiction precludes the West from being able to completely understand and fully know the actuality of cultures in the Middle East. In addition, the interpretations of these cultures by scholars in the West are assessed and inferenced through the standpoint of Western beliefs and values. More often than not, this gives rise to misapprehension. Moreover, several assumptions are made devoid of having actually made a visitation to any Middle Eastern nation (Qutub, 2013).From the outset, Sex and the City 2 has features of orientalism. While in New York, at the time when Samantha reveals the news to her three friends that they are about to leave for Abu Dhabi in the Middle East, Carrie come out and asserts that for a long time she has been riveted by the Middle East. However, she goes on to create an image outside of history in an Orientalist manner with the perception of the Middle East having desert moons, magic carpets and also Scheherazade. The adopted daughter of Charlotte responds by asking whether the Middle East is akin to the scenes in the cartoon Jasmine and Aladdin. Right from the start, i t can be perceived that the playwrights for Sex and the City 2 already have biased notions from watching the film Aladdin presented by Disney, which also had several aspects of orientalism. Moreover, subsequent to boarding the flight and while on their way, Carrie appears to have the perspective of the Middle East being backward and civilized as he states that there is Arab Pringles. This is no different from normal Pringles, the only difference being the language on the packaging. At the end of the day, this points to the conception that such less developed nations ought not to have products from major brands. In addition, while being on the plane, after hearing a flight attendant provide the usual flight directives in Arabic, Samantha acts like a wild-eyed youngster who is hearing a foreign language for the very first time. She goes on to assert, I wonder what shes saying. It sounds so exotic! (Ali, 2010).As the film progresses, there continues to be orientalist perspective. Anoth er poor perspective is the consideration that the Middle East is an unsafe and dangerous area to exist in. To begin with, after getting to their hotel, Charlotte Goldenblatt chooses to revert back to using her maiden name once she meets her butler. When questioned why chose to do so, Charlotte explicates that it is the Middle East. With this sort of remark, it is possible to perceive that some of these New York women fear for their safety in what they consider bizarre and Middle Eastern expanse. Secondly, there is also the scene in the film where Samantha goes through a meltdown in the market whilst flying packages of dropped condoms, which is completely offensive to a group of Muslim men. In this particular scene, Samantha appears wearing shorts and a somewhat revealing top and ends up spilling several condoms from her own purse while smack in the middle of a market that is largely crowded. Perceptibly and also portrayed in a wrong way, this takes place while the Islamic call to pr ayer, Adhan, is being conducted. Owing to the spill, the film portrays the annoyed, stubbly Arab men, overawed by astonishment, opting to cease partaking in their everyday activities and hectic lives to surround Samantha and start calling her a slut. In turn Samantha jumps up holding the spilled condoms telling them that she uses them to partake in sex and owing to the poor portrayal of the men, they all start chasing the ladies (Ali, 2010).It is deemed that the purpose of this is to perceive Samanthas behavior as being a brave and audacious challenge to men who dominate and subjugate their women. However, this is represented in the wrong manner and most of all for the reason that Samantha does not have any moral authority to take part in such liberation (Holm, 2017). This is perhaps deemed to be the most discourteous and impertinent scene in the whole film. This is largely for the reason that not only does it show disrepute to the Muslim culture together with their societal beliefs and ideals, but at the same time also had a disparaging influence with respect to the empowerment of women. It is completely unsuitable. Moreover, the scene portrays the Arab men as being terrifying and also intimidating both consumer and sexual liberty (Qutub, 2013).The four ladies from New York, akin to imperialistic dolls, make the most of Abu Dhabi for vacation and self-indulgence devoid of making any palpable, solid endeavors to learn and gain knowledge regarding the people there and their everyday living. In fact, they further go ahead to make assumptions about the people around them and their culture. For instance, Miranda constantly states, Hanh Gee, with the thought that it means yes in Arabic yet it is a language that is spoken in the South Asian region by the Hindi and Punjabi people. In addition, with complete disregard of the significance of her actions, she wrongly informs the audience that all of the women living in the Middle East are forced and mandated to cover th emselves. To make it even worse, each single female character that is portrayed within Sex and the City 2 is veiled, hushed, or downcast by violent men, an aspect that is completely wrong in real life. This, again, is indicative of orientalism in the film (Ali, 2010). Similarly, when seeing a lady wearing a veil eating French Fries, Samantha gives the remark that these acts indicate that women are not allowed to have voice. However, this is simply an exaggeration and misrepresentation of what is portrayed in the film. In addition, the notion of women liberation is completely taken out of context as Samantha continues to make unripe witticisms such as Lawrence of my Labia and also carrying out fellatio on a sheesha pipe in the open (Ali, 2010).Basically, Sex and the City 2 employs only two wide-ranging aspects to portray the Middle East. The first one is representing the Middle East as a wealthy Eden for the four protagonists in the film to inconsiderately utilize as an intermediate place of escaping reality and the second one is depicting the Middle...

Comparison Of The “Death By Landscape” And “The Yellow

Comparison of the â€Å"Death by Landscape† and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Terror, a feeling shared by all beings with emotions, With such an influence in the well-being of a human being, terror is something that creates interest and research while repelling and frightening an individual. The gothic literature is an evoked presence of terror by humans to create a sense of confusion with a reader leaving them with no explanation of the unrealistic events and removing the ability of control and comprehension. Margaret Atwood and Charlotte Perkins Gilman master the unexplained supernatural and unrealistic events in their own stories, â€Å"Death by Landscape† and â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper†. The first follows the abrupt and unexplained loss of the main†¦show more content†¦This is due to the state that Lois is in throughout the story. Lucy is not alive in a body, but in the obsession of Lois’s mind. Society deals with death in many ways, whether it is in ritual or locking it behind a wall in the mind. Lois locks Lucy in the depths of her perception and mind as shown by the paintings she has collected, â€Å"every one of them is a picture of Lucy. You can’t see her exactly. But she’s there, in behind the pink stone island or the one behind that.† (Atwood 129). Due to the disturbance that Lois is dealing with it’s explainable that this is Lois’s way of coping with Lucy’s death. However this end doesn’t solve the question the reader frequently asks. Where, why and how did Lucy die? The questions which cannot be answered neither by the reader or Lois. Leaving out the answer creates the dreadful terror that humans pursue, the answer of death and it’s unexplainable control of events. The temporary feeling and atmosphere of terror that is throughout the story exemplifies the unexplained supernatural by showing Lois as a victim of an event she has no comprehension or power over. She is affected to a point where â€Å"she would never go up north†¦ to any place with wild lake and wild trees and the calls of loons. (Atwood 129). In the rugged landscape of the wilderness, it is equal to death where in that the wild is very similar to the uncontrollable nature of death. Lucy’s presence is emphasized by her absence as she continuesShow MoreRelatedThe Character Of Conrad And Cormac Conrads Heart Of Darkness1640 Words   |  7 Pagesconditions without explicit statements, authors cannot elucidate each event and character’s thought while continuing to hold the reader’s attention. Therefore, many authors utilize the landscape of the story to parallel a character or group of characters. In Heart of Darkness, author Joseph Conrad personifies the la ndscape as a fluid character. Consequently, as the reader begins to further comprehend the landscape’s meaning, Marlow’s understanding of the people around him becomes more clear. 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This metaphor compares the immense landscape of the Rainy Mountain’s continental interior to his grandmother’s memory instilled in her bloodstream. By using metaphors, Momaday reminds young individuals of their traditional life by comparingRead More Comparing Symbols and Symbolism in Blue Hotel, Black Cat, Night, Alfred Prufrock, Red Wheelbarrow1620 Words   |  7 Pagesspecifically dream psychology, red may symbolize sexuality, passion, anger, revolution or danger. Red being the color of blood, it is the symbol of life, which consequently is why Hindu and Chinese brides wear red. But, blood may also represent injury or death. (Ackroyd 253)    Blue is the color of intellect, peace and contemplation. It represents water and serenity, and symbolizes the sky and infinity. 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Both Joseph Conrad, author of Heart of Darkness, and Cormac McCarthy, author of The Road, manipulate the landscape to represent the human condition. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad personifies the landscape as a fluid character, so as the reader begins to further comprehend the landscape’s meaning, Marlow’s understandingRead MoreComparing The Girl With A Pearl Earring And Mona Lisa1332 Words   |  6 PagesName Professor Course Date Comparison of the Girl with a Pearl Earring and Mona Lisa   The Girl with a Pearl Earring and Mona Lisa are the two most famous portraits ever painted  (Courtauld 36). The girl with a pearl earring follows the Mona Lisa painting, which is considered as the most famous painting. The girl with a pearl earring, by Johannes Vermeer, and the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci were created during the same historical time. Historians believe that Leonardo da Vinci created his art

The Constitution Of The Confederate States - 1346 Words

The Constitution of the Confederate States of America was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America, as adopted on March 11, 1861, and in effect from February 22, 1862 through the conclusion of the American Civil War.[1] The Confederacy also operated under a Provisional Constitution from February 8, 1861 to February 22, 1862.[2] The original Provisional Constitution is currently located at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia,[3] and differs slightly from the version later adopted. The final, hand-written document is currently located in the University of Georgia archives at Athens, Georgia.[3] In regard to most articles of the Constitution, the document is a word-for-word duplicate of the United States Constitution. 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The Preamble toShow MoreRelatedEssay about U.S. Constitution vs. Iriquois Constitution784 Words   |  4 PagesTim Nelson 10/05/01 Honors English Period 2 Compare Contrast: Iroquois Constitution U.S. Constitution The Constitutions of both the Iroquois and the United States have similarities and differences between them. The Iroquois constitution came earlier in history than the U.S one did. Some of the same ideas that were in the Iroquois constitution were carried over to some of the ideas that we use in our government today. In this paper I will compare and contrast these ideas as theyRead More Comparing the Iroquois Constitution and U.S. Constitution Essay741 Words   |  3 PagesComparing the Iroquois Constitution and U.S. Constitution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Constitutions of both the Iroquois and the United States have similarities and differences between them. The Iroquois constitution came earlier in history than the U.S one did. 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Oedipus Essay Thesis Example For Students

Oedipus Essay Thesis OedipusEven though fate seems to determine Oedipus life, he does, in fact, have a free will. His choices brought the prophecy to life. Only his decisions (not influenced by anybody) he made. Of course those decisions were in side of the limits set by fate. When Oedipus heard a prophesy that his going to kill his father and sleep with his mother he ran away, even when he new there were suspicions of him being the real son of his parents. There some lines from the play: There was a man dining with us one day who had too much wine and man shouted at me-half drunk and shouting that I was not rightly called my fathers son. Without my parents knowledge, I went to Delphi, but Apollo did not say what I had gone to hear. Instead, he answered questions I had not asked and told of horror and misery beyond believe how I would know my mothers bad and cause the death of my own father.The prophecy drove the Oedipus away from home; the terror of the predictions was too much to live with. Oedipus tried everything not to meet the prophecy, and still when he came to Thebes and became a king O edipus married an older lady. It was his choice, even when he knew there was a danger of him to know mothers bad, he made it. Oedipus quest for truth was his choice. When the Teiresias tried not to reveal the truth, The Oedipus was the one, who made the priest to talk: This city gave you life and yet you refuse to answer! You speak as if you were her enemy. For Gods sake, if you know, dont turn away from us! We are pleading. We are begging you. You will not tell? You monster! You could stir the stones of earth to a burning rage! You will newer tell? What it will take?As the truth is getting revealed: You, Oedipus, are the desecrator, the polluter of this land. Oedipus does not believe (his choice). He (Oedipus) start to accuse Creon of truing to take his powers away (king). And still want to reveal whole truth. After talking to Jocasta Oedipus faces that he in fact might killed the king Laius. There was s herald leading a carriage drawn by horses and the man riding in the carriage The driver pushed. In anger, I struck him. The old man saw it, reached for his lash and waited till I had passed. Then he stru ck me on the head. But he paid-oh yes he paid. I killed him. And again that was a choice, he (Oedipus) knew that he will kill his own father, even when he killed an old man he didnt thought of possibility, that the old man might be his father. Oedipus fate was determined before he was even born, and by trying t o overcome it, he actually perfectly filing in his position in life which is a prophesy. Oedipus thought that he oversmarted the Gods, but in fact every his move he made moved him closer to prophesy becoming a reality.