status quo, can just as easily be used to defy hegemonic forces. But what if you’re not the one producing media, Orientalist or otherwise? What can you do? I don’t have an easy answer, but as critical consumers of this media, we have the responsibility to turn our awareness into action. In the words of social rights activist Desmond Tutu: “If you
are neutral in systems of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” (Younge, 2009). Silence is consented participation in this inequity. Whether it be through audible criticism of “Arab Land” depictions, or merely through the support of alternative media, we must all actively challenge unjust media and its aftermath.
References Abunimah, A. (2013, April 20). Obama’s rush to judgment: Was the Boston bombing really a “terrorist” act? The Electronic Intifada. Retrieved from http://electronicintifada.net/ blogs/ali-abunimah/obamas-rush-judgmentwas-boston-bombing-really-terrorist-act. Alloula, M. (1987). The colonial harem. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Asad, T. (2009). Free speech, blasphemy, and secular criticism. In T. Asad, J. Butler, W. Brown, & S. Mahmood, Is critique secular?: Blasphemy, injury, and free speech (Townsend Papers in the Humanities) (pp. 20–57.) Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Clements, R., & Musker, J. (Director). (1992). Aladdin. [Motion picture]. United States: Walt Disney Pictures. Earp, J. (Producer); Jhally, S. (Director). (2006). Reel bad Arabs: How Hollywood vilifies a people [Motion picture]. United States: Media Education Foundation. Freeman, H. (2010, May 23). The death of Sex and the City. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian. co.uk/film/2010/may/23/sex-and-the-city-film-terrible. Griffin, D. (2008, February). David Griffin: How photography connects us [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/ talks/david_griffin_on_how_photography_connects.html. Hall, S. (1981). The whites of their eyes: Racist ideologies and the media. In G. Dines & J. M. Humez (Eds.), Gender, race, and class in media: A critical reader (pp. 81–84). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Johnson, B. (2009). Symbolic oppressions: The rhetoric and the image of the veil in the West. Prized Writing. Davis, CA: University of California Press. King, M. P. (Director & Producer). (2010). Sex and the City 2 [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros. Pictures. Kristynma (2013, April 19). What’s wrong with Sex and the City 2: Manifestations of Orientalism. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://reimagingamerica.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/whats-wrong-with-sex-and-the-city-2manifestations-of-orientalism/. McCurry, S. (1985). Afghan girl [Image]. Retrieved from http://stevemccurry.com/galleries/portraits. Ott, B., & Mack, R. (2009). Critical media studies: An introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Parameswaran, R. (2002). Local culture in global media: Excavating colonial and material discourses in National Geographic. In T. Hanitzch (Ed.), Communication Theory 12(3) 287–315. Washington, D.C.: International Communication Association. QueenRania (2008, July 28). Don’t call me that [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=W_1hYyV7tes. Said, E. (1978). From Orientalism. In P. Williams & L. Chrisman (Eds.), Colonial discourse and post-colonial theory: A reader (pp. 132–149). New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Younge, G. (2009, May 22). The secrets of a peacemaker. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian. co.uk/books/2009/may/23/interview-desmond-tutu.
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