Terrorism, Fundamentalism, Crusaders, and Conspiracy Theories

This is an extremely sensitive subject for me because 9/11 hit very close to home for me and I was convinced that I had lost my father all day that day. I would prefer, for this reason not to discuss the conspiracy theories about 9/11 because I reaaalllyyy realllyy hope our government would not kill that many of their own people.

As far as the government investigating peoples backgrounds because of their ethnicity; i feel two fold about it. I would never want something like 9/11 to occur again, so I understand that profiling is almost like a necessary evil, but the lengths and arrests that have occurred are not justifiable by any means.

Occidentalism

I think it is interesting to read and speak about Occidentalism. As Americans we are interested in seeing how we view the other, and attempt to investigate why we feel this way. In reality Occidentalism is more important for Americans because it helps explain our relations with the Middle East. Although we may sometimes not realize this, our President, our actresses, our clothing, and other pop culture type aspects of American life are what develop how people throughout the world percieve us. Americans need to come to the realization that the "American way of life" is not neccesarily the correct way of living or how other people would like to live. The study of Orientalism can not be valid without the study of Occidentalism, or else you are simply choosing the other's perception as different, and not admitting that you yourself may feel a certain way towards a culture.

Views of the Self

Palestine for me is a subject that I had little if any knowledge of before entering this class, and the more I investigate Palestine, the more I find myself destroyed inside over the tight relations that the United States has with Israel. The destruction of homes, the tearing down of neighborhoods, and the development of military blockades makes me incredibly uneasy, and as I read and understand more, i feel as though these people are kept like caged animals and are enslaved by Israel. Its an atrocity in my eyes.

Women and Film

I think that Said helps develop not only the idea of women in film, but also women in Orientalism. Women from the middle East are constantly portrayed as Harems. They are turned into sex goddesses that wear barely any clothing and can almost cast a spell on men simply by peering into their eyes. It disturbs me now that I look at the various films that display women in this manner. It is almost as if they are simply objects belonging to men and no longer human beings with ideals, thoughts, and freedoms. They are trapped like slaves in this frame that depicts them only in one light, and because of the horrific misconception of culture it continues to occur.