What can be problematic with how we study media?
The study of media representations often gets buried in an onslaught of negativity. We, as media scholars, say that stereotypes are harmful. We warn of the dangers of media effects, censorship and propaganda, and though we recognize that audiences are often better critical thinkers than we originally thought, much of the discussion about media is critical and negative. We problematize media and don’t spend enough time highlighting its benefits and celebrating its successes. This is a direct reflection of how we, as members of a larger society, define ourselves. Our quest eternal quest to know our own identities is almost always determined by stating what we are not, will not and cannot be. We create the idea of the “other” to juxtapose with our own identities, and then we are trapped into the interminable process of comparing and contrasting the two and looking for differences.
What is problematic about the clash argument and Orientalism?
This course has exposed us to many ways of thinking about the other, in this case specifically what Said coins the “Orient” and the “Orientals” who reside there. The clash argument and Orientalism have overwhelmed my thoughts to the point where I feel like there is nothing left to do but reject them both and start again. Believing in these theories does not allow for growth or change and leads to a continual standstill of thought, and are always accompanied by a pessimistic outlook for the future. The only aspect of these theories that I can continue to use as a way of looking at media is the idea of a humanistic approach. It is the only lens that we have studied that doesn’t ask us to see disparities, but instead forces us to try and see people as people, and not as representations, Orientals or others. The humanistic perspective reminds us that we are, in fact, all human, with similar needs, wants and goals.
How can we find new ways of looking media that falls under the ‘jurisdiction’ of the clash argument?
Rather than asking how something perpetuates the clash, or if it is Orientalist, we should try to see how a particular text deconstructs the validity of these arguments. Instead of seeking out portrayals of the East or of the West, we should look for portrayals of humanity and how these representations can be seen as universal, which will help to leave clashist theory behind.