Reading my classmates’ blogs, I found that we all generally spoke about the same things. One thing that many did for their blogs posts was linking and then referring to news pieces and videos that related to Islam and/or the Middle East. For example, one news piece that was mentioned was, of course, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Another was the election of Barack HUSSEIN Obama. Some people also posted videos of things that they either found to be offensive or inspirational. These included parody videos of terrorists, clips from Religulous, and links to Morgan Spurlock’s Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden. Others also spoke about their personal experiences.
I think that a common theme amongst the blogs – or at least the theme that was most apparent and therefore probably most interesting to me – was the realization of how villailnized Arab people and Muslim people are in the United States and how the government and media have done this systematically and, oftentimes, intentionally as well. Another was the shock and disbelief at the way the American government has obscured the truth from its citizens. Where Al Jazeera shows all the gory, bloody, and terrible truth – albeit somewhat sensationally – the U.S. government has not allowed Osama Bin Laden’s speeches on television in America. My belief is honestly that no resolution or understanding can come from a conflict when the other side is not allowed to air its opinions and views, as unreasonable and violent as their tactics and strategies have been. And, of course, the U.S. has prevented the other side form understanding our intentions and views as well by concealing the real reasons for our “defensive” actions through stupid and unsuccessful PR machines like Al Hurra and Radio Sawa. It seems like the U.S. is constantly trying to pull the wool over everybody’s eyes, and we’re shocked that they’ve done this so well without many of us knowing.
I think another very important theme that seems widespread amongst the blogs is a much higher understanding of why the Middle East is structured the way it is now (the British, of course) and why they have reacted in the way that they have as well as their reasons for behaving in this way. I think that previously, many people did think that perhaps the Middle East was a violent place that was inherently violent and conflicted. Now knowing the history behind this region, it seems much more likely that instead of a Clash of Civilizations (where the Occident is developed and civilized and modern, trying to subdue an evil Orient that is primitive and angry and violent), it is the Middle East having a reaction to the atrocities that the Occident has committed towards them and their people. Without this historical and political context, it is easy to see and believe the Middle East as a place that is innately “bad,” while the West is a place that is innately “good.” It is easy to see through Orientalist lens that people like Thomas Friedman and the rest of the media have given us.
I think it really shows a lot that, even as media and communication students, we had trouble with media literacy in relation to the Middle East. This class definitely seems to have improved media literacy for those of us who did not know much about the Middle East before this semester (as evidenced by a few posts I read on my classmates’ blogs on their realization of the importance of utilizing different news sources), and I think that a lot of it has to do with the historical context that we were provided and also the portrayal of the opinions and views of the other side (not “the other”). The autobiographical accounts (and of course Palestine) that we read seems to have affected some of my classmates the way it affected me, making me rethink the way I once thought of the people of Muslims and people of the Middle East. The contrast between the story that the U.S. media and government tells us and the story that Al Jazeera and Joe Sacco has told us is so drastically different, and we have to find ways to reconcile these two views in our minds. This class has definitely taught me to look deeper, and it seems to have taught others in our class to do so as well.