Jarmakani’s piece, “Veiled
Intentions: The Cultural Mythology of Veils, Harems, and Belly Dancers in the
Service of Empire, Security, and Globalization” was a very interesting read and
helped me to understand more fully how cultural globalization and subsequent
media and representation of culture plays out in the specific instance of “Arab
and Muslim womanhood” (141). She starts off by stating that “orientalist
representations of Arab womanhood” are part of an American privilege to frame
discourse and a “shifting function” of these images to continuously meet policy
needs (140). Especially in the context of mounting Islamophobia from at least
the 1970’s, understanding how many different identities are “conflated in the
contemporary U.S. imagination” is important (141). This aspect of globalization
is somewhat in conflict with more idealistic views of what globalization means,
in terms of increasing interconnectedness and an open, borderless world (140). I
think this is an essential assertion to start her piece with, as it places her
argument in a larger context of criticisms of discourses of globalization.
These discourses are not communicating universal truths of what the world is
like, but instead are ways to strategically market American priorities.
Jarmakani
starts her explanation of these mythologies with the example or case study of
McCurry’s famous photograph for National Geographic. This is one of the most
famous photographs in the world, and so it was interesting to hear a different
side of the story behind this photograph apart from knowing how widely
celebrated it is. Jarmakani writes how the follow-up article to the initial
photograph represented a rekindled interest because of “the crisis of 11
September and the subsequent war against the Taliban” (141). This article
didn’t do anything to explain how different events had impacted this woman’s
life, and instead the narrative just “[reinforced] dominant U.S. notions about
the passivity and victimization of all Muslim women” (141). The author’s
overall point in bringing up such an example is not to say that the American
media is simply ignorant, but instead that the perpetuation of this type of
narrative serves a greater purpose of “[legitimizing] dominant narratives of
national security and globalization” (142). This is her idea of mythology as a
representation of a (false) persistent reality to serve the dominant narrative.
I was particularly struck when I
read, “the mythology of the veil, or the ‘plight’ of Arab and Muslim women, has
become increasingly salient in the contemporary geopolitical context” (144). I
think we can all agree that these images are extremely commonplace in any media
we have been consuming. I know that almost all media I have consumed as a
socially, politically, or more globally conscious adult comes from the post-9/11
era. In other words, global perception has been transmitted through the context
of increasing fascination with discourses concerning the “Arab and Muslim” world.
Perhaps this means that people of our generation are more susceptible to
accepting this type of representation as the way things always have been and continue
to be. This reading helped me to be more critical of the biases in this
imagery, instead of seeing it as a natural part of the media I am consuming. I
do feel like I try to be skeptical of media assertion of the “flawless
certainty” of oppression of Muslim women, but I think placing it within the
context of cultural globalization helps me to understand this issue and be even
more critical (151). This article also made me think differently about
celebrated photographers like McCurry and Annie Liebovitz, and how these
photographers capitalize on fascinations with other cultures and also with on
the myth of what these cultures represent. As Maggie noted, there are other
examples, such as the Reebok advertisements, that are more blatantly playing to
stereotypes. But when the perpetuation of these myths is more subtle, it is
perhaps more complicated to discern what kind of message we are receiving. I
wonder how this affects artistic integrity and what this could mean for
creating more responsible, ethical journalism.
Similarly, the Kumar and Stabile
article starts off with a quote from George W. Bush, and an explanation of the
larger framing of the ‘War on Terror’. This excerpt from the president shows
how justification for going to war was partly painted as a human rights issue
and, more specifically, as a way to liberate Muslim women from the oppression
they were facing. In this context, the framing of the war was about selling it
to the U.S. public (776). On the whole, this article discusses the way that the
‘War on Terror’ was painted in ways that served to legitimize taking military
action under the guise of human rights and under this type of ‘noble ideal’
(771). The framing also perpetuated a vision of “the restricted lives of Afghan
women” that exclusively demonized the Taliban and ignored “the rise of
fundamentalism in 1989, as a consequence of earlier US intervention in the
region” (773). I try to be aware that political discourse is full of strategic
framing in order to lend credence to certain ends, and yet this type of manipulation
in order to avoid undermining American power is still extremely troubling. These
types of “inaccuracies and…willful manipulation” are definitely important to be
sensitive to in trying to be critical consumers of news and media (778).
The “Bolly’hood Remix” and “Boom Go
the Bombs, Boom Goes the Bass” articles were really interesting in their
discussion of “cross-cultural sampling” (Kevin Miller Article). They also made
me continue to think about issues of framing of certain issues and themes so as
not to undermine one’s own larger goals or self-perception. In the case of the song
“Truth Hurts”, instead of putting our discussion of cultural globalization at
the forefront of my mind, I was first and foremost struck by the realization
that DJ Quik had produced the song. He is definitely one of the more renowned
hip-hop and rap producers who has worked with some some very notable names like
Nate Dogg, Luniz, Snoop Dogg, and Talib Kweli. He also worked on some of my
favorite rap albums like Tupac’s All Eyez on Me and Jay-Z’s The Black Album. So
I guess kind of selfishly I thought first of how he has contributed
significantly to a lot of the music I listen to, and then that made me a little
more willing to try to make excuses for why he would be involved in “issues of
musical integrity and cultural representation” (Miller). In this way, I was
trying not to undermine my perceptions of the music I enjoyed. I think, too,
that this kind of sampling is a way for the “hip hop community and form alliances
with other peoples of color”, and to communicate a sense of solidarity with what
artists perceive to be related struggles and experiences. After reading the
articles, I was left thinking about this issue that Miller brings up: “Of
course, the unspoken question remains whether it is really the responsibility
of the artist to educate or enlighten the masses. Should we expect to learn
lessons in geography and culture from popular music?”. In the same vein as
integrity within journalism and photography, I think that it is definitely
important for all forms of expression to be self-conscious in how they
perpetuate, play into, criticize, etc. cultural myths and discourses. The two
photo collections “Once Upon a Time in…” also brought up the same issues of the
politics behind depictions of other places and cultures. However, I don’t think
that this lapse in responsibility among a large number of artists of all kinds
is exclusive to their experience, and is a result of the larger societal exposure
to and saturation with these misrepresentations. I think it could be
interesting to discuss where moral and ethical issues come into play given the
American placement within a “power axis of representation” (Jarmakani 140).
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