And I think is important to recognise it because it highlights how global phenomena are in reality just a repetition of power dynamics that happen domestically: the EU is full of in-house orientalism: Italy, the Balkan countries, Eastern countries.
Orientalism is dangerous because it serves a narrative that reinforce asymmetrical power structures.

/end
(yes, it's a thread of flying thoughts, so it doesn't have a proper conclusion)

#Orientalism

However I think the saddest part of all of it, it is how the orientalist view of Italy is often brushed away in the academic discourse. In principle, Italy is part of the EU and of the West, and in practice, it's a country that certainly benefit from various privileges because of it.
But deep inside, the big Northern countries still look at Italy (and other parts of EU), through a very orientalist lens.

4/

#Orientalism

The takes on Italy are no different from the author's approach on India and Indonesia: a twisted romanticised reality that superficially take some elements of local cultures but never truly engages with the deep histories of those places. I find particularly funny her take on Italian culinary tradition, because, well, current 'traditions' are actually quite young and the results of the post-WWII industrialisation (don't tell the Italians, they won't like it!)

3/

#Orientalism

Don't get me wrong, I believe India and Indonesia are rich cultural countries, so Italy being associated with them can be almost an honour. But the framework of 'Eat, Pray, Love' is a patronising American depiction of these 3 countries that don't correspond to the lived experience of their citizens. There is a moment where the author wants to learn how to live 'slow' as the Italians. E.g., as someone grew up in Rome, I really don't see where this idea of 'slow' come from.

2/

#Orientalism

I was watching a video essay critique about 'Eat, Pray, Love'. Critiques on the book and the movie aren't new, but I think I now know - or at least have the vocabulary - why that story has always left me a bit off. No, it isn't the stereotypes and tropes on Italy (or India and Indonesia), but the realisation that in popular discourse in the North, Italy is orientalised as much as India and Indonesia.

1/

#Orientalism

Sylvia Sleigh's white male ‘Harem’ #painting titled 'The Turkish Bath' (1973) included her husband.

As a direct critique/response to Ingres' work of the same name (which included a naked portrait of his young wife), its right on the #feminist point...

Sleigh herself remains one of a number of female #artists who have been often been ignored by a male-oriented #arthistory

a promised new monograph (as yet still delayed) may well put the record straight!

#orientalism
#WomensArt

About Erinnerungen an die Zukunft/Chariots of the Gods, which “theoretical” framework – still – is quite popular: have you noticed that the Ancient Aliens only helped the Asian, African and Central/South American peoples, right? They didn’t help the Ancient Greek and Romans. The name of this is colonialism and it helped a lot to Orientalism and modern racism. #colonialism #orientalism #aliens #ancientaliens #racism

It’s funny that Indian cinema never shows how sexually promiscuous Hindu men were. Only Mughals. #orientalism

Found this while looking for Blade Runner images.

Thoughts?

'Techno-Orientalism in Science Fiction'

'.. another kind of Western cultural anxiety explicitly tied to Asia’s technological development. Especially evident in the genre of science fiction and cyberpunk, techno-orientalism is “the phenomenon of imagining Asia and Asians in hypo- or hypertechnological terms in cultural productions and political discourse.” '

https://mediaprophetsofprague.wordpress.com/2021/04/02/techno-orientalism-in-science-fiction/

#ScienceFiction #orientalism #WritingCommunity

@histodons #wikipedia #orientalism still surprised every time I come across this, how topics dealing with non-western regions seem to obsess about their culinary history more than anything else. I know it's the Wikipedia and expectations are VERY low, but nonetheless...

@histodons #westerngaze #history or #orientalism? Was asking a friend of mine who's from the Philippines about the authenticity of this Easter ritual, which is being monetized by Europeans. He claims, and I'm sure the #WashingtonPost could have checked as well, that the participants are performers who are being paid. Folks in the West, nonetheless, get their dose of Oriental "OMG I can't believe they're doing this".

“They like this because there is really nothing like this on earth,” said Johnson Gareth, a British tour organizer, who brought 15 tourists from eight countries, including the United States, Canada and Germany, to witness the crucifixions. “It’s less gruesome than people think. They think it’s going to be very macabre or very disgusting but it’s not. It’s done in a very respectful way.”

In the past, Gareth said tourists were “genuinely inspired and I think they left with a newfound respect for people’s beliefs.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/07/philippines-good-friday-crucifixions/4daee3fe-d4fd-11ed-ac8b-cd7da05168e9_story.html

Al Jazeera English:

"Before Trump, which other world leaders were charged or jailed?"

(al-Bashir from Sudan is missing, but I think the idea is to focus on Western world/Western allies in the list - as a counterpoint to #orientalism/#westsplaining)

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/4/before-trump-which-other-world-leaders-were-charged-or-jailed

'What is undeveloped in our western conscience is the idea of plural history, the idea of a non-homogenous modernity, irregular, non-linear. In short, history is much more complicated than we would like it to be, and modernity much more heterogeneous. The questione meridionale is a typical example of the complex nature of history.'

https://www.ajol.info/index.php/issa/article/view/43958

#South #Italy #GlobalSouth #Orientalism #anthropology #Culture #Anthro #Pluriverse

Barocco #fineart #portrait #boudoir #makeup #orientalism #colourful

What’s the main difference between Arabs and Asians, Africans, or Hispanics: Arab women are overwhelmingly less likely to sleep with US soldiers. Hence the War on Terror. #orientalism

Finnish government starts construction of Russian border fence, citing Putin’s exploitation of their irrational fear of people of color and an effort to prevent Russian men from fleeing Ukraine war draft https://www.barrons.com/news/finland-starts-construction-of-russian-border-fence-d4d80684 #NationStates #WhiteNationalism #FortressEurope #Orientalism #LiberalDemocracy #SocialDemocracy #Contradictions #Borders @immigration @geopolitics @geography

In 1913-14 #EmilNolde spent some time in the #southseas & while he was there made some interesting watercolour sketches of locals both as stand-alone portraits or scenes of activity... these seem (to me at least) an interestingly humanistic response to late #imperialism, depicting the subjects (of the #portraits) humanely & without the taint of #orientalism... here are four of the portrait sketches from the trip for you to judge yourself.

#arthistory
#expressionism

Many don't know that a huge part of the disinformation about both African and Asian spirituality is not just making us look respectively overly "primitive" or overly passive. The effort to shove our legends into the context of Aryan theory is ongoing.
Most people haven't read enough Blavatsky to compare her to Agehananda Bharati or other western born actual academics who explored Asian spirituality.
As relevant today as then:
http://aryasangha.org/rampaism1.htm
#Buddhism #Rampaism #Orientalism #Racism

@rjpayne "The Far East" is the epitome of #Orientalism. Shame on them.

#CFP

Decolonising Central and Eastern Europe

Special special of the Central European Journal of International and Security Studies

"We are interested in contributions pertaining to the issues of #race and #racism, #gender, [...] #hierarchies, #imperialism, [...], #migration, [...] #Eurocentrism and #Orientalism."

https://www.cejiss.org/decolonising-cee

Deadline for abstracts: 31/01/2023

#CEE #Decolonisation