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Occidental Fear of Unknown East: America in an Egyptian 9/11 Movie
Abstract
Egyptian cinema is increasingly attracting the attention of film critics, scholars of cinema, and Middle East studies specialists. September 11 attacks left the world with a culture that expanding from the U.S. to everywhere in the world. A new culture of fear is created by new post-9/11 terms such as “War on Terror,” “With Us or Against Us,” and “Axis of Evil.” This culture sneaks into people’s life affecting their way of thinking about “Self” and “Other.” It is worth noting that Arabs’ films do participate fundamentally in this cultural expansions of the world, in the production of what Frederic Jameson called “the political unconscious.” This paper maps out how different Arab films humanize American characters and often counter the Occidental mindset. At the same time it examines the various forms of pro-Arab and anti-American sentiment that inflect post-9/11 Arab films, and, more specifically, how its Occidental discourse and assumptions serve to re-inscribe an East-West dichotomy in service of Arab-nationalism goals. The paper will do so through examining images of the U.S. in an Egyptian movie. The Baby Doll Night constitutes an example of how Arabs look at the U.S. through its policies rather than its values. This movie is a mix of many story lines expanding from New York to Cairo, Palestine and, of course, Iraq. By doing close reading of film scenes, I will point out how Egyptian cinema is and has always been under the impact of Hollywood. Many Arab films imported Western visual and narrative conventions to put in the service of narrating Arab national histories. Arabs, who are enamored of American cinema-making, are at odds with American foreign policy. This paper analyzes both the content of the film as well as the responses it evoked in both the Middle East and the West. Moreover, it shows how various Occidental assumptions (e.g. the conflation of Jews and Israelis cultural/political identity)are both reflected and challenged by Egyptian film-makers.
Discipline
Media Arts
Geographic Area
All Middle East
Sub Area
Arab Studies