By: Noah Keeler-Seiser

INTRODUCTION: 

Orientalism, by Edward Said, is one of the most widely-regarded works on Arab and Near-Eastern depictions in Western media and culture. It is an all-encompassing, thorough exploration of the East through Western eyes, and to this day it is very applicable in the United States.

Even as depictions of different cultures and ethnicities grow more diverse, film, news, books and various media continue to cement misconceptions into the Western psyche. What is important to note, however, is that these misconceptions and stereotypes were not ‘invented’ during the 20th century in response to geopolitical conflict of immigration. I would argue that they merely evolved, finding a strong foundation in the artistic and cultural heritage of the West.

The othering and demonizing of, the grim hostility towards and alluring fascination with the East, did not begin with films like Son Of The Sheik or Lawrence Of Arabia, nor can it be traced to the travel journals of colonialists. Orientalism is a deep-rooted facet of Western culture, and it can find its oldest, firmest origins in the medieval, Gallic imagination.

SARACENS: The Foreign And The Threatening

I use ‘Gallic’ to describe the various peoples of medieval France and mainland Europe, who produced manuscripts, compendiums, and illustrations that captured their views of the world (Bertrand 4). While Europe was not homogeneous in its views, events like the Crusades and various geopolitical conflicts brought its denizens face to face with the mysterious, exotic, and dangerous people that they called ‘Saracens.’

Saracens were the Muslim denizens of the Levant, North-Africa, and Spain. ‘Saracen’ itself is a biblical term, not a derogatory one, as Europeans thought Muslims to be descendants of Sara, the wife of Noah. In medieval literature and illustration, they were often depicted as warriors on horseback, clashing with the knightly heroes of Frankish lore and Spanish myth.

In the chansons de geste, epic poems that embellished French history and the life of Charlemagne, Saracens often came in hordes, a foreign enemy that fought alongside pagans, barbarians, and polytheists. They could be assigned almost demonic traits, fighting with vitriol in the blood and power in the sword-arm, wearing strange hides.

This is especially clear in La Chanson De Roland, the most famous of its contemporary tales, where Saracens are little more than foreign foes working with one of King Charles’ traitorous vassals, Ganelon. This is also true in The Conquest Of Orange, the tale of the Cid, and similar works.

I would posit that this literature was the animus for Said’s ideas of Saracens being objects of “terror, devastation, the demonic, hordes of hated barbarians… a lasting trauma” in the collective mind of Europeans, and his argument certainly has merit. The depiction of Muslims, Arabs, and North-Africans in all aforementioned works is less than satisfactory and draws many parallels to the terrorist mooks and cunning villains of modern, blockbuster action flicks that never fail to take the theater screen.

Turbans and weapons are recurring images, priming fear. The value of Arab life is cheap, priming indifference. And the consistency between films that exemplify these issues and the ancient stories of France and Spain suggest that vilifying Arabs and Muslims is even deeper-rooted in the Western psyche than many critiques suggest.

A THOUSAND YEARS OF STEREOTYPES:

British and French colonialism, and later, American involvement in the Middle East (I use ‘involvement’ loosely) have only emulated the encounters of the past, and though they have long faded into obscurity, they are still borrowed from and mediated upon by Western leaders. Even as a child, infatuated with knights and history, I vividly remembered when George W. Bush said, “I am on a crusade to end terrorism.”

I would never make the damning assertion that Western depictions, medieval or modern, are entirely consistent, but the student of orientalism must understand the complexity and difficulty of unraveling a thousand years of otherness, hostility, exoticism, and anger.

Mass media and interconnectedness alone have not mitigated these issues, and these ‘issues’ should not be understated. Artwork, literature, film and other media are not inconsequential. They are important aspects of our socialization and world-view. When depictions of a people are misconstrued and rife with lies, the worst possible result is bad foreign policy, vengeful attitudes, and ignorance.

Like modern Saracens, countless groups can be blanketed with the same lies and stereotypes. Sikhs can be mistaken for Muslims and attacked. Entire countries can be condemned by political leaders. This is not what progress looks like. It is regression to medieval ignorance.

REFERENCES:

Andrade, M. C. (2000). El Cid. New York: McGraw Hill Glencoe.

Bertrand, B. (2015, April 28). Monstrous Muslims? Depicting Muslims In French Illuminated Manuscript Art. Retrieved December 2, 2018, from https://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1237&context=honors

Robertson, H. S. (1972). The song of Roland. La Chanson de Roland. London: Dent.

Said, E. W. (2006). Orientalism. Brantford, Ont.: W. Ross MacDonald School, Resource Services Library.