Imperialist tools: A postcolonial deconstruction of Orientalist media and the obsession with unveiling
Abstract
My dissertation is a deconstructive exercise that adopts feminist postcolonial theory and Orientalism to investigate and deconstruct popular media texts about Afghanistan and the Middle East. The media machine projects representations of the Middle East that are steeped in pathos; this provides justification for the continued occupation of these territories, as we are there to help them. What is symbolically presented as a liberating mission often amounts materially to exploitation and domination: an imperialist mission. This research is about imperialist agendas that seek to infiltrate minds and change cultures through engaging with the cultural members themselves. A deconstructive approach to the popular texts Kabul Beauty School and The Beauty Academy of Kabul allowed for my participation in co-constructive narratives with seven Middle Eastern women residing in the US. Employing methodologies that do not fall within the typical corpus of epistemic assumptions held by the dominant paradigm demonstrates the viability of alternative modes of knowledge production, as what it means to know is questioned. Through exposing and problematizing media‘s role in creating fear-based and pity-based narratives that give the US justification for continued occupation and imperialization of the Middle East, my participants and I articulated new meanings and alternative constructions of the functions of media, opening up space for social change. Through writing about those meanings, I hope to imprint upon others the possibilities that can emerge from discourse. In terms of praxis, there is no clear-cut answer to what the best course of action is regarding American intervention and occupation of the Middle East. Middle Eastern cultures are complex and fragmented just as US cultures are, and our histories with each other affect how we interact. I do not wish to prescribe the best way for Americans to interact with or represent other cultures. Rather, problematizing mainstream media representations of the Middle East through questioning how they function as imperialist tools is a logical first step toward social change.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Dutta, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Womens studies|Middle Eastern Studies|South Asian Studies|Mass communications
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