Orientalism

I find it slightly sickening that we as a nation have felt the need to define the other. We have manufactured them in a way that removes them from us, and therefore makes "them" less of a threat. I looked up the term exoticism, since it came up in class during the creation of our binary, on Wikipedia and found this: "Like orientalist subjects in 19th century painting, exoticism in the decorative arts and interior decoration was associated with fantasies of opulence. Exoticism, by definition, is 'the charm of the unfamiliar.' Scholar Alden Jones defines exoticism in art and literature as the representation of one culture for consumption by another." This makes me wonder if the culture surrounding Othello is consuming him. As we discussed in class, they really don't know all that much about him or his culture, and yet inferences are made. Perhaps this is what we do though. We guess. B/c if we can just find some sort of way to define the other, to compartmentalize them in our minds, the world is somehow a much safer place. Our world is somehow a much safer place... I look forward to more discussions on this text.

Peace