How has media and pop culture representation of the Middle East evolved since the publication of Said’s 1978 book Orientalism? Do you see the continuation of some of the problematic cultural trends he identified? What about positive, counter-hegemonic representations of Islam and the Middle East?
Scholars like Said and Alsultany argue that politics and fiction (especially film and TV) go hand in hand. What do you think they mean by this? And what might be some examples of this in the context of religious representation in American pop culture?
How can our pop culture diet help shape our understanding of parts of the world we have never visited, or groups of people we have little firsthand experience with?
Finally, you do not have to answer this one if you’d prefer not to — but think about the category of religious identity you belong to (Buddhist? Catholic? Protestant? Muslim? Atheist? Something else?) How is your religious identity framed in pop culture? What kinds of representations do you see of people who embody your belief system? (Positive or negative or both?) For example, I was raised Presbyterian (a Reformed Protestant Christian denomination). We are often depicted as rigid, rules-loving Calvinists who dislike things like music and dancing. This is definitely not true in my case, but has some historical validity. 🙂
