The "Middle East?" Or...

The article, "The 'Middle East?' Or.../Arabic Literature and the Post Literature Predicament," was very interesting to me. My favorite section of this article was the Arabic Literature part. Mainly because I really enjoy learning about new and different cultures, their customs and differences between the rest of the world, especially other cultures in general. For example, I found it interesting that Arabic Literature the earliest group of fiction writers were in the 1920s. They belonged to the upper or middle-class and quickly developed a taste for European music, art, and literature.

Arabic narratives are known to have reached their full prime artistic maturity during the 1920s. This development occurred in Egypt by a group of writers who were actively involved in launching an "Authentic National Egyptian Literature."

I found it positively surprising that gender is not a key component in which they analyze and depict the problems and antics in Palestine. In 1982, for example, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon was led by women. Unfortunately, this does not mean the women and men are viewed as equals yet. In some literature these women are stereotyped as "unattractive, low-class," and even named to be "mad women." All demeaning and low characteristics to get such a gender. On the other hand, if this invasion would have been led by men it probably would have had a much different connotation.

"The History of Palestine"

I initially did not know much about the history of Palestine previous to this class. Just from simply watching the YouTube video of "The History of Palestine," I have already broadened my horizons concerning Palestine. For example, Palestine was once known and viewed as a land with a high level of people, culture and education. Since the first clash between the Palestinians and the Jewish in the 1920s, this has gone downhill. The tension between the Palestinians and the Jewish continued for many years past the 1920s...The Jewish population drastically increased in Palestine during 1932-1936 up to about 174,000!

The biggest aspect that stuck out to be during this video was during 1947 when the United Kingdom gave the situation between the Palestinians and the Jewish over to the United Nations. They decided to split the lang between an Arab state and a Jewish state. Keeping in mind that the Arabs were 2/3 of the population and the Jewish were 1/3 of the population, and nonetheless the Jewish ended up getting 43% of the land, and the Jewish ended up with 56%. Not only did the Jewish get more land with a smaller population, they also had the more fertile land.
...This aspect has got to be one of the most obvious that the Arabs were not favored during this time. They were clearly treated unequally and poorly to other nationalities and ethnicities during this time. The only thing that seperated the Jewish from the Arabs was religion and they were constantly treated as a lesser people.

The ending scene also shows a lot when it is stated that to get a citizenship in Isreal, all that is needed by someone is to be Jewish. Having a family tie, knowing hebrew, or any relation to Isreal is irrelivant...all that is concerned is being Jewish, which just baffles me because there should beso much more to it than simply someones religion!

Reel Bad Arabs

In "Reel Bad Arabs," the stereotype and facts stated about the Palestinian and Isreali people are extremely true and noticable in movies, news, and media overall. They are projected to be villified and dehumanized at every chance possible. Especially in movies, they are stereotyped in the same particular way each time...from the setting and surroundings (usually encountering a desert or some isolated location) to the characters and their personalities, the arabs play a degrading and unequal role. For example, in the classic Disney movie, "Aladdin," the opening song plays the lyrics, "we'll cut off your ear if they don't like your face, it's barbaric, but it's home." From the get-go, this movie already holds the stereotype of the arabs and the normality of all of it.

One aspect I learned were the three occurances in history that have helped to share the Arab stereotype/image:
1) The Palistine/Isreali conflict, in which the United States supported the Palistinians.
2) The Arab oil in the 70's, which made gas prices in the United States rise and angered the American people.
3) The Iranian Revolution

As the video played on, I was surprised at very large number of movies that involve Arabs and give them the same degrading and villan-like stereotype. They are always portrayed as the terrorists or viewed as lesser compared to the American characters. A more modern example would be the movie "Rules of Engagement" (2000), The U.S. soilders go over and kill innocent Arabs and victimize all, including women and children.

Overall, this video had me nodding my head in agreeance frequently because it is quite obvious that this stereotype is very true all around. While the Arabs are portrayed as the terrorists or the "bad guy" in movies, the question was posed...What do the Arabs think of us? There are thousands of American movies that involve Arab characters as terrorists or have them play in degrading or dehumanizing roles. While this is so, have we ever thought about how this makes them feel? To always be viewed as the bad guy, to be ostracized throughout a single country? They are people, they hold just as equal of rights, they have feelings and the same faults and successes that we all possess, yet are still thought of in a negative light. Personally, I believe this stereotype and these movies bring us farther from peace and are simply just seperating the different people of the world. While it is said to embrace our differences and how great diversity is, we are doing the opposite and what is worse is that we are putting these actions in the media for the world is see in full action.

Initial Thoughts

When I first signed up for this class, I had not heard or known much about it, besides the fact that I just knew I needed it as a part of my English major. After the first class period, I left anticipating the next class- a feeling I was not exactly expecting! I am really looking forward to learning more about the Middle East and the modern literature it entails because not only do I not know much about the subject, but the Middle East has become such a big part of our lives as Americans and has made a profound impact on the United States overall, especially after 9/11. As we all know, after 9/11 the way things are run in the United States dramatically changed and are still in full effect today. Alongside, it is important to be informed about the Middle East and to dig deeper than just the negative that has happened in the past between the Middle East and United States. There is more to the Middle East than just 9/11 and I am really looking forward to exploring more into this region and learning about its literature, culture, people, and history.

Another reason I am looking forward to learning about the Middle East is because my ancestors are from Armenia. My great-grandmother, great-aunt, and grandma are all from Armenia, and I have grown up hearing stories about their time in Armenia. One of my greatest childhood memories is having my grandma try to teach my cousins and I Armenian through cassette tapes and in person at family gatherings. I used to be able to speak basic Armenian (numbers, simple words, ect.) but unfortunately have forgotten them today but possibly one day I will get myself to learn more about the language (once I get through my Spanish minor, that is!).

Overall, I anticipate what this class has to offer, I have a good feeling it will be very beneficial and a knowledgeable class that I will be able to take and give a lot from!