{"id":901,"date":"2008-09-18T00:00:35","date_gmt":"2008-09-18T07:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/muslimahmediawatch.wordpress.com\/?p=901"},"modified":"2011-12-08T23:34:11","modified_gmt":"2011-12-09T03:34:11","slug":"hollywoods-orientalist-fantasy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2008\/09\/hollywoods-orientalist-fantasy\/","title":{"rendered":"Unveiled: Hollywood’s Orientalist Fantasy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Guess what? Hollywood is making a film with a female Muslim protagonist! Yes, that\u2019s right. A female Muslim protagonist. The main character in the film is a Muslim woman. For the first time. And what is the name of the film, you may ask? Guess. Just take a quick guess. What\u2019s that? Did you say the word \u2018veil\u2019? Very close! It\u2019s called Unveiled<\/em><\/a>. Is that a surprise? Well, the fact that the film\u2019s main character is a Muslim woman may be, but the name, not so much, considering the main character is a Muslim woman.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As the projected release date of the film is December of 2009, information on the film is scant. From what I\u2019ve been able to gather from a few sites, it seems the main character is a Middle Eastern woman, who, after finding her life in danger, takes on the identity of a dead friend and leaves the Middle East for the U.S. That\u2019s the most thorough synopsis I\u2019ve been able to find. From a few other sites, I\u2019ve also gathered that the film is part thriller, part psychological drama, part film noir, and that<\/span><\/span> the reason she leaves the Middle East is to meet an American lover, who she has along with two husbands.<\/p>\n

The film is directed by Bill Bannerman<\/a>, Clint Eastwood\u2019s assistant director on many films, but for whom Unveiled<\/em> will be his directorial debut. In Bannerman\u2019s own words, the film\u2019s description:<\/p>\n

\u201cBehind the dark burqa lies a sexy, manipulative victim who is dangerous, as well as in grave danger.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So many things wrong with that quote. Let\u2019s break it down.<\/p>\n

1. Burqa? I thought she was Middle Eastern. Women in the Middle East don\u2019t wear the burqa. South Asian\/Afghan women do. So culturally inappropriate.<\/p>\n

2. A sexy woman victim behind the \u2018burqa\u2019 takes us back to the Orientalist fantasy. The \u2018other\u2019 being created first by placing her inside a foreign garment. The \u2018other\u2019 then being exoticised to titillate the Western eye (or other body parts). The \u2018other\u2019 being a helpless victim whom the Western viewer of the film will feel the need to rescue, because only he\/she can.<\/p>\n

3. Dangerous \u2013 in this world of hostility toward Muslims, do we still need to portray Muslims as dangerous?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>So who is the actress who will play the Middle Eastern protagonist? Hindi film actress Mallika Sherawat<\/a>, (pictured left), Hindi cinema\u2019s sex symbol. Why did Bannerman choose her? Because<\/a> he wanted someone from the Middle East or South Asia who could \u201cunderstand the character of a Muslim woman from the Middle East and lend a degree of authenticity in terms of accent, body language, knowledge of customs among other features.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n

Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures are very different and not everyone in those cultures is Muslim. Not everyone can understand the Muslim \u201cculture\u201d, authentically. Especially when there is no one Muslim culture. Bannerman, by saying that he needed someone who already understood the Muslim \u201cculture,\u201d is conflating many issues into one. He is first assuming there is one Muslim culture. Then he is assuming that all cultures in the East are the same. Then he is saying that if someone is from the East, somewhere, they will all understand and know each other. What he seems to be saying is if you\u2019re from \u201cover there\u201d you must all be the same. Middle East, South Asia, Muslim, or non, you\u2019re all the same. You all have the same culture. After all, that is why an Indian woman would have knowledge of Middle Eastern culture.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Mallika was made to wear a burqa in her audition<\/a>. I\u2019m not sure how this would effect the way she performed. Also, not sure what to make of this, other than the culturally inaccurate use of the burqa in this film. Or perhaps a veil fetish, discussed below. Anyhow\u2026<\/p>\n

What does Mallika think of the film?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fantastic story \u2013 part thriller, part psychological drama, part film noir\u2026 It was so fast paced and exciting and so well written, I couldn\u2019t put it down for a second,\u201d said Mallika<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the icing on the cake was that it\u2019s a story from the point of view of a woman \u2014 a woman who has relationships with three men from different continents, and she goes from an ultra-traditional Muslim environment to an ultra-liberal Western one. This is a script I could never say no to,\u201d she added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Additionally, she has said<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cShe is not a shadow behind the burqa and she is very sexy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The assumption again is that a woman in a burqa is nothing but a shadow, a mere silhouette of who she really is. Additionally, all this allusion to the sexiness of the character alludes to a veil fetish of sorts, something which Asra Nomani explains<\/a> well. Even more so with the choice of Mallika to play the Muslim woman. A woman known for her provocative clothing and scenes, (as her pictures<\/a> attest to \u2013 not all safe-for-work) adds additional titillation as one knows that a sexy and alluring body exists under that burqa. I cannot help but wonder if this was a conscious choice on the part of Bannerman. Even though most Western audiences would not be familiar with her initially, that may not be for long.<\/p>\n

Without having seen the film, it is honestly difficult to place this comment. We do not know how the ultra-traditional Muslim environment will be portrayed nor do we know how the ultra-liberal Western one will play out on screen. We do not know how the two will be contrasted. However, I\u2019m still going to make some educated guesses. From this tagline<\/a> \u2013 \u201cSilenced by Tradition\u2026Deadly by Choice\u201d \u2013 <\/em>it would seem that the ultra-traditional Muslim, and might I add, Eastern, environment will be portrayed as silencing and thus oppressive. An environment in which women are not supposed to be individual people who are able to voice their opinion or choose their own life. This will be depicted as the average and normal environment for all Muslim women. It will be shown as the common situation for ALL Muslim women. All Eastern\/Muslim\/traditional values will be shown as oppressive and suffocating. The Muslim body will be oppressed and denied, longing for something better, something Western. The West, in contrast, will be shown as liberating; one in which people are free to choose their own life. It will be shown as a beacon of opportunities to those poor disadvantaged Eastern folk. The West will be a place to express oneself as one wishes. The Western body will be one of saviour. It is in the West that the Muslim woman will be able to unveil her oppressive Eastern identity and reveal her sexy and exotic Eastern body, for the pleasure of the Western eye. But that\u2019s just my guess.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll see when the film is released. Expect a full critique then. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guess what? Hollywood is making a film with a female Muslim protagonist! Yes, that\u2019s right. A female Muslim protagonist. The main character in the film is a Muslim woman. For the first time. And what is the name of the film, you may ask? Guess. Just take a quick guess. What\u2019s that? Did you say […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":411,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2663,471,801,1020],"class_list":["post-901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cinema","tag-cinema","tag-film","tag-mallika-sherawat","tag-orientalism"],"yoast_head":"\nUnveiled: Hollywood's Orientalist Fantasy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Guess what? Hollywood is making a film with a female Muslim protagonist! Yes, that's right. A female Muslim protagonist. 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