Epic Encounters, Arabian Nights - Essay Example

There are some iconic images discussed by McAlister which are instantly recognizable in the context of the present situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The picture of women wearing burqas in Afghanistan, the image of Osama bin Ladin on TV, and the hooded and wired prisoner in Abu Ghraib (McAlister, 2001). The immediate connection that one can make with these images is linking the Middle East to barbarism and brutality.

These images show that the burqa is a tool to subjugate women rather than a cultural implement which is used in countries like India and Pakistan as well. It shows that Osama bin Ladin is the single monster that we need to catch since as soon as he is caught, the world will have complete peace and every American will have two cars in his/her driveway. Of course, it can be considered an exaggeration but the media and the image created by the media certainly supports the concept of the Middle East being a barbaric place to be.

While thinking about this idea I was reminded of the Disney Animated Movie, Aladdin, which has an opening song titled Arabian Nights. The lyrics of the song as they were created and sung in the first edition of the film were, “Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place/ Where the caravan camels roam/ Where they cut off your ear/ If they don't like your face/ It's barbaric, but hey, it's home (Lyrics007.com, 2007, pg. 1)”. Considering that Princess Jasmine was hardly wearing a burqa and Aladdin was a massive hit, it is unlikely that the children of that time got a reasonable image of the Middle East.

This song was protested against and Disney obliged by changing the lyrics to the song in future releases of the same film. The newer, more politically correct lyrics read, “Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place/ Where the caravan camels roam/ Where it's flat and immense/ And the heat is intense/ It's barbaric, but hey, it's home (Lyrics007.com, 2007, pg. 1)”. While the word barbaric was not taken out of the song, the cutting off of ears in case of having a less than appealing face was removed as one of the characteristics of the Middle East.

It seems to me that the idea of barbarism being attached to any real or imagined enemy is a universal construct that comes from a lack of enlightenment. There was certainly a time when the Arabs ruled the world in terms of science and technology. During the Crusades, there were two armies and one was bigoted, full of hate, and trying to unjustly change established international borders. This army was not of the Arabs but the Europeans who were pushed ahead by religious zeal and the chance to loot and plunder the riches of the Middle East.

Of course, the Europeans considered the Middle Eastern enemies to be barbarians and the Arabs had no love for a people who did not believe in bathing regularly. The outsider, the others, and those who are given the image of being the enemy are always barbarians. I would not be surprised if fundamentalist clerics in the Middle East were able to take pictures of an American educational institute during the summers and show women wearing short tops to be a symbol of barbarism. They might consider the system of giving men and women the same education or the same level of standing in society to be a barbaric implement but it must be understood that neither the Arabs nor we are barbarians.

I believe that barbarians are those individuals who refuse to listen, who refuse to understand, and most importantly, those who wish to impose their way of life on others. With this definition, if an Arab wants to impose burqas on all American women, s/he is certainly a barbarian and if an American soldier rips off the burqa of an Afghan woman, he is certainly a barbarian. As McAlister suggested, it is simply our interpretation of the act and the guidance on the image presented to us that makes up our mind concerning the relative labels which can be given to one person or another. Read More