The movie Not without my daughter said two things: don't get married to an Iranian man and don't go to Iran. The movie portrayed the utmost worst images of Iran and Muslims and it was clearly biased. The movie is based on a true story and although I could argue the validity of the events, the fact is these things actually happen. And...that is terrifying! I commend the movie for raising awareness about different laws in different regions of the world and how important it is to know them before you go and visit. But other than a survival story, I did not think the movie had much substance. Everything from the terrorizing pictures of Khomeini to the ominous veils of the women were captured through a strong biased lens leaving the audience with one feeling: terror, mistrust, and despise for Iran/Iranians.
Malek Alloula's book The Colonial Harem had a much stronger impact because I did not consider the power photographers have to dehumanize a people through their lens. The photographers in the book stage photos to convey and reaffirm their biases and stereotypes and the book further demonstrates how the Middle East has been misrepresented and exploited in script and photo. If i hadn't read this account of postcards, and I came across them, I would have assumed that the photographer "happened to catch" these women in those poses. It would never have crossed my mind to believe that the photo was posed for the purpose of reaffirming Otherness.
Similar to in the movie, at first glance, a group of veiled women are very mysterious and privatized. Alloula describes the veil as "a uniform mask" and a form of resistance, its value for the social group remains strong. The veil prevents women from being distinguished, they show solidarity. The whiteness of the veil defies the photographer's purpose because they are unseen and they are absent from the photo. "The veiled women are ominous and threatening to the photographer because their gaze robs him of being the only gazer." The veil is powerful and in many ways liberates and protects women from being robbed of their identity. In America many tend to believe that women have the "freedom" to dress how we choose, but that is false. Western women are more trapped in their provocative mini skirts, inviting low cut tops, and helpless 5 inch heels.
When the photographer realizes the power of solidarity within the Algerian women, he proceeds to get Algerian women alone and once he does he succeeds in manipulating and staging the photo and its story. The dress, props and pose add to the specific structure of the photo, add to the “authenticity” as he tries to make something real. "The popular images of slave girls, harems, and concubines continued to horrify Western critics of the Muslim world." The photographer solidifies these images by creating a counter reality. Because the veiled women defied his objective, he can only resort to falsified images.
He stages the photos and creates stereotypical images that satisfy his perception. A photo of a young, poor, raggedy couple holding a baby are meant to be portrayed as "backward". The more well off couple look happy, polished and more advanced thanks to the "blessings of civilization."
The models throughout the book are objectified, as the photographer is free to assign them a region, give them "identity," and "status." The model is his object to create, define, and release into the world as an original image. By continuously reproducing the same images, figures become identified and classified with the Oriental such as coffee, the hookah, and an odalisque. These things serve to dehumanize the Oriental.
Beyond the photo, the photographer brings his models to light and places them into the public sphere and offers their bodies to the world. The women are possessed and their body and soul are sold for men's pleasure. "The phantasm of the harem is only a transparent and convenient mask behind which is hidden an even more sordid meaning, the key to which is colonization." Overall, Alloula does a great job in thoroughly critiquing and discrediting the postcards and, similar to Said, he insists that we have a more critical eye of what is being said, written, and depicted of the Middle East and its people.
I agree with you on the power of photography and visual imagery. It is a strong tool that has been used to denigrate people and misrepresent them. In this world were popular media such as TV, magazines and the internet, rule, images that are thrown at us are of paramount importance because they in fact help in shaping our views.
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