Mickey Boston - Orientalism (Letter to Bernard Lewis)

Dear Bernard,

Please Enjoy.

Sincerely,
MB

***
Follow the lyrics. Understand the Story.

http://www.myspace.com/mickeyboston

Montreal Underground hip-hop artist MB explores "Orientalism" with a rather intriguing discourse.

In essence, "Orientalism" was a term perhaps established by the late Edward Said of Columbia University.

After having completed his Master's in literature in 2006, Mickey Boston had decided to revisit "Orientalism" in a post-9/11 era.

In its bare essence, "Orientalism" is primarily a term used for the depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists.

What it is is the West transposing it's ideals and stereotypes on the East, particularly those ideals that are misconceptions and myths of the "other," in this case, it is most likely Arabs and Muslims as a whole.

Beyond the English, "Orientalism" was more widely used to refer to the works of French artists in the 19th century, who used artistic elements derived from their travels to non-European countries of in North Africa and Western Asia.

Nonetheless, the 20th century saw considerable change in the term's usage. In 1978 American scholar Edward Said, published his influential and controversial book, Orientalism; he used the term to describe a pervasive Western tradition, both academic and artistic, of prejudiced outsider interpretations of the East, shaped by the attitudes of European imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Said was critical of both this scholarly tradition and of some modern scholars, Bernard Lewis.

In complete contrast, some modern scholars have used the term to refer to writers of the Imperialist era with pro-Eastern attitudes.

More recently, the term is also used in the meaning of "stereotyping of Islam", both by advocates and academics in refugee rights advocacy. A particular aspect of this stereotyping, described as "neo-Orientalism", occurs in the context of forced migration, particularly affecting women, and its alleged damage to refugee rights both in and outside the Arab and Muslim world.

Mickey Boston cleverly pivots these ideals in his 2010 track from his upcoming album, al-Ghayb (The Unseen) in a rather lucid fashion that chronicles a story and a critique of life in a "McCarthyesque Post-Iraq War-Obama Era"

Category:

Music

Tags:

• orientalism
• hiphop
• Edward
• Said
• Bernard
• Lewis
• Mickey
• Boston

[ABICUSMC]

ill

[iuse420247]

Keep up the good work love from NYC you the man !