Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Response: Occidentalism, the western ideal

The orientalism and occidentalism are switching places in the modern world.  At first the two could have existed to give meaning to there opposite.  The Oriental know they are Oriental because they are not occidental, and Oriental is truly an occidental creation.  The fact that their name is created from the sheer fact that they are east of the empire of Rome. The slave in the master slave relationship that is semiotics, but one can not exist with out the other.  So they overlap and become each other.  It is evident in both western and eastern culture that their is a blend occurring.  It is no mere coincidence that in Blade Runner and Firefly set in a more Orientally influenced culture, the languages have blended so have the customs.  It is evident even in our society, Coca Cola can be seen across the mass orient, where as sushi, buddhism, acupuncture, and other oriental customs have grown popular in the two great occidental super powers, America and Britain.  India still watches the BBC, and Netflix is stocked full of asian films.  Many new horror films are adapted from the Oriental films (The Ring, One Missed Call, and The Grudge).  A large aspect could be because of the blending of the cultural identity and the populations, or the introduction of the internet, but the cultures have been merging since their first meeting. They shared medicines, weapons, and resources.  Occidental and Oriental are becoming more mixed, while the Oriental populace rises, the Occidental populace trades more and relies more on the eastern economy and community.  Wars and colonialism  facilitated the change, but the economy fostered the child. It allowed it to grow, and it will continue to grow, until Oriental and Occidental simply become ways to designate east and west on a compass and not east and west by culture.

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