We discussed briefly, in reference to a number of clips from films and readings we did, the notion that 'assimilation always fails.' Why is this? What are the dangers of asking minorities to 'become white' as opposed to breaking down those binaries and fears?
I've been thinking about this in the context of a hyper-nationalistic fear of terrorism. In a post 9-11 world there are extreme cases of Islamophobia. This nationalistic fear of dark skin, headscarves and burqas fuels a tension between those read as Muslims and non-Muslims. The film Paradise Now (2005), explores the identity of a Muslim 'terrorist' from an unbiased point of view. The film also asks viewers to recognize the way a minority group will act (or act out) when their identity becomes so limited and their options even more so.
1 comment:
I've also been thinking a lot about the experiences of Muslim Americans. I just read a book called On the Muslim Question for my senior Politics seminar, in which the author argued that the treatment and portrayals of Muslims in the United States often reflect domestic fears. She wrote that the focus on the way Muslim women are "oppressed" only serves to draw attention from the ways in which women are still oppressed in the Western world. She brought up some really interesting points, but I really disliked her framing of Muslim Americans, as she continually referred to them as a homogenous group, by referring to "the figure of the Muslim" or simply, "the Muslim" rather than acknowledging their individuality. I felt that this word choice worked to "other-ise" them, even though her book attempted to show the ways in which Islamic values are not incompatible with those of "Western civilization."
Post a Comment