Chapter2 theoretical background

2.2.1 Orientalism


Orientalism is knowledge about the 'East'. It reveals representations of cultural and ideological discourse with supporting institutions, imagery, doctrines, colonial bureaucracies and colonial styles (Said, 2003, p.2). Derived from Edward Said, this theory is used by west to dominate and colonize the east through created 'east'. Benjamin Disraeli (2003, p.:XXVI) said as quoted by Said that "The East is a career", which means for long time the relationship between west and east is always about power and domination, it is because the west regarded the east as the largest and richest place of their colony. Related to Denys Hay, he said that Orientalism is an idea of identifying "us" west as against "them" non-west, along with assumption that their identity as more superior in comparison to non-west (Said, 2003, p.7).

In addition, Said indentified orientalism as a thought that distinguishes 'East (the orient) and 'West' (the occident) based on their ontological and epistemological. This theory also contains of doctrines which reveals about western superiority as well as eastern inferiority which is viewed by western perception. Those led to the emergence of several issues such as intellectual, primitive, attitude that emphasizes the differences between white people and non white people. Said argued that east could not exist without west. It is used to a mode of discourse where the west could manage and create the east through ideology, political, sociological, scientific even military. (Said, 2003, p.2-8).


2.2.2 Otherness


The aspect of otherness is essential to understand and recognize the postcolonialism theory. This aspect has been used by groups or societies to those who they want to subordinate and do not fit into their world. The subsistence of others is necessary in describing what people mean to be 'normal' in comparing to 'abnormal' in this world. Apparently the colonized group considered as "other", through primitivism and cannibalism discourses to build a binary separation between the colonizer and the colonized. Binary means a pattern of set meaning between two or a pair such as sun/moon, man/woman, birth/death, etc. (Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin, 2007, p.154-

155).


On the other side, binary is also violence hierarchy where one term always becomes a dominant opposition such as man over woman, white over black and colonizer over colonized which is called binary logic. It makes the tendency of western thought increases in the term of binary develop connection with domination for instance: colonizer : colonized, white : black (non white), civilized : primitive, advanced : retarded, healthy : unhealthy, good : evil, beautiful : ugly, human : bestial. (Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin, 2007 p.lS-20). Hence, it can be said that the colonizer saw themselves as a picture of what a human being should be. They identified themselves as

''us", while the colonized were considered as "other'' different and inferior from

colonizer. This concept leads all who are different, backwardness, wilderness and inferior is called "East" and "West" as the opposite of these characteristics as a superior, progressive, rational, and civilized.