Fooling the orientalist
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After watching the music video by Swetshop boys I felt like I was immersed in an reductionist orientalists' brain where different symbols of cultures were in fragments trying to create one single image/giant collage of what is known today as the South Asian region. However, to me, it was only fragments that advertise sexual appeal with a compelling contrast of violent intent as that seems to appease or create interest for the non-South Asian eyes to reinforce their prenotions of these "others". Without these "exotic" elements added in spaces where the South Asian is present, the South Asian might not even be acknowledged, hence it can serve the purpose of finally being seen despite not being seen for who they are. In the reading by (Bald), we see how shiny aspects of a culture were used to create a path in life for black people. They did not have labels associated with them that were valuable to the white people, but Indians did. The selling of their goods enabled them to have power for themselves, as they were the guardians of magical products for their buyers. To pass off as one of these sellers, meant safety as Indians/Hindus benefitted the people who can afford their products, whereas the black people at that time did not have that privilege, thus if they can pass as one of them, it meant safety. It meant finally being seen, again even if it meant not actually being seen.
The subtitles of the video also seem to add to the oriental affect in people, as the distinction between the 3 different kinds of script might not be noticeable or obvious to many, again putting the viewers in the position of an orientalist who is staring down on all these symbols as something telling the same story with no distinction from one another. In addition, though the poetry was being sung/rapped the entire video, it sometimes felt like it was being overshadowed by the dramatic mini-clips, especially the ones where people were holding weapons. This can be seen in real life as well, where the beautiful essence of humans connecting with art and literally just vibing is crushed and replaced with exoticness in the eyes that do not understand them and into mere fragments of what they think "others" are.