The Dictator and Orientalism

In the beginning of the quarter, we discussed Said Edwards book, Orientalism. This book, I believe, is the foundation of our class. The movies we watched in class displayed the arguments Said Edwards has in his book. The movie The Dictator shows the idea of West vs. the East. The East, in Edward’s book, is any culture or country that is not part of the Western countries, such as countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. The West or, as Edward Said calls them, the Occident, has this misconception and imagination of the East. The Occident views the East as a magical, exotic place, where the society is backwards and primitive. I argue that The Dictator constructs generalizations of Eastern societies such as the low status of women, primitive culture and the non-existent democratic state.
The Dictator is a movie about a dictator whose name is Admiral General Shabazz Aladeen, who rules an imaginary nation called Wadiya in North Africa. He is anti-western and anti-Semitic. The country’s main source of income is oil and Admiral General has plans of developing nuclear weapons. Admiral General does not want his oil to be sold internationally and is considered by the UN a “troubled” leader. Admiral General’s uncle wants to kill him, so the oil can be sold internationally. A hit man kidnapped Admiral General and while Admiral General is escaping his kidnapper, his beard was shaved while through the process of escaping. Now without his signature beard, no one can recognize him. At the end of the movie, Admiral General meets Zoey, marries her, and eventually regains power of his country. The beginning of the movie shows Wadiya located in the African desert. The architecture of the building is very “Middle Eastern” with domes on top of the building that resemble the architecture of the Ottoman Empire period. The country has no modern building. This scene is the first manifestation of Orientalism. The movie sets the scene by telling the

Cited: Said, Edward W.. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 19791978. Print. The dictator. Dir. Sacha Cohen. Perf. Sacha Cohen. Paramount Pictures, 2012. Blu-Ray.