The book that made colonialism nervous, explained by the man who wrote it.
Edward Said's book Orientalism has been profoundly influential in a diverse range of disciplines since its publication in 1978. In this engaging and lavishly illustrated interview he talks about the context within which the book was conceived, its main themes, and how its original thesis relates to the contemporary understanding of "the Orient" as represented in the mass media. "That's the power of the discourse of Orientalism. If you're thinking about people and Islam, and about that part of the world, those are the words you constantly have to use. To think past it, to go beyond it, not to use it, is virtually impossible, because there is no knowledge that isn't codified in this way about that part of the world." -Edward Said
Writing
Said connects 19th-century paintings to CNN coverage without blinking.
Direction
Jhally lets the ideas breathe—no frantic cuts, just intellectual gravity.
Director
Sut Jhally
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Said was a classically trained pianist who performed with Daniel Barenboim—his analysis of Western art's 'Eastern' musical clichés carries extra bite from someone who knew the canon intimately.
The 1998 timing is crucial: this was filmed between the first Gulf War and 9/11, capturing a rare moment when American media was briefly self-conscious about its Middle East coverage before the patriotism machine rebooted.
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