Tania Kamal-Eldin's Hollywood Harems: A Documentary was made by Women Make Movies (Firm) in 1999. Tania Kamal-Elin is surely an independent filmmaker and University educator. She has an MFA in Visual Arts from UCSD, a MSC in Political Economy from your London School of Economics. She also has taught at Palomar College and UCSD. Kamal-Elin's accomplishments include publishing various fictional novels in addition to co-authoring a magazine of short stories. Her current job is an Assistant Professor at American University, School of Communication in Film and Media Arts, in Washington D.C. In Hollywood Harems: A Documentary, Kamal-Elin reveals to viewers that Hollywood's depiction of harem dancers has inadvertently or purposely reinforced the stereotype surrounding Middle-Eastern women while continuing to promote the social status of Anglo-European and American women.
The stereotype surrounding Middle-Eastern women continues to be pervasive since Europeans first visited the Middle-East and brought back highly-exaggerated tales of sensualized locales where the lust that face men and their thirst to the skin is indulged. Despite its falsity, the portrayal of scantily-clad women sensually strewn across a space in numerous positions not doing anything but lazily enjoying music and indulging themselves has become Hollywood's go-to depiction of Middle-Eastern women. In reality nearly all Middle-Eastern women do not partake in such morally ambiguous activities but embraced the stereotype that Western nations added to their culture; by way of example in Micklewright's Harem/House/Set:
"The Ottoman snapshots, using the harem stereotype, reveal not merely an awareness from the stereotype and also a complex a feeling of parody. By inhabiting the stereotype themselves and intentionally constructing a defective version, the photographer with his fantastic subjects are claiming their very own agency in addressing (and mocking) Western constructions of the society." (Micklewright 257)
Kamal Elin utilizes clips of harems from Hollywood productions going back to the 1920s for the 60s, 70s, and 80s to indicate how Hollywood convinced most people to believe Middle-Eastern women are more-than willing subjects in male-fantasized harems. The truth is, the actresses portraying these stereotypical harems are in reality from America's heartland arriving in Hollywood without resources and expected to accept whatever available acting opportunities there was. Occasionally, these actresses embraced the function of harem girls generating their fortune convincing boys of these exotic sensuality.
Hollywood Harems: A Documentary is really a historical film piece that shares lots of the same aspects of our other readings: Highly-sexualized harems really are a product of stereotypes perpetuated by Anglo-European and Anglo-Americans because either the fact the status of ladies in Western countries is morally more advanced than those in the Orient or to match the fantasies of teenage boys that trust the rumors about Middle-East harems. In Hollywood Harems: A Documentary, the film producers of the different clips combined distinct components of items originating from Arab, Persian, Chinese, and Indian culture to form the setting of the fictionalized Middle-East that viewers were acquainted with in a fashion just like how British photographer Roger Fenton created a harem setting for his photographs. Fenton's photographs portrayed a "lavish usage of textiles of different colors, textures, and patterns to produce the area, which is furnished with a low couch and cushions. Smaller decorative elements-the inlaid table, a tray bearing a coffee pot and cups, both pipes, along with the instruments (spike fiddle, tambourine, and drum) fill out the scene." (Micklewright 242)
Fenton's utilization of these decorative elements gave his buyers the Middle-Eastern setting they desired, despite the fact that the overall population with the Ottoman Empire from which he was took his inspiration hardly had harems in their own household and those with rooms designated for harems were not even remotely near to Fenton's portrayal.
Hollywood Harems: A Documentary reveals the media's portrayal of Middle-Eastern harems was received enthusiastically by the average man or woman because correct depiction with the everyday living of Middle-Eastern women. The many clips in Hollywood Harems: A Documentary were generally in black-and-white but the filmmakers manipulated several film elements to help with their intended Middle-Eastern atmosphere. Some filmmakers utilized dim lightning inside their are employed in order to bring about a sense of seediness and taboo that insinuated that harems were places where shady and possibly illegal transactions were commonplace. Filmmakers also decided the costume choices directing women to utilize only the minimal quantity of clothing as the regulations dictating the quantity of clothing for women required in a motion picture only used on Anglo-women rather than ethnicities. Lastly, much like Robert Fenton or Sebah and Joaillier's depiction of harems, the filmmakers strategically placed luxurious items including ottomans, musical instruments, and recliner to create together the experience of a room meant for relaxing and sensual activities.
Tania Kamal Elin's Historical Harems: A Documentary is correct supply of history that accomplish its mission of identifying the influence of Hollywood films on the general population's thought of harems and Middle-Eastern women. Kamal Elin juxtaposes clips from different decades from the 1900s demonstrating how the misguided stereotype of Middle-Eastern harems persisted to present-day. My response to the film is among surprise and enlightenment as a result of my realization that most of people hold this stereotype about harems myself included. The influence of media in your life is tremendous and i'm sure that I hold numerous other stereotypes which may have not yet been discovered. The visual components of the harems from each clip was indicative of enough time it turned out produced, showing us what viewers of each and every certain time-period believed harems to be. Historical Harems: A Documentary gives an eye-opening insight into the stereotypes of Middle-Eastern harems held by Western civilizations.
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