The Reluctant Islamophobes: Multimedia Dissensus in the Hollywood Premodern
This paper contributes to the theorization of how Orientalism has evolved after 9/11 and in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. I specifically address the multimediality of films and propose that post-9/11 Orientalism has fragmented into more digestible, more complex micronarratives d...
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| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2020-09-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/16256 |
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| author | Elena Furlanetto |
| author_facet | Elena Furlanetto |
| author_sort | Elena Furlanetto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper contributes to the theorization of how Orientalism has evolved after 9/11 and in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. I specifically address the multimediality of films and propose that post-9/11 Orientalism has fragmented into more digestible, more complex micronarratives dispersed throughout the interplay of different media which constitute the film experience. I recur to Foucault’s concept of dispositif to illustrate how any of these media—such as music, screenplay, editing, acting, etc.—may “[enter] into resonance or contradiction with the others” (Foucault 195), ambiguating the film’s politics. When the film’s different media pursue diverging politics, I speak of multimedia dissensus. In order to test this hypothesis, I focus on two films which explicitly champion diversity and aim to reverse the logics of Islamophobia by presenting tributes to Muslim culture or denunciations of Eurocentric discriminatory practices: Alejandro Amenábar’s Agora (2009) and Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven (2005). A more detailed analysis of the films’ multimedial complexity, however, shows that they do participate in the Islamophobic discourses that have dominated Hollywood cinema after 9/11. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8c889825fd5a4402a359a3d30bd64885 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-8c889825fd5a4402a359a3d30bd648852025-01-06T09:09:07ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362020-09-0115310.4000/ejas.16256The Reluctant Islamophobes: Multimedia Dissensus in the Hollywood PremodernElena FurlanettoThis paper contributes to the theorization of how Orientalism has evolved after 9/11 and in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. I specifically address the multimediality of films and propose that post-9/11 Orientalism has fragmented into more digestible, more complex micronarratives dispersed throughout the interplay of different media which constitute the film experience. I recur to Foucault’s concept of dispositif to illustrate how any of these media—such as music, screenplay, editing, acting, etc.—may “[enter] into resonance or contradiction with the others” (Foucault 195), ambiguating the film’s politics. When the film’s different media pursue diverging politics, I speak of multimedia dissensus. In order to test this hypothesis, I focus on two films which explicitly champion diversity and aim to reverse the logics of Islamophobia by presenting tributes to Muslim culture or denunciations of Eurocentric discriminatory practices: Alejandro Amenábar’s Agora (2009) and Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven (2005). A more detailed analysis of the films’ multimedial complexity, however, shows that they do participate in the Islamophobic discourses that have dominated Hollywood cinema after 9/11.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/16256OrientalismIslamophobiaMultimediaHollywood PremodernDispositif |
| spellingShingle | Elena Furlanetto The Reluctant Islamophobes: Multimedia Dissensus in the Hollywood Premodern European Journal of American Studies Orientalism Islamophobia Multimedia Hollywood Premodern Dispositif |
| title | The Reluctant Islamophobes: Multimedia Dissensus in the Hollywood Premodern |
| title_full | The Reluctant Islamophobes: Multimedia Dissensus in the Hollywood Premodern |
| title_fullStr | The Reluctant Islamophobes: Multimedia Dissensus in the Hollywood Premodern |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Reluctant Islamophobes: Multimedia Dissensus in the Hollywood Premodern |
| title_short | The Reluctant Islamophobes: Multimedia Dissensus in the Hollywood Premodern |
| title_sort | reluctant islamophobes multimedia dissensus in the hollywood premodern |
| topic | Orientalism Islamophobia Multimedia Hollywood Premodern Dispositif |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/16256 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elenafurlanetto thereluctantislamophobesmultimediadissensusinthehollywoodpremodern AT elenafurlanetto reluctantislamophobesmultimediadissensusinthehollywoodpremodern |