Instances of Orientalism can also be found in 19th century movies depicting the East. An example of this is the 1956 film The King and I. This Academy Award winning musical tells the tale of Welsh widow Anna Leonowens, who moves to Siam to teach English to the King of Siam’s children. Although Said focuses on perceptions of the Middle East in his text, it would be negligent not to study media Orientalism of the Far East, which has a long history of being colonized, especially in regards to French Indochina. Therefore, the same imperialist perceptions apply.
The King and I
Russian born actor Yul Brynner portrayal of the Siamese King exemplifies Western stereotypes of the East. The audience is distracted from Brynner’s obviously Caucasian appearance by his exotic wardrobe, which is lavishly embellished and made from colorful silks. The King often wears his shirt open, displaying his muscular chest, and no shoes, which accentuates the brutish expression on his face and stern pointed eyebrows. Brynner is made to seem “Oriental” by typifying Occidental perceptions of Siamese culture. The Siamese King appears barbaric in contrast with Anna’s full skirts and proper English attire.
A European Anna arrives to teach the ignorant Orientals about civilized culture. King Mongkut represents the backward Eastern culture whereas Anna depicts the educated west. The King practices polygamy and is shown to have a harem of wives and 82 children. This differs from Anna, depicted as the dutiful widow who remains loyal and wedded to only one man. King Mongkut is portrayed as a heathen, arguing with Anna about the illogical ideas found in the Bible. However he cuts the intelligence in his argument by unreasonably demanding that Anna lay on the ground while speaking to him, reciting an archaic law that no head be higher than the king’s. He then commands Anna to write a letter to President Abraham Lincoln, in which he senselessly declares that he will send male elephants to America in order to help with the Civil War. Anna, the Western virtue of reason, chidingly points out that male elephants would be incapable of reproducing. The King inanely tells her to write out the details herself, symbolically resigning to the supremacy of Western logic. . The foil between King Mongkut and Anna helps to establish European life as dignified and cultured.
The King and I exemplifies the European imperialistic attitudes over the Orient. King Mongkut is only redeemed from his life as a brutish tyrant by the gentle nature of Anna, a proper and dignified English lady. He is wounded when Anna calls him a barbarian and eventually dies from her rejection of his primitive customs. The film unconsciously invokes imperialist rationale when Anna decides to stay in Siam to help the new prince rule the kingdom, demonstrating the Orient’s inability to properly rule itself without the Occident’s superior authority.
Instances of Orientalism can also be found in 19th century movies depicting the East. An example of this is the 1956 film The King and I. This Academy Award winning musical tells the tale of Welsh widow Anna Leonowens, who moves to Siam to teach English to the King of Siam’s children. Although Said focuses on perceptions of the Middle East in his text, it would be negligent not to study media Orientalism of the Far East, which has a long history of being colonized, especially in regards to French Indochina. Therefore, the same imperialist perceptions apply.
The King and I
Russian born actor Yul Brynner portrayal of the Siamese King exemplifies Western stereotypes of the East. The audience is distracted from Brynner’s obviously Caucasian appearance by his exotic wardrobe, which is lavishly embellished and made from colorful silks. The King often wears his shirt open, displaying his muscular chest, and no shoes, which accentuates the brutish expression on his face and stern pointed eyebrows. Brynner is made to seem “Oriental” by typifying Occidental perceptions of Siamese culture. The Siamese King appears barbaric in contrast with Anna’s full skirts and proper English attire.
A European Anna arrives to teach the ignorant Orientals about civilized culture. King Mongkut represents the backward Eastern culture whereas Anna depicts the educated west. The King practices polygamy and is shown to have a harem of wives and 82 children. This differs from Anna, depicted as the dutiful widow who remains loyal and wedded to only one man. King Mongkut is portrayed as a heathen, arguing with Anna about the illogical ideas found in the Bible. However he cuts the intelligence in his argument by unreasonably demanding that Anna lay on the ground while speaking to him, reciting an archaic law that no head be higher than the king’s. He then commands Anna to write a letter to President Abraham Lincoln, in which he senselessly declares that he will send male elephants to America in order to help with the Civil War. Anna, the Western virtue of reason, chidingly points out that male elephants would be incapable of reproducing. The King inanely tells her to write out the details herself, symbolically resigning to the supremacy of Western logic. . The foil between King Mongkut and Anna helps to establish European life as dignified and cultured.
The King and I exemplifies the European imperialistic attitudes over the Orient. King Mongkut is only redeemed from his life as a brutish tyrant by the gentle nature of Anna, a proper and dignified English lady. He is wounded when Anna calls him a barbarian and eventually dies from her rejection of his primitive customs. The film unconsciously invokes imperialist rationale when Anna decides to stay in Siam to help the new prince rule the kingdom, demonstrating the Orient’s inability to properly rule itself without the Occident’s superior authority.
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