weezy27/4/21

Bell Hooks talks a lot about orientalism in her essay entitled “The Other.” The other is anyone that falls outside the white Caucasian culture. At the start of her article she begins with a very blunt and in your face quote which says: “within commodity culture, ethnicity becomes spice, seasoning that can liven up the dull dish that is mainstream white culture.” This quote really caught my attention because I believe that in at some degree we as whites due tend to hold other ethnic groups responsible for mixing up the cultural pot. We rely on other ethnicities to define ourselves. Without referring to them as the other, we have no definition. By calling other ethnicities “the other” we are then able to define ourselves as the mass majority, controlling class.
Another quote from Bell Hooks states: “When race and ethnicity become commodified as resources for pleasure, the culture of specific groups, as well as the bodies of individuals, can be seen as constituting an alternative playground where members of dominating races, genders, sexual practices affirm their power-over in intimate relationships with the Other” This quote is also very interesting because I believe that white people do become threatened when other ethnicities are spotlighted within the media. What Hooks is saying here is that when this spotlighting of other cultures happens, white people come back into play by attempting to sexually conquer the other. As we discussed in class, this sexual conquer is a great way of imperialism, it is just a simple way for the white culture to establish their prevailing power over the other.
I found Bell Hook’s essay very interesting, yet sad at the same time. There is an inequality in today’s society. I find it sad that this is something that may never change and there will always be “others” in our society.