Western Operas Depict Inaccurate Facts about the Orients

In this essay, I am going to discuss and make a stand that western operas depict inaccurate facts about the orients. In order to substantiate my stand, I will also look into some of the western operas that are based on the orient. There are many definitions of Orientalism. Some examples are as followed. According to the oxforddictionaries.com, Orientalism is â€Å"Style, artifacts, or traits considered characteristic of the peoples and cultures of Asia.† (Oxford University Press 2014) Edwards Said, author of the book â€Å"Orientalism† defines Orientalism as a â€Å"corporate institution for dealing with the Orient†, dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it: in short, Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.† (Locke 1993, under Reflections on Orientalism in Opera) From the definitions available, it can conclud ed that the word ‘orient’ in the term of ‘Orientalism’ is referring to either the Islamic Middle East (e.g. North Africa, Turkey, Arabia, Persia), or East and South Asia (the ‘Far East’, e.g. India, Indochina, China, Japan). Orientalism has been part of western arts for a long time. Orientalism in Music occurred since the late Renaissance. This can be seen by a widely performed dance during that period, called the Moresca, which was associated with the Moors of North Africa and was often performed with dark skin makeup and withShow MoreRelatedOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagestruth is out there, and we can objectively know it Philosophical disputes around the role of the subjective in science Epistemological and ontolological disputes: how can we ever know the ‘truth’ and is there an ‘out there’? A few words of warning about the term postmodernism Overview of the structure and rationale of the book Chapter summaries Chapter 2: Modernist organization theory: back to the future? Chapter 3: Neo-modernist organization theory: putting people first? Chapter 4: Neo-modernist