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Orientalism is still present in today's society, but in a different form. [1] Said argues that the continuity of Orientalism into the present can be found in influential images, particularly through Hollywood, as the West has now grown to include the United States of America. [1] Many blockbuster movies, such as the Indiana Jones series, The Mummy films, and even the Disney Aladdin movies demonstrate the imagined geographies of the East. [1] The movies all portray the lead heroic characters as being from the Western world, while the villains are come from the East. [1]

Said compares these imagined geographies of the figures of the East to characters in a play,[2] and this can be seen in film even today. The representation of the Orient has continued in movies although this representation does not necessarily have any truth to it. The overly sexualized character of Jasmine in Aladdin is simply a continuation of the paintings from the 19th century where women were represented as erotic, sexualized male fantasies. [3]

  1. ^ a b c d Sharp, Joanne. Geographies of Postcolonialism. p. 25.
  2. ^ Said, Edward. Orientalism. p. 364.
  3. ^ Sharp, Joanne. Geographies of postcolonialism. p. 24.