the perils of legitimacy

Today's soundtrack:
"Eres Mi Religion" by Maná and Zucchero.

So there I was, The Kite Runner in hand, lecturing away to a class of houseplants (if you don't get the Kid Koala reference, there's nothing I can do for you), and one them shouts out "Hey, didya hear they're making a movie of it?" Sigh. No, I didn't.

Here's my problem with the book. Okay, fine. Here's one of my many problems with the book. It perpetuates the stereotype. Don't believe me? Fine. Write down what comes into your head when you think of the word "Arab". What images show up? Now, read The Kite Runner. This isn't an Afghani writing from an Afghani perspective. This is an American writing from an American perspective. The people in this book are either good, faithful Muslims or bad, indulgent Arabs. The people are poor, backward, and unable to help themselves. Drumroll please because here come the Americans! Yes, I know it's not in the book, but the invasion of Afghanistan is clearly the unwritten epilogue to this whole cliche-ridden, stereotype-driven "book" (I use the term book solely because it consists of pages with words, and these pages are fixed, on one edge, to a cover of some kind). People are picking this book up and thinking "oh wow, this is all written from the Afghan perspective. Aren't we wonderful and inclusive! And look, they think American dominance in the Middle East is good, too!" Then we pat ourselves on the back, feel good about what our governments are doing, and go about our day. Nevermind the fact that women are virtually non-existant in this "book". Nevermind the fact that it's the best bit of propaganda Bush/Harper could hope for. Nevermind the fact that it's wholly unoriginal in its use of disability to indicate purity (Tiny Tim, anyone?). What absolutely kills me is that the stereotype that is hindering the West's ability to understand the East is being (unconsciously?) repeated through the mouth of this Afghani-American writer, thereby giving it a scary level of legitimacy.

Sort of like on The Daily Show the other day. This general from the Iraqi Air Force (under Saddam) was on. A cheery, grandfather-like figure. No mention of the Kurds. But hey, Saddam had those weapons. Oh yes sir, he shipped them all to Syria just before the Americans showed up. And by the way, it's a good thing the Americans showed up, too. Oh yes. Legitimacy.

And now there's going to be a movie. You know what, I'll save you some time. Just watch Disney's Aladdin.

Apologies to D for the vague references to subjects discussed in the Class-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named.