Portrayal of the Global South: An Analysis of Orientalist Representations in Western Films
Keywords:
Representation, West, Film, Orientalism, Global, SouthAbstract
Western films have a longstanding history of portraying non-Western cultures in a prescribed and stereotypical manner. This research article aims to show how Western films represent the Global South, specifically the films ‘Extraction’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ as case studies. The analysis centers on the representation of Bangladesh and India in these films. Utilizing Orientalism as the theoretical framework, Roland Barthes’s semiotics as its analytical method. By examining the connotative meanings embedded in the films, the article reveals how these interpretations align with and perpetuate Orientalist perspectives about these countries. The findings indicate that both films depict the regions as impoverished, rife with crime, and primitive. Furthermore, the linguistic and cultural representations were exoticized, often appearing more imagined than reflective of reality. The process of ‘othering’ reinforces the notion of Western supremacy over the Global South.
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