Orientalist view and representation of Middle East in American cinema

The concept of orientalism is a general nomenclature given to the systematic studies of the West on the East. The Eastern theme, which has been conveyed in the memories of travelers for years, in the paintings of painters and in the books of authors, has begun to be processed in a new environment after technological developments. The concept of orientalism, which had the opportunity to be reinterpreted in the cinematic universe, entered the field of creating a new idea by directors and screenwriters. In this context, the relationship between orientalism and cinema is dealt with in the context of American cinema and films about the Middle East. In this study, it is aimed to show how cinema, which is an important mass media tool in influencing communities, represents the Middle East and how it creates the orientalist perspective. The study dealt with in the universe of American cinema focuses on films about the Middle East. The Thief of Bagdad (1924), Rambo 3 (1988) and The Kingdom (2007) were chosen as the samples. In the films, many factors such as the Middle East, geography, individual, life, religion and identity have been examined. These selected films are examined by van Dijk's critical discourse analysis method. The analysis made focused mainly on why the Middle East is generally exposed to negative qualifications in American cinema. Thus, the political interests of the United States caused the Hollywood cinema to show periodic differences in transferring the Middle East, and the assumptions were tried to be proved valid. Key Words: American Sinema, Middle East, Orientalism, Orientalist, Critical Discourse Analysis