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Orientalism, a term coined by social theorist Edward Said, refers to the way Western artists often depict non-Western cultures as exotic and different—but in patronizing a way that subtly implies the culture in question is somehow alien or inferior. It also refers to the way Western artists borrow Eastern cultural or religious imagery for their own benefit, despite having no real connection to the culture they’re borrowing from. In Disgraced, Isaac warns Emily that her use of traditional Islamic patterns in her art might be perceived as Orientalist.
Orientalism Quotes in Disgraced
The Disgraced quotes below are all either spoken by Orientalism or refer to Orientalism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Scene 1
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I think it’s a little weird. That you want to paint me after seeing a painting of a slave.
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Scene 2
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About me being a white woman with no right to be using Islamic forms? I think you’re wrong about that.
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You know what you’re going to be accused of… […] Orientalism.
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The Islamic tiling tradition, Isaac? Is a doorway to the most extraordinary freedom. And which only comes through a kind of profound submission. In my case, of course it’s not submission to Islam but to the formal language. The pattern. The repetition. And the quiet that this work requires of me? It’s extraordinary.
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The work you’re doing with the Islamic tradition is important and new. It needs to be seen. Widely.
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Moor? Haven’t heard that word in a minute.
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So there you are in your six-hundred-dollar Charvet shirt, like Velázquez’s brilliant apprentice-slave in his lace collar, adorned in the splendors of the world you're now so clearly a part of… And yet... […] The question remains […] Of your Place.
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I picked up the recipe when I was on a Fulbright in Seville.
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Orientalism Term Timeline in Disgraced
The timeline below shows where the term Orientalism appears in Disgraced. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Scene 2
...earnest Emily’s approach to painting is. However, he’s worried that people will accuse her of Orientalism—especially since she a “brown husband.” Emily swears at Isaac for saying this, which Isaac approves...
(full context)
