MovieChat Forums > The Sheik (1921) Discussion > An Analysis of Images in 'The Sheik'

An Analysis of Images in 'The Sheik'


For those of you who may be interested, I wrote an academic paper on this film for a class entitled "Cultures of the Middle East". Below I have attached an abridged version of this paper to hopefully spur discussion about this fascinating film.

Copyright 2004. Excerpted from "Middle East Images in "The Sheik""

The characters are of particular interest in this film. The Sheik, played by Italian immigrant turned Hollywood heartthrob Rudolph Valentino is a largely unlikeable character who’s saving grace seems to be his white heritage. In fact, Valentino seems to be playing two different characters—The Sheik, an Arab who is commanding, threatening, and sexually dangerous, and Ahmed, the attractive Parisian-educated man who sings “Beautiful Dreamer.” Several scenes show this Sheik/Ahmed dichonomy, with also hints at the Orientalist East/West dichonomy. As The Sheik, Valentino’s character is demanding and forceful; he bellows at Diana for disobeying his orders, alludes to forcing himself upon her, and treats everyone as his servant. In other scenes, however, Ahmed is fair and even kind. In one particular scene, he yells at Diana because she does not want to go with him into his tent. “I am not used to having my ordes disobeyed!” Immediately afterwards, as he leaves her, he tells his servant to make sure Diana is provided for in every way.

Edward Said’s “Orientalism” was a pioneering look at the “exoticizing and racist representations of ‘The East’.” (McAlister) In Orientalism, the East is associated with femininity and sensuality, while the West is associated with masculinity and rationality. As representations of their respective cultures, Ahmed and Diana become examples of Orientalism. In the introduction to her book “Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and US Interests in the Middle East, 1945-2000,” Melani McAlister describes Valentino’s character as a “woman-made man.” Filmed in soft lighting, with heavy makeup emphasizing his eyes and mouth, Valentino does take on a feminine quality. He is quick and emotional in his reactions, and exhibits rapid mood swings, which can be associated with conventional femininity. Although physically female, Diana is portrayed as having masculine qualities; she is proud, headstrong, and determined. In one scene, Ahmed mocks her masculine (Western) riding attire and demands she change into more feminine (Eastern) clothing. Clothing, particularly what Diana should wear, becomes a major plot point in this film. Throughout the film, Diana is forced to wear “Eastern” clothing, which is usually skimpy, gauzy, and oversexualized. In “Scheherzade Goes West”, Morrocan feminist Fatema Mernissi is quick to point out that this is a common Western mistake. She explains that in most Middle Eastern cultures, men and women dress very similarly, and have for many, many years. She even uses an example from as early as 1599, long before the setting of “The Sheik.”

Lastly, I’d like to take a brief look at the images of Islam in “The Sheik.” The film begins with an exotic image of a man standing at the window of a minaret calling the faithful to prayer. A group of men in robes and turbans bow in the same direction, giving praise to Allah. Immediately afterwards, the action cuts to the marriage market described in the beginning of this paper. This image of Islam seems completely random, since it does nothing to further the story. However, the insertion of this image is anything but random. First of all, it begins to fuel the audiences’ perception of the setting. Just by showing images of people bowing and using the name of Allah, the audience can begin to associate the film’s setting with a particular region of the world. Also, the placement of this scene before the scene in the marriage market helps to associate Islam with arranged marriage. Islam is used in this film as a synonym for “other.” The Arab characters are frequently called “sons of Allah” throughout the narraration, especially when the characters are engaged in the arranging of marriages or in violence. Whether conciously or not, the film makers have linked Islam with violence. Diana, however, is not referred to by her religion at all. The only scene where she is marked as “Christian” at all is when she wears a large cross pendant to dinner.

Films such as these play a huge role in determining many people’s perceptions of the people, culture, and region. If there is no other source to dispute a film, it is easy to accept its images as the truth, especially since movies are visual representations of actual people. It is very easy to forget that a film is in fact a scripted performance, written by a person with his or her own ideas of a culture or time period. It is the responsibility of the audience to look critically at the films they see and determine what is true and what is creative filmmaking influenced by the ideas, and sometimes prejudices of, the culture from which that film came.

reply

Great take.

Is there anyway that I can read the full text of your paper?

Has it been published.

I actually never saw the movie, but read the book some time ago.

reply

1) Diana didn't need to be "marked" as Xian - the audience would already assume she was.

2) The whole sub-plot (as it were) about the clothes & "Orientalism" is actually a reflection of the Western heritage of not just the author (who wrote that in the novel), but of the character himself - in the end, he is revealed *not* to be an Arab - and of the fashions worn by & the character of the woman involved: she is Western and so are her clothes: she is asserting her independence by wearing masculine clothing in a clearly Western manner (or ethos - whatever you might want to say). The point of contention between the 2 of them is based on Western ideas of what constitutes masculine/feminine attire as well as behavior. The struggle for dominance seems to be a universal gender problem rather than one of any particular culture.

3) I won't argue that Islam and Arabs aren't being shown as violent, but I will say that the verbal references were arguably just as much the attempt to exoticize the film.

An interesting paper, overall.

________________

Those who study history are doomed to watch others repeat it.

reply

Interesting analysis. I am gonna comment only about this line:
"Whether conciously or not, the film makers have linked Islam with violence".

Actually I found the representation of the arabs in 'The Sheik' rather innocuous. They have been exoticized and stereotyped, just as the previous poster mentioned. But that's something that Hollywood have made to EVERY foreign culture.
Nowadays the representation of arabs in particular and muslims in general, in US media is way more vicious, biased and unfair.
Just my 2 cents.

reply

"Vicious, biased, unfair"? Let me guess, the US media showed some beheadings, attacks on innocent people, planes flying into buildings killing thousands of people, the horrific Sharia Law practices, the mutilation of women, etc., etc. and you decided that was "vicious, biased, and unfair"? What would you like to see that you could call "benign, unbiased, and fair"?

reply

"Wnewman106", I mostly agree with you. While I strongly believe that there are both good and bad people everywhere, in every culture, modern-day political correctness has left many blind to some very ugly truths. :-(

"Think slow, act fast." --Buster Keaton

reply

Of coarse those beheadings and killings are truthful but the point of the other poster is that Islam as a whole is only presented thus. We're not shown any positive images in that religion.

We have Muslims in the south of my country, and they have been associated with bombings, kidnappings, and killings of children, tourists, & priests. These associations are based on what we see and hear in the news, and they are truthful. And I can't help but have a negative view of them, and these are people of the same ethnicity as me, they speak a language similar to mine, and still have retained some cultural traditions prior to Islam that are similar to mine, BUT, I still see them as "the other" in a negative light. Because all I ever hear about them are the negatives, not the positives so in a way it is biased. Because not every Muslim is a terrorist, a vicious murderer, a rapist or a child molester but these are very extreme and severe things we associate unconsciously with every practicing Muslim, not just the ones who are.

reply

Thank you for sharing but I just want to comment on one thing:

QUOTE:
"Edward Said’s “Orientalism” was a pioneering look at the “exoticizing and racist representations of ‘The East’.” (McAlister) In Orientalism, the East is associated with femininity and sensuality, while the West is associated with masculinity and rationality. As representations of their respective cultures, Ahmed and Diana become examples of Orientalism. In the introduction to her book “Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and US Interests in the Middle East, 1945-2000,” Melani McAlister describes Valentino’s character as a “woman-made man.” Filmed in soft lighting, with heavy makeup emphasizing his eyes and mouth, Valentino does take on a feminine quality. He is quick and emotional in his reactions, and exhibits rapid mood swings, which can be associated with conventional femininity. Although physically female, Diana is portrayed as having masculine qualities; she is proud, headstrong, and determined. In one scene, Ahmed mocks her masculine (Western) riding attire and demands she change into more feminine (Eastern) clothing. Clothing, particularly what Diana should wear, becomes a major plot point in this film. Throughout the film, Diana is forced to wear “Eastern” clothing, which is usually skimpy, gauzy, and oversexualized. In “Scheherzade Goes West”, Morrocan feminist Fatema Mernissi is quick to point out that this is a common Western mistake. She explains that in most Middle Eastern cultures, men and women dress very similarly, and have for many, many years. She even uses an example from as early as 1599, long before the setting of “The Sheik.” "

-------------------------------------------------------

The feminization of the Arab/the East is not solely relegated to them. Many Southern Europeans like the Italians (like Valentino was), Spaniards, and the French for example are also associated with romantic notions, with being passionate & volatile, and with femininity.

In fact Valentino was so associated and plagued by it that it got under his skin. He would challenge a writer for calling him a "powder puff." In fact I just watched a biographical documentary of him and a gay man who perhaps worked or was of the Valentino era said that: "the 1920s was a feminine decade of his youth. Valentino wasn't really an exception as he was beautiful in a feminine way." I think his description or views of Valentino is also because Valentino was seen as an "other" and they simply didn't understand his Italian-ness.

Valentino was very Italian:

-he was a very passionate man as shown by his affection for Natacha

-he liked to dress, a metrosexual in 1920s America, but in Italy, probably a dime a dozen

-he liked jewelry and wore them (today you see rappers, Italians, Latinos, etc men wear them yet we don't think of them as feminine for doing so)

-he wore a wrist watch popular in Europe but was a new thing in America associated with women bracelets

-he is quick & emotional both in temper & sensitivity (stereotypes we now associate with being Latin and yet their men are seen as stereotypically macho still)

So I disagree in the general view of the West as masculine while the Middle east as feminine because much of Europe can also be associated with femininity as you put it. The differences are perhaps more so on WASP America - the Anglo Saxon culture vs Valentino "the other." And Valentino's otherness was hyped up because he was seen as exotic and it was what the public, the women really, craved and yearned for. And Hollywood gave the public what they wanted. To be taken by force by a man like Valentino out of their dull dreary lives, it was all fantasy and lust to the tenfold.

reply