The Resurrection of Orientalism? The Case of Central Asian States: Attempt To Explore The Intellectual Background of “Borat” Movie and “Nasha Russia”
The Resurrection of Orientalism? The Case of Central Asian States: Attempt To Explore The Intellectual Background of “Borat” Movie and “Nasha Russia”

Summary/Abstract: In recent years we have witnessed the emergence of movies in the West (the foremost of them is “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, or so-called “Borat”) and TV Shows in Russia (e.g. “Nasha Russia”) disparaging and dishonoring Central Asian people. What are the causes of presenting such mockeries to big audiences? Why have such mockeries easily accepted in the West and Russia respectively? Why are so-called ‘Oriental people’, such as Tajiks and Kazakhs at least being “othered” and lessened, at worst being “dishonored” by such movies and TV shows? Can we claim that centuries-old attitude of ‘othering’ (and in some instances even dehumanizing) the Orient which had been ingrained in collective memory of pre-modern and modern West has resurrected in the post-modern time? We may argue that there are subjective, tending to strongly biased and prejudiced factors, paving the way for the appearance of such movies and TV Shows about Central Asian nations and societies. Moreover we think that it is necessary to uncover underlying mentality behind distorting the image of the Oriental people in general, and disparaging and dishonoring Central Asians specifically in the contemporary world.

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