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.