Fashion Photography and the Orientalist Messages in the first part of the BBC documentary series, Women in Black

In western clothing, the fabric is cut to the bodyline. The form of the attire is modeled after the body, with a shell similar to the shape of the body. In so doing, the space between the two is eliminated. (Jennifer Craik, 1993,41).

Unlike the western styles and designs, the indigenous ‘‘clothes are not made to shock or to be framed and hung on the wall; they are made to be worn, to be comfortable, functional and look good’’. (Ibid). According to Jennifer Craik “the European women’s […] dress […] is meant as a mark of superiority, but confirms very little grace, and much less virtue, on its wearer” (Ibid, p46).

In his book, Ways of Seeing, John Berger has observed that “Women are constrained by representational codes which position them as passive vehicles of display and the object of the look. In turn, the look is structured by the normative male gaze, as objects of desire and repositories of pleasure.” (Berger 1972; Pollock 1977). Fashion has been singled out as a domain of representation and practice in which exploitative relations are central. Fashion constitutes an effective and pervasive means through which women become objects of the gaze and of male sexual desire. If women are confined to the role of display, and measured’ by the standards of achieving desirable looks’, they are caught up in a vicious circle.

The presenter of the documentary who is actually a woman and non-western “[has] developed a dual system of dress, drawing on elements of western and traditional dress, as a means of negotiating ‘the traditional patriarchal system”.( Jennifer Craik, 1993, p29) Nonetheless, a clear opposition is understood between the traditional and western values and techniques. Much focus is seen on the presenter’s desire to promote and encourage the western fashion and dress. Yet, it could be said that the film’s presenter “oscillates between promoting indigenous clothes and western fashion, often choosing to mix and match the two.” (Jennifer Craik, 1993, p35).

In the opening scene, the presenter of the documentary holds a comparison between two different clothing styles _ the British and the Yemeni. The theme of beauty and fashion is an exaggerated concern which is seen throughout the film supported by the physical appearance of many Arab and Muslim models from different destinations. Here, in this scene, the presenter attempts to keep a balance, concerning this issue of fashion and dress, between keeping the black traditional dress and coping with modern and liberal values of fashion. The clothes one chooses to wear can be expressive of one’s identity. Yet, in this film, fashion and dress has a complex relationship to identity; the presenter’s inbetweenness indicates that her identity is not fixed but rather changing to suit time and space of two different and contrasted contexts, Yemen and Britain. The implication that a viewer might get is that she offers a mix between tradition and modernity. However, in the opening scene, a spectator sees a large space, in the cupboard of clothes, is devoted to the western styles with variable choices and colors, and a narrow and small space in the clothes’ cupboard for the black dress.

In fact, the notion of “rational” West and “irrational” East is enhanced and encouraged by the style of clothing. The western styles in this film are meant to indicate freedom, modernity and rationality; however, the eastern style is only one shapeless black color and indicates timelessness as it is unchanging and fixed. Hence, the presenter holds a comparison between the “timeless style” of the Yemeni dress and the different, variable, modern Western styles. Through this comparison, the presenter unconsciously confirms the stereotype that the western cultures are civilized while the “Other” cultures are uncivilized. Through the black abaya, the Western eye/ western viewer imagines that every woman, everywhere, in the Middle East is wearing black and is confined inside a house. The non-western dress seems to be unchanging, exotic and different from the western fashion and dress which is changing and updated. In her book, The Face of Fashion, Jennifer Craik writes:

The term fashion is rarely used in reference to non-western cultures. The two are defined in opposition to each other: western dress is fashion because it changes regularly […] nonwestern dress is costume because it is unchanging [...]timeless and fixed.

Technically speaking, the visualization of the film, music and sound effects are of vital importance for enhancing the Orientalist messages of the film. For instance, when introducing the presenter’s eastern and western sides of fashion and dress, a viewer hears a sudden huge sound and sad music, and a dissolve shot is seen when the camera shifts to focus on the black dress. Meanwhile, the viewer sees a high angle shot of the presenter while wearing one of her black cloaks.

The producer of the film, as she is an Oriental woman, seems to prefer a “White” husband more than a “brown” one. She states very clearly while embracing her white husband that he is “white, tall, blond, and different from any Yemeni.” She seems to be very much impressed by having a white husband and reveals an exotic impression about the brown man when she states, “…and different from a Yemeni as you can get.”

The film “provides an example of the oppositional way in which the East and West are presented through the photographic codes.” (Liz Wells, 2004,p232) In the following scene, the caricatured image of the woman in black is seen very exotic and different by the western man and woman. More importantly, it could be said that the presenter of the documentary who is an Arab and Muslim is dehumanized by caricaturing her. In this scene, there are many signs of orientalizing the Arab Muslim women.

The presenter raises the idea of segregation of Arab and Muslim men and women in more than one key point in the whole film; I am going to consider two brief scenes: one in Aden, south of Yemen and the second in Holland which deals with the Moroccan-Dutch women. The presenter stresses the idea that all Arab Muslim men and women never come together giving the examples from the Yemeni context and the wedding ceremonies of the Moroccan- Dutch people. The presenter states that the bridegroom is the only male to be allowed to enter the women’s space. The bride’s father does not enter the women’s space either.

The documentary is in fact rich of contradictions. In one of the scenes, the documentary’s presenter attempts to deconstruct the western belief that Arab Muslim women are not always worn in black, since they can appear unveiled inside houses in the Yemeni context and wear different clothing styles. In this scene, the presenter also endeavors to prove to the western viewer that Muslim women are not confined inside houses and contrary to this belief, she shows some examples of young Yemeni women who are driving cars, working and mingling with the community. She also enhances the idea that Yemeni women are also interested in following fashions and latest trends of clothes. The presenter will contradict herself in the final scene.

Another instance that reveals contradictions and Orientalist images is the one which encourages the viewer to see the Oriental women as sensual. This eroticized image is immediately followed by the call to prayer to indicate that Arab Muslim women are oppressed by religion which stands as an obstacle before women’s freedom. Hence, the western women’s liberation is defined through the eastern women’s oppression.

Another Orientalist picture of Adeni women is raised by the presenter of the film herself; when applying make-up, she establishes a comparison between the “rationality” of the British women and the “irrationality” of the Muslim women Orientalizing, exoticizing and mocking at herself and equating herself with a “clown”.

The final scene of the first part of the documentary is very important since it contradicts and undermines the picture of the working women which has been highlighted in the film. The film ends with the conclusion that women are confined and their life is restricted in public, stating very clearly that “this private world is much oppressive than ever”. The presenter tends to compare the liberal west with the conservative east holding much complains on the latter.

To conclude, the presenter of the film who is non-western tries to combine between two different and contrasted cultures in an attempt to intersect and overlap with western fashion techniques. She seems to be satisfied with her non-western dress while offering a change and identification with the western culture. This documentary tells us nothing, or little, about Arab and Muslim women, but much is seen about the director’s construction of these women as exotic, oppressed and obsessed with the issue of fashion and dress. This film is concerned with the constructed photographs of the exotic, dramatic, glamorous and different “other” females in different destinations. The documentary represents the dress and make-up of the Arab women; and if we look closely at the images of the film, it becomes clear that the director has used some models from within the Arab and Muslim contexts to construct the exoticized picture of Arab women.

Photography exploits exoticism and ‘Otherness’, along with the ingredient of glamour to invite and entice viewers and consumers. In this way, some of the ideological constructions have become so naturalized that we can notice them. Images of exoticized women in traditional clothes are used to perpetuate stereotypes on the Other females.( Quoated in Liz Wells’ Photography, 2004,p225) The documentary has been introduced through a sequence of rapid cuts and wide angle shots to enhance the depth of field and reinforce the point of view of the filmmaker which is apparently Orientalist.

The presenter of the documentary attempts to deconstruct the western belief that Arab Muslim women are merely “women in black” and attempts to show what lies beneath this blackness. She endeavors to show that the black dress in the Yemeni context does not stop women from working outside giving examples of even entirely veiled women working in public. However, the presenter of the film herself is unconsciously orientalizing and exoticizing the people and space of the Middle East. Beside, images, sound effects and music help the fulfillment of this orientalized and exoticized image. The presenter gives the impression in the very beginning of the film that she wears the black abaya very comfortably in the Middle East and sees it as a part of her Arab identity. Yet, the commentary, images and sounds go against this claim since the film tends to establish and define a superior image of the west through the primitive and exotic East.

                                                                                                                                Hafidh Shamseddine

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Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015