Egypt in America
By: Crowley, Colin, Chrissy, Katherine, Kasey
When first asked, “what are your initial stereotypical perspectives of Egypt?” our class responded with a slur of clichéd images, ones that are formed through the media, museums, schooling, and places like Las Vegas. Immediately images of pyramids, camels, a dry and arid climate, the Nile River, Cleopatra, pharaohs and King Tut, mummies, and the Ten Plagues of Egypt came to mind – all of these images contrived due to present-day American culture.
Museums:
For Americans, much of our first hand interaction with true Egyptian history comes from visits to natural history museums. It seems that nearly every museum in America has a portion of it devoted to Egyptian history. As a kid I remember going to the museum and, at the entrance, passing by the scale model of the pyramids of Giza you would then enter the mummy exhibit. While this was just a very small taste of Egypt's rich history, the allure of ancient Egypt was being instilled at a young age.
Media:
Through music, film, and television, the mass force of American media has instilled a stereotypical understanding of Egyptian culture in American society. Songs like the Bangle’s ‘Walk like an Egyptian,’ and Everclear’s ‘High Above Me,’ condense the rich Egyptian culture into superficial mentions of hookah pipes, bazaars, and Cleopatra. Films like ‘The Mummy’ (and both of its sequels) use clichéd images of pyramids, sand dunes, camels, and golden tombs to represent all of Egypt. Another way Egypt is portrayed in popular culture in the US is through the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada; the hotel, pyramid-shaped and guarded by a recreation of the Great Sphinx of Giza, boasts that visitors can experience the exotic atmosphere of genuine Egypt. Because the media is such a powerful tool in shaping the Americans’ knowledge, appreciation, and understanding of culture, the stereotypical and often inaccurate images that the media presents are often accepted as fact.
School:
The basic geography and history that we are taught in elementary school give us an oversimplified idea of what defines Egypt. We are taught to perceive Egypt as an extensive desert broken up only by the great pyramids of ancient times and the longest river in the world, the Nile. When we think of Egyptian royalty, we think King Tut and Cleopatra, and when we think of Egyptian mode of transportation, we think camels. These historical and simplified characterizations do not give the whole story of modern day Egypt, yet they stay burned into our minds because of what our elementary schooling has taught us to believe.
Comments
Your blog raises interesting questions.
Egyptian artifacts were part of a specific culture and context.
Due to a change in context, they are now are part of American culture. The Temple of Dendur ( a temple that is part of the MET Museum) is not a place of worship, but a place to visit or the background of a NYC cocktail party. http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1109561802047101233MudXtN
What are the implications of Egyptian collections being mentioned in guidebooks on America?
Can 'Egyptian' artifacts, like the mummies you have mentioned, be claimed as American due to the change in context and their new history as American
Posted by: Mark Mikhael | March 3, 2009 11:29 AM
Hi Mark--I think to the extent that cultures and societies attribute meaning to artifacts, those artifacts then become "part" of that culture. Complicating this notion, though, is an artifact that is clearly designated as "Egyptian" but owned (or displayed) by Americans. I think this question raises issues of meaning versus ownership.
Posted by: Julia Bleakney | March 3, 2009 12:11 PM
Hi Professor Mikhael,
Interesting question!
Although many traditional Egyptian symbols have been adapted into American culture, they still retain their cultural stamp as "Egyptian." In the blending of cultures, it is inevitable that some aspects of a culture become adapted to fit another culture (for example the temple. Many Americans may not practice Egyptian religious beliefs and have no need to worship in a temple). However, the temple still presents a interesting aspect of Egyptian culture Americans are curious about, and as a result it has been brought to the United States.
Thus I think that although some traditional signs have changed, those changes are only a part of adapting to the American culture.
Of course their is value in their original intent as well; and hopefully the factors that have changed it also included a plaque or explanation of the original purpose something served, presenting a true context for tourists.
Posted by: Sarah Cheng | March 3, 2009 12:15 PM
Hi Julia,
I find your topic really interesting.
I guess if you asked the ordinary American where Egypt is located, he wouldn’t even know and that’s what my sister has experienced when she went to Chicago and I’ve experienced that, myself, with some of our American colleagues. American people are really concerned with their own problems that range from economic problems to health care, so I can not really blame them for not knowing about Egypt’s current state. I’m not making excuses for them, but I can see that the problem is simply ignorance of “the other”. They have these stereotypical perspectives of Egypt as we Egyptians have stereotypical perspectives of the American society. Most Egyptians would see the American society as a loose society without any social morals, where it is completely the opposite, but that is how Egyptians perceive the American culture from as you said the media.
It is our responsibility as Egyptians, government and people, to reach out to the rest of the world to regain our position politically and culturally. We should try to reshape our image in front of the whole world and work harder to increase our capacity to compete with the rest of the world. At the time of Mohamed Ali when he was the ottoman sultan of Egypt (1805-1849) and the founder of modern Egypt, Egypt was a political power and Cairo was an important cultural capital. So we, as Egyptians, should work on changing these stereotypical views about our country and that’s why we should make the best use of the new technologies to deliver our image to the people across the world.
Posted by: Sarah El Masry | March 6, 2009 01:16 PM
I would have to disagree with the idea that artifacts retain their being "Egyptian." The Luxor Hotel, for example, is now a landmark in Las Vegas, so if an American was presented with the picture of the Sphinx, he would be reminded of the hotel, and not the statue in Giza. I am not familiar with any other instances where this has happened but I would presume that is not as unlikely as it seems to be. I also find it interesting how the US media has such a simple image of Egypt since there are also very different images of Egypt displayed on the internet, which should be considered an important media source.
Posted by: Farid | March 9, 2009 01:07 PM