post colonialism review

How western culture views different cultures and references them as the other (the word other means they are not like us they are different and unknown) I am thinking about the many different ways “other” cultures are represented in video games and in film during post colonialism.

The first reference to other cultures I could think of is in the media and how what we know of other people may be twisted and opinionated by the information the press gives us, this is not a modern occurrence in fact it has been around as long as media has.  The phrase history is written by the victors comes to mind.

We have learned through study how the west views the east in a distant manner as if they are not like one of us and anyone that isn’t one of us is exotic and unknown, because of this in a lot of cases the west sums up the east as this paradise where you go on holiday.

Due to the popular demand by tourists the fantasy which is the east is sometimes faked so that the western tourist can see a culture that lives up to the expectations. A good example of this Afghanistan, the reason this country is such a good example is most western people think the whole country is desert while in reality it’s made up of at least 7 different climates, this perception that the country is a single harsh climate comes from western media and in particular the coverage of the war.

In my personal opinion you should not view a culture on something that someone else has told you without evidence, however I except in most of the cases there are facts but they have been isolated and embellished to make them seem better or worse.

Going back to the Afghanistan example, it is true that the country has a big desert however this is all the media shows so unless you have researched into the country and culture this is all you’re going to know at first glance.