Deconstruction of Stereotypes in East is East and Ae Fond Kiss

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature grade: 20 University of Mnster (Englisches Seminar) course: Asian British Culture on Film and TV language: English abstract: Oh East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meetTill Earth and Sky stand presently at Gods great Judgement Seat;But there is neither East nor West Border nor Breed nor BirthWhen two strong men stand face to face though they come from the end of the earth!1Stereotypes exist everywhere around us and are a natural means to be able to talk about the world. However they might result in prejudices and discrimination. The stereotypical division into East and West is evidently a too simplistic one since there is nothing matching these expressions in the world. This research paper aims to reveal methods of postcolonialism to overcome binary oppositions like East and the West which have been constructed during colonial times through western conception and representation of the East. After briefly showing constitutive and simplifying characteristics of language in general an introduction to Eward Saids work Orientalism is given as an example of the creation of the otherness of a specific group. Orientalism focuses on how and to which extend the Orient or the East has been created in western notions. By this means the necessity for postcolonial discourse is highlighted. This so-called rewriting of the past can also be observed in the Asian British diaspora. The movies East is East and Ae fond Kiss can be interpreted as an example for postcolonial discourse and an attempt to break national or ethnic stereotypes and binary juxtapositions.