Orientalism is the way that we in the western world view and stereotype the people and cultures of the eastern world. Though the general basis of orientalism is a group of people placing their own ideas on labels on another group simply because they are different; this concept can be applied to many different scenarios. In the film Green Book, we are confronted with the extreme divides in the southern U.S between whites and blacks during the mid 20th century
Orientalism is right in front of us the moment we meet Dr. Don. His New York City apartment is filled with “exotic” (to us westerners) pieces: African sculptures, elephant tusks, glassware. Dr. Don is clearly in the position to be able to afford these luxury goods, but it still dramatized eastern culture- which I think was the point.
Edward Said, in his book Orientalism describes that “The relationship between Occident and Orient is a relationship of power, of domination.” The treatment of Dr. Don throughout the film attests well to this claim. Time after time, whites place labels on Dr. Don before knowing him. Both Tony and those hosting a dinner party he played at just assumed Dr. Don must love fried chicken simply because of his race. This might seem insignificant compared to the magnitude of some other situations, but it is an easy way to show how whites are so easy to place labels. There were also many situations of just sheer segregation and power; A white shop owner refusing to let Dr. Don try on a suit, a dinner party host refusing to let him use the regular bathroom, and a group of white men at a bar asking “who let him out of his cage.” All of these in their own way show the dominance many easterners feel they have the right to place on westerners.
One of the most interesting facets of The Green Book to me was that despite the typical stereotypes and segregations shown, there was still a sense of role reversal. In a film set in this time, it would be easy to assume that the black man would be the one chauffeuring the intelligent rich white man throughout the country. In fact, it was the other way around. Dr. Don was the wealthy, well-spoken, well-dressed man, helping Tony write eloquent letters to his family, critiquing his smoking and asking him to not swear. It was a different perspective than the one usually seen in movies from this time- and while there were difficult moments to see- it was a refreshing change. My predisposition to see things from an orientalist perspective never would have let me guess Dr. Don would be the one to save him and Tony from jail, despite Dr. Dons embarrassment about the situation, it felt powerful.
While the whites in The Green Book wanted the power and thought they had the power, Dr. Don was the one with the real influence. The film challenges our predisposed orientalist views and gives us a difficult reminder of the past we come from.
Greta Ghei 