One of the most polarizing criticisms of Western society is the theory that Western prejudices have led to a misrepresentation of Middle Eastern culture. Columbia professor Edward Said started the discussion on this controversial topic in 1978 through his book Orientalism. The term orientalism has come to represent representations of the Middle East that have been influenced by Western social influence. Said describes orientalist thought and its impact by stating: Orientalism is a style of thought based on an ontological and epistemological distinction made between "the East" and (most of the time) "the West". Therefore a very large mass of writers, including poets, novelists, philosophers, political theorists, economists and imperial administrators, accepted the fundamental distinction between East and West... (Said, 1979, p. 3). Here Said describes the purposeful differentiation between East and West and explains how such thinking has influenced multiple aspects of Western society. As orientalist currents of thought become accepted, they are perpetuated by scholars, politicians, journalists, and writers who create representations of the Middle East shaped by orientalist preconceptions. Therefore, most of the literature dealing with the Middle East has been influenced by Western prejudices. .Since almost all research is performed using Western logic, several common representations of the East can be found in academic literature. Said describes some of the commonly portrayed stereotypes and how early 19th century writers shaped Western attitudes towards the Middle East by stating: Each of them kept intact the separateness of the East, its eccentricity, its his backwardness, his silence. .... middle of paper ......stereotype of Arab violence. This trait is only found in Egyptian characters, as evidenced by the comparison with the Germans within the film. While Dr. Jones often uses their violent behavior to defeat his Middle Eastern enemies, we find that it is not a necessary element of the plot. Through brute strength and quick thinking, Jones is still able to defeat his Western opponents in the film. We can therefore say that these distorted and stereotyped representations of Arabs are due to Western orientalist attitudes. This supports Said's assertion that common stereotypes can be found in all Western representations of the Middle East and demonstrates that Orientalism is a pervasive problem in popular media. Works Cited Said, Edward W. Orientalism. London: Penguin, 2003. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Perf. Harrison Ford. Paramount, 1981. DVD.