Exoticisation and the Other

Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism and the theory of Exoticisation intrigued me. I first came across it in my advertising and the media paper where we examined how companies, in particular travel companies, frame cultures who weren’t from ‘the West’. When it came up in this course I began to look for some examples of my own.
As Sut Jahlly explains in the beginning of an Edward Said youtube.com clip, the way we form judgement of others comes from a process that somehow benefits others. Often the one to benefit is the West. The dominant culture has represented themselves as normal and natural, while ‘the Other’ are strange and unfamiliar. In an Ansett Australian Airline advertisement from the mid-60’s, it is attempting to entice people to travel to Central Australia. Everyone is White, even when they talk about Aboriginals it is only when they are doing an exotic performance for the travellers. This is when Aboriginals weren’t even allowed the vote. The ad is representing Australia in a way that leaves out all historical contexts in order to benefit their own interests.

The link to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjMR9h1Bk9Q

This ad put me on the track of Ansett to see if they committed exoticisation or Orientalism in other advertisements and found this picture:

So, of course as people say this was a long time ago, is it still relevant? Yes. The most recent advertisement they put out before they went under was this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F75vKABaTA

It is peculiar to me that an Australian airline does not show even one Aboriginal in their advert, or any coloured people apart from Whites. The lyrics of the song even say “absolutely everyone you see, everyone you know is gonna, shine”. This is a prime example of Othering and not only excluding historical context, but ignoring a big part of Australian culture.