The attempt to imitate the West in dress, speech, behavior, and lifestyle is accepted in cultures which continue to oppose each other. This process is called “Othering” whereby the world is divided between “us/civilized” and “them/savage,” with those who are different being judged as inferior. The domination of Western capitalism reflects European/American culture as distinctive and liberal in comparison to other cultures. This neoliberal geopolitics, or neo-orientalist approach, has supported capitalistic economic ideologies in the way it has historically emerged. Thompson’s graphic novel presents a political message in the context of social activism that has advanced the rationality of post-9/11 escalatory foreign policy in the Middle East. This phenomenon created a polarized spectrum of power using a binary approach of West versus East. Consequently, societies have evolved ways of labeling inclusion and exclusion based on the following factors: economic, political, ideological, societal, and cultural domination of another population. The West, fueled by its power, has managed to control the East. For the past century, the political turmoil in the Middle East has been caused to a large extent by Western geopolitical interests in the region (Ehteshami 2007, 123). Author: Safa Al-shammary University of GranadaĬraig Thompson’s Habibi (2011) is an American graphic novel based on a romantic fable that is set in an imaginary and modern Middle Eastern country.
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