...representation being that the idea of freedom would not survive without Western influence and support. In fact, “[like] most Westerners, Thomas thought Islamic, tribal people could never achieve modern values and a sense of nationalist loyalty and freedom without the energetic guidance of the Anglo-Saxon” (519). Regardless, this idea of shifting and twisting the narrative proves that Thomas was incredibly skilled at being able to make the story of Lawrence of Arabia acceptable, and even romanticized, to all the places he visited. Lawrence’s prominence continued to grow more and more throughout the presentation. The problem with this, however, is that all of the Orientalist sentiment that Thomas had in his presentation—including the set, choice of special effects, his rhetoric, and his views of and about the Orient—followed the Lawrence of Arabia myth as it began to grow in popularity. This was aided by the fact that Lawrence was not nearly the hero that Thomas made him out to be. In fact, most Lawrence scholars—and even Lawrence himself—claim that Thomas’s account of Lawrence’s role in the war was greatly exaggerated (Hodson, Lawrence of Arabia 21, 52, 56; Crawford and Berton 300, 317). While there is some deal of controversy over who exactly is to blame for the romanticization and exaggeration of Lawrence in the Arab Revolt, most scholars place the blame on Thomas. This is largely because of the way that Thomas handled stories about Lawrence outside of his presentation. One of...
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