+

Colonialism, Post-

colonialist Theory,

Globalisationand the Media

KEYWORDS:

• Colonial/Colony

• Empire

• Cultural Imperialism

• Orientalism

• Diaspora Identity

• Double Consciousness

• Globalisation

• Neocolonialism

KEY THEORISTS:

• Edward Said (1995)

• Elizabeth Poole (2002)

• W. E. B. Du Bois (1903)

• J. Gallardo Alvarado (1997)

• Frantz Fanon (1961)

+A bit of CONTEXT…

Colonial/Colony

Colony =

Noun – a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country and occupied settlers from that country.

Colonial =

Adjective - relating to or a characteristic of a colony or colonies.

Noun – a native or inhabitant of a colony.

Empire =

Noun – an extensive group of states or countries ruled over by a single monarch, an oligarchy or a sovereign state.

Imperialism =

Noun – a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through colonisation, use of military force, or other means.

+A bit of CONTEXT…

What is colonialism?

Colonialism is the act of one country taking control of another, first by military force/action, then by occupying that nation politically, economically, socially and culturally.

Throughout history the world has seen many examples of empires – when one country colonizes many others and builds a kingdom countries or states that come under its ruling.

Colonies and empires were built upon the profits of slavery of the colonized population and the exploitation of the country’s natural resources. The colonized got rich and powerful off the back of this whilst the colonized remained subjugated.

+A bit of CONTEXT…

Why did colonisation happen?

Social Darwinism – The theory that persons, groups, and races are subject to the same laws a natural selection as Darwin perceived in nature. Basically that the strongest survive and flourish whilst the weakest die out of adapt to match the strongest.

Eurocentrism – A political term coined in the 1980s. It referred to the notion of European exceptionalism – a worldview centered on Western civilisation as being greater than that of other cultures/civilisations.

‘White man’s burden ‘ – links to Eurocentrism. The idea that because of their superiority the Western white man felt obligated to “civilise” non-European (mainly non-white) countries.

+A bit of CONTEXT…

History of colonies

+A bit of CONTEXT…

History of the British Empire

+Rule, Britannia!

Chorus

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!

Britons never, never, never shall be

slaves.

When Britain first, at heaven’s command,

Arose from out the azure main,

This was the charter of the land,

And Guardian Angels sang this strain:

(Chorus)

The nations not so blest as thee

Must, in their turn, to tyrants fall,

While thou shalt flourish great and free:

The dread and envy of them all.

(Chorus)

Still more majestic shalt thou rise,

More dreadful from each foreign stroke,

As the loud blast that tears the skies

Serves but to root thy native oak.

(Chorus)

Thee haughty tyrants ne’er shall tame;

All their attempts to bend thee down

Will but arouse thy generous flame,

But work their woe and they renown.

(Chorus)

To thee belongs the rural reign;

The cities shall with commerce shine;

All thine shall be the subject main,

And every shore it circle, thine.

(Chorus)

The Muses, still with freedom found,

Shall to thy happy coasts repair.

Lest isle! With matchless beauty crowned,

And manly hearts to guard the fair.

Chorus

Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!

Britons never, never, never shall be

slaves.

+What is Post-colonialist Theory?

Post-colonialist Theory is about accounting for and combating the social, political, and cultural impact of colonialism upon people and countries that were once colonised.

Post-colonialist believe that the effects of colonial empires is still felt by colonial territories – culturally, socially (mainly through the media),politically and economically.

Post-colonialist argue that the media continues to represent non-white people or ‘natives’ of colonial territories as less important or less civilized and that white people or the colonialists as their saviors.

Post-colonialists also argue that the way whites and non-whites or the colonist and the colonised are represented (or not represented at all) in the media reflects the fact that colonisation is still having an impact on these countries. For example;

Neighbours & Home & Away are two of Australia’s biggest soap operas (they are exported to other countries, such as Britain) yet how many representations of Aboriginal characters or Aboriginal culture are seen?

+Post-colonialist Theory

Post-colonialists would argue that some of the areas where this long term impact and continued impact is most obvious are; sport, language and culture:

English is widely spoken across the world since at one point in history the British Empire extended across a quarter of the world. Spanish is spoken widely across South America – again because this was a former colony of Spain. What happened to the ‘mother tongue’ of these countries?

Australia, India, new Zealand, West Indies, Pakistan and South Africa all excel at either cricket or rugby, or in some cases both, these are sports exported by the British to these former colonial territories. Would they have ever played this sports if it wasn’t for colonialism

Post-colonialists would also argue that although these countries are self-ruled and independent it is through the media (and therefore culture) that there is still a sense of Western domination or Cultural Imperialism.

+Cultural Imperialism

What is culture?

ArtifactsFood

Identity

Sports

+Cultural Imperialism

Culture is also…

Discourses

EthosBeliefs &

PracticesAttitudes

& Values

+Cultural Imperialism

Cultural Imperialism, post-colonialists would argue, is a process that echo’s empire building:

“While the tool of empire building was once a sword or a gun, today, it is far more likely to be culture, consumer products and media production.”

This is the idea that the constant representations in these previous colonised territories perpetuates colonialist ideas and therefore the imperialism is cultural rather than physical.

Cinema is an excellent example of cultural imperialism –modern cinema is dominated by the West (USA mainly).

Another example of cultural imperialism has been termed Orientalism.

+Orientalism

Orientalism was coined by Edward Said who argued that due to cultural imperialism and the representation of East Asian characters and culture in the media Eastern culture is habitually seen as inferior to Western culture.

He argued that in the media the East and its culture is either represented in a way that suggests fear or fascination.

According to Said:

The West terns Eastern culture as the ‘other’

He contested this can be traced right back to Shakespeare, Byron and Chaucer and now in contemporary media

“At best when represented by Western culture, Eastern culture is seen as exotic, which can be relatively harmless but the manner of the representation is more concerning. The manner of representation is deliberate and aggressive exploitation by Western culture which perceives itself as stronger and perpetuates the doctrine that legitimizes the imbalance of power between West and East.”

+‘Political Islam’ or Islamaphobia

Elizabeth Poole supports Edward Said’s notion of Orientalism and cultural imperialism in her research into the representations of British Muslims in the media.

Poole argues that ‘Political Islam’ only emerged as a consequence of the oppression of the colonised Islamic countries and that that has “allowed the West to construct Islam as the new enemy”

Poole has identified some obvious examples from films;

Executive Decision (97) – portrays a radical Islamic group hijacking a plane carrying nerve gas, with the plan to crash it into an American city.

True Lies (95) – Two spies don’t realise they are married. When they do they team up to take on a radical group of Muslims making terrorist threats.

24 (sersi4, 6, & 8) all of these series featured Muslim characters as radical terrorists.

Research into TV news broadcasting also shows that coverage related to Islam and Muslims is dominated by issues of terrorism, radicalisation or illegal immigration.

+Diaspora

This is another theory that supports post-colonialism, cultural imperialism and orientalism.

Diaspora refers to the movement of a population from it’s original homeland.

Although this is not exactly what happens with colonisation, if another country comes into your land and begins to change everything you do. From language and sports to politics and religion then you can argue that you become dispersed from your culture rather than the land itself (which some would argue is worse).

Diaspora Identity is when people experience a sense of belonging to a culture which is ‘other’ to the dominant culture of the country they live in .

Feelings of ‘otherness’ or alienation emphasised by the lack of representations or negative representations in the media of the country they live in or its original culture.

Some argue that Diaspora identity can be positive as well as negative, for example films such as Bend it Like Beckham (02) and Bride and Prejudice (04) represented Asian culture in a non-stereotypical way and non negative also.

+Double Consciousness

This term/theory was first coined by W. E. B. Du Bois, an African American sociologist, historian, civil-rights activist, author and editor.

Du Bois described double consciousness as feeling as though you have more than one social identity, which makes it difficult to develop a sense of self.

Du Bois wrote:

“It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels her two-ness, - an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two reconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife – this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He does not wish to Africanize America, for America has too much tot teach the world and Africa. He wouldn’t bleach his Negro blood in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and and American without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of opportunity closed roughly in his face.”

This double consciousness lets the person see themselves through the revelation of the other world - the world or culture of the colonizers. Their behaviour and idea of their own identity is influenced by what the colonizers think and is distorted through the negative image of their race .

+J. Gallardo Alvarado

Similar to Edward Said, Alvarado researched the

representations of black people in mainstream media.

He suggested that there are only 4 types or themes of

representations accepted for black people in Western,

mainstream media:

The Humourous – comedians such as Lenny Henry

The Exotic – models such as Naomi Campbell

The pitied – representations of Africa such as Live Aid

The dangerous – inner city gangs

+Frantz Fanon

Fanon is a psychiatrist who applied psychiatric analysis to

colonialism.

He described colonialism as essentially destructive and you

can link some of what he says to diaspora identity.

Fanon said:

“Its [colonialism] societal effects – the imposition of a subjugating

colonial identity – are harmful to the mental health of native people.

The ideological essence of colonialism is the systematic denial of all

attributes of humanity of colonised people.”

+Effects of Colonialism -

Globalisation

Post-colonialists would argue that some of the effects of colonialism are; Orientalism, Diaspora, and Double Consciousness as we have already looked at.

However, some would also argue that the trend for Globalisation is as a direct result of colonialism and cultural imperialism and therefore that it is not wholly a good thing as some theorists and commentators argue.

Globalisation is the theory that the world has shrunk and that once distant countries are becoming more and more inter-related and connected due media and technology.

Marshall McLuhan & Quentin Fiore (1967) coined the term “global village” which suggested that due to media and technology people all over the world can communicate with one another, often simultaneously, as if they all lived in the same village.

The concern for some theorists about globalisation is similar to the fear post-colonialists have about cultural imperialism – that local cultures are eroded and replaced with one single ‘standard’ culture. This is called Cultural Homegenisation.

+Neocolonialism

Some theorists argue that although there are no longer any empires or colonies that something similar has continued to happen (since WWII) and is still happening in the contemporary world – they call this neocolonialism.

Neocolonialists argue that the relationship between ‘stronger’ and ‘weaker’ countries is similar to the exploitation that occurred during colonialism. That it is still unfair and unbalanced. The only difference being that the ‘stronger’ countries no longer have to maintain or build the weaker countries up. They no longer have any responsibility to them as imperial rulers. They can simply exploit now.

Neocolonialists would argue that the political and economic systems in the developed world and how developed countries treat developing countries echoes the imperialism of the past.

+Criticism of post-colonialism

The key criticism of post-colonialism is that since it focuses so

much on the loss of ‘original’ culture of colonised territories

there is some suggestion that national identity is a shared,

common experience that is the same for everyone.

Critics use examples of the vast differences in culture and

language of various tribes of Africa. They are all Africans, but

their sense of national identity is not the same for all.

Critics would argue that this shows a flaw in post-colonialist

theory since the ‘original’ culture of colonised territories was

never the same for all in the first place.

+Bring to next lesson…

Mind map/notes on all the thing you consider to be a part of

British culture.

Mind/map notes on all the things you consider to be part of

another national culture (pick one of you own)

Consider for next lesson….

How might the James Bond franchise be said to impose

cultural imperialism?

How are Western women represented in the media compared

to Eastern women?