Advertising: Introduction to Post-Colonialism

1) Look at the first page. What is colonialism - also known as cultural imperialism? 

From the 16th century onwards, European countries effectively got into a race to see how many undiscovered lands they could conquer first, and by ‘undiscovered’ I mean, ‘countries where the indigenous population didn’t have good enough weapons to fight back’. Countries like France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Britain fought and conquered the native populations, and often fought each other for the rights to those lands. With that came attitudes that are now collectively known as ‘cultural imperialism’ or ‘colonialism’ – the belief that native people were intellectually inferior, and that white colonisers had a moral right to subjugate the local populace as they were ‘civilising’ them: in other words, trying to make them more like Western European society.

2) Now look at the second page. What is postcolonialism? 

Postcolonialism, like postmodernism, refers less to a time period and more to a critiquing of a school of thought that came before it. Postcolonialism exists to question white patriarchal views with a particular reference to how they relate to race.

3) How does Paul Gilroy suggest postcolonialism influences British culture?

Paul Gilroy in his 2005 book Postcolonial Melancholia suggested that Britain had not quite faced up to its colonial past, that the national psyche had not quite come to terms with no longer being a global superpower, and this had resulted in the desire to still subjugate those from different races, particularly immigrants. immigrants. As Gilroy puts it, Britain’s criminalisation of immigrants and their descendants especially those from the Caribbean and South Asia signifies a melancholic response to these social and political groups that are essential to late modern British life.

4) What is 'othering'?

Othering is the phenomenon whereby we identify something as being different from, or alien to or social identity. If something is 'other' it is different to 'us'; it doesn't fit well within the confines of our society. The practice of othering persons means to exclude and displace them from the dominant social group to the margins of society. This obviously has a dehumanising effect on the people being othered. 

5) What examples of 'othering' are provided by the article?

An example of othering can be found useful for populist politicians like Nigel Farage, who rode to victory in the 2016 referendum by harnessing a sense of discontent in British society and aiming it at immigrants, famously standing in front of a poster with a long line of mostly non-white migrants and the slogan 'breaking point'. Othering based on race has existed for in mainstream media for as long as there has been mainstream media, but not always in the same form. 

6) What is 'double consciousness'? 

Paul Gilroy used the term double consciousness to reflect the Black experience in the UK and USA. One aspect is living in a predominantly white culture and having an aspect of identity rooted somewhere else. He describes this as a “liquidity of culture”.

7) What are 'racial hierarchies'?

Racial hierarchies is the idea that some races are superior to other ones. In Western culture, people who promote these ideas are usually advocating for white supremacy. However, perceptions of different ethnic groups can change over time. Here Gilroy indicates the idea of a shifting inclusivity in the minds of people that perpetuate racial hierarchies. He suggests hat people who would have been opposed to Black people immigrating to Britain in the 1970s, now feel a greater sense of connection to them, due to the shared language, religion and culture that they do not feel they have with the Asian population.

8) What examples from recent media products challenge the idea of racial hierarchies? 

There are numerous media texts that challenge these ideas of racial hierarchies by putting people in minority groups in positions of authority. Some choose to examine the implications of being BAME in these positions, such as Brooklyn Nine- Nine’s ‘Moo Moo’ episode from its fourth season, where Lt. Terry Jeffords is racially profiled by another cop. Some shows choose to largely ignore the character’s ethnicity and its impact on their role, such as Nick Fury’s role as director of SHIELD in the Marvel films, striving for a time when a person’s ethnicity doesn’t make a difference to anyone.