Introduction to Postcolonialism

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. They fought and conquered the native populations, and often fought each other for the rights to those lands, trying to make them more like Western European society. This was how they justified their actions, while

all the time stealing their resources and, in some cases, people to be sold into slavery.

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?

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. This criminalisation and demonising of immigrants is done through a number of means, one of the key ones being othering.

4) What is 'othering'?

Othering is the phenomenon whereby we identify something as being different from, or alien to our 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. Rather than focusing on the things we have in common, that everybody has hopes and dreams, things they care about, people are reduced to labels such as ‘illegal immigrant’ or ‘asylum seeker’.

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

Nigel Farage, who rode to victory in the 2016 referendum

Love Thy Neighbour,

shows such as Man Like Mobeen, Top Boy and I May Destroy You 

Daily Express, who printed 179 anti-migrant stories between 2011 and 2016,

6) What is 'double consciousness'? 

can sometimes manifest in a confusion over identity, particularly for people from ethnic minorities living in the Western world. This confusion is referred to as a ‘double consciousness’ whereby people struggle to reconcile two nationalities or identities. The awkward feeling of existing in both worlds, but not fully belonging to either.

7) What are 'racial hierarchies'?

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. 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? 

Brooklyn Nine- Nine’s ‘Moo Moo’ episode from its fourth season, where Lt. Terry Jeffords is racially profiled by another cop. 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.