POSTCOLONIALISM AND GILROY
POSTCOLONIALISM AND GILROY
Black Lives Matter Movement
DISCUSSING RACISM
- Sometimes this can be tough, and we feel intimidated
- We will get things wrong. We will say things that are not generally accepted sometimes but if we try our best, stay curious and remain open-minded we should be part of the conversation!
- Media studies is such a fantastic platform to learn and discuss the world around us.
SUGGESTED READING
- Why I’m No Longer Talking (To White People) About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge
- White Fragility – Robin Diangelo
- Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo
- Beloved – Toni Morrison
GILROY – THE BLACK ATLANTIC – Black culture has developed to the places its been pushed out to (Afrocentrism. Eurocentrism. Caribbean Studies. British Studies)
There is, Paul Gilroy tells us, a culture that is not specifically African, American, Caribbean, or British, but all of these at once, a black Atlantic culture whose themes and techniques transcend ethnicity and nationality to produce something new and, until now, unremarked.
Debates about postmodernism have cast an unfashionable pall over questions of historical periodization. Gilroy bucks this trend by arguing that the development of black culture in the Americas arid Europe is a historical experience which can be called modern for several clear and specific reasons.
In a final tour de force, Gilroy exposes the shared contours of black and Jewish concepts of diaspora in order both to establish a theoretical basis for healing rifts between blacks and Jews in contemporary culture and to further define the central theme of his book: that blacks have shaped a nationalism, if not a nation, within the shared culture of the black Atlantic.
GILROY – POSTCOLONIAL MELANCHOLIA
In an effort to deny the ongoing effect of colonialism and imperialism on contemporary political life, the death knell for a multicultural society has been sounded from all sides. That's the provocative argument Paul Gilroy makes in this unorthodox defence of the multiculturism.
The melancholic reactions that have obstructed the process of working through the legacy of colonialism are implicated not only in hostility and violence directed at blacks, immigrants, and aliens but in an inability to value the ordinary, unruly multiculturism that has evolved organically and unnoticed in urban centres.
A fantastic Gilroy article about the time Prince Harry dressed up as a Nazi for fun: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/18/britishidentity.monarchy
GILROY OVERVIEW
- Believes that ethnic minorities are often shown as powerless, weak, dehumanised, marginalised and ‘other’.
- Believes that white western people are often shown as more powerful, successful and important
- When looking at media texts, look for status and power and how it might relate to post colonialist ideas
HOW THE THEORY IS USEFUL WHEN EXPLORING NEWS
- Can be applied to any media product, including newspapers especially representations of race, ethnicity and the post-colonial world.
- The concept of the ‘Black Atlantic’ draws attention to continuities in the culture created by the African diaspora across national boundaries.
- The concept of ‘postcolonial melancholia’ draws attention to the continuing role of colonial ideology- of the superiority of White Western culture across newspaper representations
HOW THE THEORY IS LIMITED WHEN EXPLORING NEWS
- Does not explain anything specific to newspapers as it is a general theory of representation.
- In prioritising race and the post-colonial experience, may not aid analysis of other forms of inequality in representation in newspapers.
- In stressing the influence of social conflict on representations, may underestimate the influence of social consensus on representations.
RESEARCH TASK
“How Student Activism Shaped The Black Lives Matter Movement” – Christopher Rim
What is the main message?
- “Young activists and students have played a critical role in calling for change and transformation in our society.”
- The new generation of lives are playing a significant role in fronting the Black Lives Matter Movement, ‘turning to the streets and to social media’ in order to ‘amplify their voices’.
- It provides a reminder of significant times in which students and young activists throughout history have spoken out against inequalities (educational, racial etc.)
- The Black Lives Matter Movement, and recent events surrounding this.
Does it match any of the theorists we have explored?
- Gilroy – it matches his idea of the importance of drawing attention to racial matters and inequalities. The notion that no-one should ignore these things and to ignore, is to ‘choose the side of the oppressor’ (as stated in the article).
Can you see any links to any of the texts that we explore on our A-Level course?
- Beyoncé’s Formation music video – The music video for "Formation" was shot in Los Angeles, California, and it features references to Hurricane Katrina, antebellum and Louisiana Creole culture, police brutality, racism and black pride.
- "I wanted to show — this is black people. We triumph, we suffer, we're drowning, we're being beaten, we're dancing, we're eating, and we’re still here".
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