A2 Media Theory Colonialism, Post-colonialism, Orientalism and Ethnicity

1. Colonialism, Post-Colonialism,
Orientalism and Ethnicity

2. Colonialism and Post-Colonialism
 In 19th and 20th centuries, European powers held
colonies in Africa based on slavery and
exploitation of resources.
 Many products of this era presented racist images
to naturalise colonialism.
 We now live in the ‘post-colonial’ era.
 However this term could be problematic because it
suggests the influence of that era is over (it is not –
big companies like BP still linked to this era)
 Post-Colonialists suggest that there is a lack of
black images in media.

3. ‘Not a matter of what is but what isn’t’
 Apart from Naomi Campbell there is
a lack of black fashion models.
 Only recently have news reporters
become more varied in race.
 The key news sources as still
Western (suggests white-west is
most trusted) BBC, CNN etc.

4. Bell Hooks
 The colour codes – lighter skinned women are
more desirable and fit better with the western
idea of beauty.
 Black women are often more objectified or
abused (eg. Hip hop) showing colonialist
views of black women.
 Commodified blackness becomes the norm.

5. Edward Said – Orientalism
Western culture constructed against
assumed other (orient).
 It holds both fascination and fear.
Eg. North Korean Bond villain in Die
Another Day.

6. Diaspora Identity
 Those driven to migration have
developed a sense of ‘otherness’ or
Diaspora identity.
 It is not always negative – can be seen
in multi-cultural music such as Asian
Network in the UK.
 Gurinder Chadha shows a positive
Asian-British identity in films like Bend It
Like Beckham or Bride and Prejudice.
Mixed a classic British novel with
Bollywood cinema.

7. Alvarado – stereotypes of the black
community
 Believes there are 4 types of representation of
the black community:
 The humorous – entertainers, comedians,
icons and idols.
 The exotic – models or the sexually
promiscuous.
 The pitied – the needy black community
through events like band aid or films about
previous atrocities.
 The dangerous – criminals, gangs, pimps.

8. Stuart Hall – stereotypes of the black
community
 There is a blur in media between race and
class.
 Outlines 3 base images in the ‘grammar of
race’ in ‘old movies’:
 Slave Figure – dependable, loving, devoted
to mother/master.
 The Native – because of their primitive
nature, they are cheating, cunning
barbarians.
 The Entertainer – innate humour of the
black man (are we laughing at or with
them?)

9. Tessa Perkins and Stereotypes
 Need to reconsider stereotypes:
 Not always incorrect or negative.
 Not always about minority or repressed groups or
those we have little contact with.
 Not always simple and rigid.
 You cannot predict someone’s behavior to a
group based on a stereotype the hold of them.
 Some are based on some truth, and they are
important to understand social interaction and
interpretation.

10. Minorities in our media
 Consider the roles they play in our media eg.
Villain, or helper. Can be known to rely on
stereotypes such as shopkeeper or arranged
marriages.
 Can often be constructed in binary oppositions,
which can lead to negative attitudes or
emphasise boundaries between groups.
 Can be argued there is increased diversity – rise
in independence of black community through
magazines like Ebony for black women or Asian
Women.

11. Minorities in our media
 New problematic representations like ‘terrorists’.
 Can introduce fear of ethnic groups.
 The image of asylum-seekers of immigrants as lazy.
 October 2003 Press Complaints Commission said –
“danger that inaccurate, misleading or distorted reporting
could lead to fear and hostility that is not borne out by
facts”.
 There can be little distinction made in media between
illegal-immigrants, asylum-seekers, legal-immigrants
and non-white British citizens.
 MediaWise Trust set out guidelines to prevent racist or
harmful reporting.

12. Hip Hop and its significance
 Tricia Rose – it gives black female rappers
empowerment, and offers an insight into these
people’s lives.
 Paul Gilroy – Offers diasporic experiences of
opposition to white capitalist culture.
 Michael Eric Dyson – Political rap did not get
the support it deserved in the 80s or 90s so
has become flash, sexualised and criminal –
but has become more mainstream even
though it is frowned upon.

13. Black Cinema and its significance
 Kobena Mercer - Black gay film shows dual
exclusion (being gay and black). Directors
such as Isaac Julian introduce varied
representation.
 Jacques Lacan - Seeing iconic rappers who
are successful ‘young black males’ may see
them as a superior reflection of themselves
they could aspire to.
 Michel Foucault - Archaeology is looking at
history as a way of understanding the
processes that have led to what we are today.
Take into account past representations and
how they have contributed to today e.g.
Blaxploitation films (70s)