Advertising: Postcolonialism blog tasks

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

‘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.

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

The process of decolonisation gathered speed in the 20th Century and with it, many of the attitudes

associated with colonialism began to be challenged.

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.

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.

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

This process of othering has proved very 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’.

6) What is 'double consciousness'? 

This othering 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.

7) What are 'racial hierarchies'?

Racial hierarchies: the idea that some races are superior to other ones.

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

The Stormzy poster as it portrays him as almost being a king of UK rap in which challenges the idea of racial hierarchies as some British people may feel that only white/Caucasian people should only be related to being king in which Stormzy is black.