Advertising: Introduction to Postcolonialism

  Read ‘The Theory Drop: Postcolonialism and Paul Gilroy’ in MM75  (p28). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access.

Answer the following questions on your blog:

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

A race to see how much land could be conquered first.

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

A range of ideas and theories of the legacy of colonialism.

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

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. As Gilroy puts it, Britain’s

criminalisation of immigrants

and their descendants.

4) What is 'othering'?

Othering is the phenomenon whereby

we identify something as being different

from, or alien to our social identity.

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.

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'?

The idea that

some races are superior to other ones. In

Western culture, people who promote

these ideas are usually advocating for

white supremacy.

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

Paul Gilroy recounted an

anecdote on Russell Brand’s Under

The Skin podcast about how he was

waiting in line at the post office.