Introduction to Postcolonialism: blog tasks

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

Colonialism is when countries take over "undiscovered lands" and claim them as their own.

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

Post colonialism is the time after colonialism ended. The most popular definition in the UK is the time after India gaining independence as with India being its biggest colony, this was seen as the end of colonialism.

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

Gilroy believes that post-colonialism had a negative impact on British culture as people couldnt get used to not being a global superpower which led to them having a hatred towards people of different backgrounds.

4) What is 'othering'?

Othering is the idea that something is different to us due to it being different to our social norms, people considered as othered are displaced and left out of the dominant social group.

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

The example of othering given is the othering of British immigrants from British society which was used by politicians such as Farage to gain popularity through hate.

6) What is 'double consciousness'? 

The feeling of not fitting in with either your own culture or the culture of the country you live in.

7) What are 'racial hierarchies'?

Racial hierarchies is an idea heavily established postcolonialism and is the idea that some races are better than others.

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

In Brooklyn 99 there's an episode where one of the lead characters is racially profiled by another police officer who is white and believes he has power over him. However, he later finds out he is a detective which is higher in the police hierarchy and challenges the idea that white people are better than people of colour as he manages to get justice for what happened.