This radio program has been extremely informative, and from it I have learnt that black people have made a mark and has had a massive impact on the lives of many young British people; in particular it has heavily influenced this generation and the past generation. This massive influence has impacted on British people through style, food, talking but most importantly music.
Style, this has significantly shaped the identity of British black people. British black people wanted to consistently dress well; especially on Sundays when attending Church. However, racial abuse has impacted on their confidence to dress as they wish. It began with the group Jackson 5, from which a number of people adopted the trademark style of afros and silk shirts. In the 1990’s baggy jeans, baseball caps became the new fashion which many guys adopted. Even idols such as the likes of 50 Cent inspired young black people, as they like him began to wear waist coats with jeans, just like him. Asian and white people want to dress like this too, and this generation began to start engaging with all cultures through fashion; more so the black fashion of baggy jeans or skinny jeans.
Food is seen as a minor part of black culture, however un-knowingly it has had a huge impact on what we eat! Chicken and rice are a massive aspect of this impact and are something that you can buy in many fast food, and even part of some everyday British dinners. Sweet potatoes are another example of this, as they now are even part of a traditional British roast. Again this demonstrates how the generations are embracing all different cultures within our multi-cultural and involving their customs and differences within their everyday lives.
Due to the increasing involvement of black culture within our lives, cultures are now accused of acting black which black people do not necessarily feel is offensive, but feels that it is an unfair stereotype.'Acting Black’ may include being loud, aggressive and using slang; this stereotype is mostly used on the younger generations. Many white and asian people may have grown up in an area that has a high population of black british people, and adopted their culture, which may be a reason behind why they then begin to ‘act black’. Young black people do feel that within the media black people are always represented as violent thug like people for example being: members of gangs, drug dealers who are. As this stereotype is always present within the media, and is held by many, there is an opinion that as this view is held by many that it leads to people becoming that stereotype due to the sheer forcefulness of the stereotype on young black people .
Music is a huge part of black british culture and black british music has had a massive impact on what many people of the young generation listens to. The most popular of 'black genres' are: reggae, hip-hop, grime, dance hall, garage, RnB and drum and bass. Black people feel that these genres of music are not just for black people to listen to, but for every one from every culture, as the young generation is such a vast amount of people. Some of these genres of music has caused controversy within the media because of some of the negative images that are portrayed both through the videos and lyrics that can be of a violent or sexual nature. However, this has not stopped these genres being extremely successful within the music industry, as they are still listened to by huge numbers of people.
I personally believe that black culture has had a rather large impact on my life. I listen to a wide variety of music and the genres hip-hop, grime, RnB and reggae are among these genres. I also eat food from all different countries, and food such as jerk chicken and sweet potato are part of my usual diet. Even though black british people are sometimes shone in a negative light within the media ('hoodies') I however do not have the same opinion, of course I am aware that there are some young british black people that are involved in gang culture, but so are many other cultures! When the 'phrase' black britain is put to me, my thoughts are of black famous and influential people such as Tinie Tempah, Malorie Blackman, Naomi Campbell, Sir Trevor Macdonald etc... I believe that my own views on black british culture shows how black culture has been embedded into British life, and shows the normality of the presence of black people within my life and Britain.
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Radio extract from 1958
Black people are represented within this radio extract as radically new and hideous which therefore portrays raical discrimination.
Black people are represented as a 'coloured invasion' in Britain.
The tone of voice that is used by the men are pompous and pretentious which amplifies their discriminating and racist view of black people. The instrumental background adds to the tone of fear that the white people have of black people, which also adds to the tone of the hatred between the white and black people within Britain.
Black people are represented as a 'coloured invasion' in Britain.
The tone of voice that is used by the men are pompous and pretentious which amplifies their discriminating and racist view of black people. The instrumental background adds to the tone of fear that the white people have of black people, which also adds to the tone of the hatred between the white and black people within Britain.
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Notes on 'The Windrush Years.'
Part 1: The beginning of the series seems to be praising the famous Black people; of whom many people admire, as they introduce the tough life that they went through due to racial discrimination within Britain. Half a million people from the West Indies were brought over to the UK to mainly help with the economy, and as soldiers to fight within the second world war. Jamaica was one of them many countries that was colonised by Britain, therefore due to this colonisation Jamaica lead a very similar way of life to the British. Jamaica had Church of England schools, and respected the royals as much as the British did. As they were taught to respect their 'motherland' England, they were eager to protect their motherland within the war. The West Indian soldiers were made very welcome by the British, and were treated as equals.
Part 2: During the war many West Indians became popular musicians and singers during the war. However after the war had finished the attitude the white people had towards Black people changed, and they began to discriminate against the Black people. The British people no longer wanted them within the UK; they did not understand why they had not returned 'home' after the war. Many black people returned, although some did remain within Britain. However, many West Indians were then given the opportunity to go back to Britain with a one way ticket. Many people though that this was a fantastic opportunity, one that would lead to an exciting adventure!
Part 3: There was some uncertainty amongst many people about obtaining jobs. However, the West Indians were sent to many parts around the country to obtain manual labor jobs within factories etc... Whereas West Indian women were given the opportunity to work as nurses. People from the West Indies were shocked about England, they had a rose tinted view of England from reading books they believed it would be a beautiful place full of chocolate box cottages, however they were then disappointed by the dullness of the grey concrete buildings on arriving within Britain.
Part 4: The West Indians believed that they had built up an intimate relationship with the British, but unfortunately were proven wrong. Black people were shocked with the cockney accents of the working class British people, as well as how grey and dismal Britain truly was/is. The British people acted ignorantly towards the Black people, they did not even attempt to be-friend them, and left them feeling isolated, lonely, and naive. The British hated the even the most outrageously small aspects of their lives; such as them washing in oil as they did not like the smell. A slogan was introduced to make the Blacks feel weak and un-wanted; 'Keep Britain White'. This was graffitied across walls as 'KBW' to ensure that this message was noticed by the black people, and to make them feel inferior and small.
Part 5: Black people then fought back against the discrimination by forming their own clubs, music and becoming celebrities. They also then started to form romances between themselves and white people; however if the parents of a white girl found out she was dating a black guy Or vise versa) they would be disgraced and would quite possibly disown her for doing so. White women had to then deal with discrimination themselves as they would be spat on in public by fellow white people if they'd seen her with her black boyfriend etc... Black people were discriminated further when trying to find accommodation and homes, as many white men did not want 'coloured' people to rent rooms in their houses; which then resulted in the black people being homeless and having to end up living on the streets.
Part 6: By this part of the series the number of black homeowners were rapidly growing and the white people believed that they were involved within prostitution business, which was why they were making lots of money. Black women and men were giving derogatory dirty jobs by white people, and as there was tremendous cruelty towards black people they were forced to carry steel bars to protect themselves just in case they were attacked. The Notting Hill riots then started which became so uncontrollable for the police, as petrol bombs were used as ammunition to start fires on the black people.
Part 7: White people still wanted black people to go back to their own country, therefore began to also start carrying chains and knives to threaten them with. The black people started to then protect themselves, which began leading into head to head violent confrontations with the white people. Racial murders then began to start, with little protection for anyone, local white people even joined in unison with the black people and agreed that the violence had to stop!
Part 8: Britain then announced that it wanted to become multi-cultural, to bring people of all ethnicities together. A new wave of parties came in the 1960's with Blau's house parties for Black people. These were parties in which people felt safe, but also cool. Music such as 'ska' came into Britain from Jamaica which and became huge as many people enjoyed it and still do today; Caribbean music also began to hit many of the British club scenes also.
Part 9: Another craze that began about black people, were if white women were not engaging in enough sexual intercourse with a white man, they would then turn to a black man to 'satisfy her needs. A wealthy white woman had relationships with West Indian men which caused many problems for black people within the media, which caused another negative outlook on black people, as it shone them in a sleazy light. Black people wanted to fit into the community, but white people did not want them in their Churches on Sundays as they were seen as 'breaking the white community'. Black people then rebelled against these people by creating their own Churches, in which they could pray and worship God with their families in a safe, homely environment, in which everyone was equal.
Part 10: Discrimination got increasingly worse for the black people as the people whom were just visiting was beginning to start staying. In Bristol, it was hard for the blacks to get on buses and feel comfortable, but Martin Luther King then appeared and became an inspiration. Black people then decided to fight back which lead to Labour creating a race legislation in 1964.
Part 11: However, Michael X caused controversy as many radical black people and even liberal white people began supporting him. Michael X was donated money from celebrities to support his cause however, he murdered two people which lead to him being hung. In 1966, anti-immigrants were growing in numbers, especially within the Midlands where the black people were working hard in the factories, but there were no houses or accommodation for them to stay. Birmingham then began to support the Conservative party and began to follow the obscene slogan of 'want a nigger neighbour, vote labour'.
Part 12: Enoch Powell then began creating the anti-immigrant feeling across Britain with 3/4 of the nation supporting him. However, when it was unveiled that he had lied about a woman living on the streets with a black guy to make the black people look bad he was then fired. He had 50,000 letters to petition for him to come back, which then demonstrated further that the black people still not welcome and Britain was no where near a multi-cultural society.
Part 13: In 1981 there was a racial murder which involved setting fire to a house, which resulted horrifically by murdering 13 children! There was also a shortage within employment, and many white people felt angered that Black people were 'stealing their jobs' leading into bars not letting them in. The black children of the first generation that had come to England had began their own clubs within the community halls to feel safe. Celebrities like Micheal Jackson, Bruce Lee, and Mohammed Ali became very famous and skin heads wanted action on this. Within the education system the black children suffered further discrimination as many were removed from mainstream classes and put into lower sets, as white people did not believe they were as intellectually inclined as them.
Part 14: Black people wanted to protest however, only 150 protesters demonstrated, which led to the police becoming worried, so they increased the number of police involved in keeping the protests under control by 600 police officers! In the eyes of the police, the black radicals were a shame to their families, and some black people were even arrested for no reason! Parents tried to get support for the children but the discrimination carried on further, which led to a very 'bloody' confrontation.
Part 15: Black people became violent towards the police as the police were unfairly and purposely arresting them. There were many bad stereotypes on black people as criminals which frustrated the black people immensely. When Bob Marley appeared on the music scene it seemed to strengthen the Black people; as a new religion/culture of 'Rastafarian.' His music also became popular among the British people, but his music seemed to be aimed at the black people as it connected with their feelings. There was then a march in Lewisham that caused a lot of trouble, it was evident that the discrimination, racisim and violence did not need to go as far as it went.
Part 2: During the war many West Indians became popular musicians and singers during the war. However after the war had finished the attitude the white people had towards Black people changed, and they began to discriminate against the Black people. The British people no longer wanted them within the UK; they did not understand why they had not returned 'home' after the war. Many black people returned, although some did remain within Britain. However, many West Indians were then given the opportunity to go back to Britain with a one way ticket. Many people though that this was a fantastic opportunity, one that would lead to an exciting adventure!
Part 3: There was some uncertainty amongst many people about obtaining jobs. However, the West Indians were sent to many parts around the country to obtain manual labor jobs within factories etc... Whereas West Indian women were given the opportunity to work as nurses. People from the West Indies were shocked about England, they had a rose tinted view of England from reading books they believed it would be a beautiful place full of chocolate box cottages, however they were then disappointed by the dullness of the grey concrete buildings on arriving within Britain.
Part 4: The West Indians believed that they had built up an intimate relationship with the British, but unfortunately were proven wrong. Black people were shocked with the cockney accents of the working class British people, as well as how grey and dismal Britain truly was/is. The British people acted ignorantly towards the Black people, they did not even attempt to be-friend them, and left them feeling isolated, lonely, and naive. The British hated the even the most outrageously small aspects of their lives; such as them washing in oil as they did not like the smell. A slogan was introduced to make the Blacks feel weak and un-wanted; 'Keep Britain White'. This was graffitied across walls as 'KBW' to ensure that this message was noticed by the black people, and to make them feel inferior and small.
Part 5: Black people then fought back against the discrimination by forming their own clubs, music and becoming celebrities. They also then started to form romances between themselves and white people; however if the parents of a white girl found out she was dating a black guy Or vise versa) they would be disgraced and would quite possibly disown her for doing so. White women had to then deal with discrimination themselves as they would be spat on in public by fellow white people if they'd seen her with her black boyfriend etc... Black people were discriminated further when trying to find accommodation and homes, as many white men did not want 'coloured' people to rent rooms in their houses; which then resulted in the black people being homeless and having to end up living on the streets.
Part 6: By this part of the series the number of black homeowners were rapidly growing and the white people believed that they were involved within prostitution business, which was why they were making lots of money. Black women and men were giving derogatory dirty jobs by white people, and as there was tremendous cruelty towards black people they were forced to carry steel bars to protect themselves just in case they were attacked. The Notting Hill riots then started which became so uncontrollable for the police, as petrol bombs were used as ammunition to start fires on the black people.
Part 7: White people still wanted black people to go back to their own country, therefore began to also start carrying chains and knives to threaten them with. The black people started to then protect themselves, which began leading into head to head violent confrontations with the white people. Racial murders then began to start, with little protection for anyone, local white people even joined in unison with the black people and agreed that the violence had to stop!
Part 8: Britain then announced that it wanted to become multi-cultural, to bring people of all ethnicities together. A new wave of parties came in the 1960's with Blau's house parties for Black people. These were parties in which people felt safe, but also cool. Music such as 'ska' came into Britain from Jamaica which and became huge as many people enjoyed it and still do today; Caribbean music also began to hit many of the British club scenes also.
Part 9: Another craze that began about black people, were if white women were not engaging in enough sexual intercourse with a white man, they would then turn to a black man to 'satisfy her needs. A wealthy white woman had relationships with West Indian men which caused many problems for black people within the media, which caused another negative outlook on black people, as it shone them in a sleazy light. Black people wanted to fit into the community, but white people did not want them in their Churches on Sundays as they were seen as 'breaking the white community'. Black people then rebelled against these people by creating their own Churches, in which they could pray and worship God with their families in a safe, homely environment, in which everyone was equal.
Part 10: Discrimination got increasingly worse for the black people as the people whom were just visiting was beginning to start staying. In Bristol, it was hard for the blacks to get on buses and feel comfortable, but Martin Luther King then appeared and became an inspiration. Black people then decided to fight back which lead to Labour creating a race legislation in 1964.
Part 11: However, Michael X caused controversy as many radical black people and even liberal white people began supporting him. Michael X was donated money from celebrities to support his cause however, he murdered two people which lead to him being hung. In 1966, anti-immigrants were growing in numbers, especially within the Midlands where the black people were working hard in the factories, but there were no houses or accommodation for them to stay. Birmingham then began to support the Conservative party and began to follow the obscene slogan of 'want a nigger neighbour, vote labour'.
Part 12: Enoch Powell then began creating the anti-immigrant feeling across Britain with 3/4 of the nation supporting him. However, when it was unveiled that he had lied about a woman living on the streets with a black guy to make the black people look bad he was then fired. He had 50,000 letters to petition for him to come back, which then demonstrated further that the black people still not welcome and Britain was no where near a multi-cultural society.
Part 13: In 1981 there was a racial murder which involved setting fire to a house, which resulted horrifically by murdering 13 children! There was also a shortage within employment, and many white people felt angered that Black people were 'stealing their jobs' leading into bars not letting them in. The black children of the first generation that had come to England had began their own clubs within the community halls to feel safe. Celebrities like Micheal Jackson, Bruce Lee, and Mohammed Ali became very famous and skin heads wanted action on this. Within the education system the black children suffered further discrimination as many were removed from mainstream classes and put into lower sets, as white people did not believe they were as intellectually inclined as them.
Part 14: Black people wanted to protest however, only 150 protesters demonstrated, which led to the police becoming worried, so they increased the number of police involved in keeping the protests under control by 600 police officers! In the eyes of the police, the black radicals were a shame to their families, and some black people were even arrested for no reason! Parents tried to get support for the children but the discrimination carried on further, which led to a very 'bloody' confrontation.
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Definitions...
Identity-
The set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group. (The free dictionary.)
The condition of being oneself or itself, and not another: He doubted his own identity. (Dictionary.com)
The characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is:
he wanted to develop a more distinctive Scottish Tory identity (Oxford Dictionaries.)
Example: Breakwell (1978) studied teenage soccer fans, some of whom went to most games, whilst others did not go to games. Those who did not go to games were the most vehement about their loyalty and showed most in-group bias, presumably as they had a greater need to prove themselves as fans.
Collective Identity-
A collective identity refers to individuals' sense of belonging (the identity) to a group (the collective). From the perspective of the individual, the collective identity forms a part of his or her personal identity...
(web definitions)
The term collective identity may refer to a variety of concepts. In general however, these concepts generally pertain to phenomena where an individuals' perceived membership in a social group impacts upon their own identity in some way. The idea of a collective identity has received attention in a wide variety of academic fields. In psychology, and in particular social psychology, this has led to a vast research literature and concerted scientific study. Most archetypal perhaps being Henri Tajfel’s and John Turner's work in developing social identity theory (Wikipedia.)
"If the hippies cut off all their hair, I don't care"- Jimi Hendrix
Mediation-
in cultural theory, the process by which texts and media products are analysed through an intermediary ‘structure’, e.g. conventions of genre,form of production (media dictionary.com)
The central problem for any media theorist, similar to the problem of a Marxist theorist, is to attempt to analyze what is possible and what is limited by a given medium. (Wikipedia)
Every time we encounter a media text, we are not seeing reality, but someone's version of it. This may seem obvious point, but it is something easily forgotten when we get caught up in a text. For example if you see a picture of a celebrity kissing her boyfriend, you may find it unsurprising that the picture can be altered and does not show the reality of the situation. The media place us at one remove away from reality: they take something that is real, a person, or event they change its form to produce whatever text we end up with.
Representation-
The description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way or as being of a certain nature (web definitions.)
Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures. (http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30820/represent.html)
'Marxist perspectives draw our attention to the issue of political and economic interests in the mass media and highlight social inequalities in media representations.'- Daniel Chandler
1) 'In reflective approach,meaning is thought to lie in the object,person,idea or even in the real world.In this approach,language works by simply reflecting or imitating the truth that is already there and fixed in the world ,is sometimes called “mimetic”.
2) The second approach to meaning in the representation argues the oppsite case.
It holds that it is the speaker,the author,who impose his or her unique meaning on the world throuth language.Words mean what the auther intends they should mean.This is intentional approach.
3) The third approach recognises this public,social character of language.It acknowledges that neither things in themselves nor the individual users of language can fix meaning in language.Thing don’t mean:we construct meaning ,using representational systems _concepts and signs.Hence it is callaed the constructivist or constructionist approach to meaning in language.' (Ali Hajemohamady.)
Examples: Teenagers being represented as 'hoodies.' Men being represented as the dominant sex etc...
For example women are represented as the dominant sex in this video through by Beyonce being positioned on a horse which connotes authority, by the women being placed with a lion and as lions are seen as the dominant animals, this too connotes that Beyonce and her 'army' of women are dominant.
Hegemony-
The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others. (Free online dictionary.)
In media studies, hegemony refers to the ways in which the media encourage people to consent to status quo power structures. Hegemony seems like a tough concept to grasp at first, but it's actually pretty straightword. Here's what you need to know about hegemony.
Colonialism-The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. (Web Definitions.)
Relating to, possessing, or inhabiting a colony or colonies.Or relating to the 13 British colonies that became the original United States of America. (The Free Dictionary.)
A policy by which a nation maintains or extends its control over foreign dependencies. (Answers.com)
The acquisition and colonization by a nation of other territories and their peoples (Oxford Dictionary of Geography.)
The policy and practice of a strong power extending its control territorially over a weaker nation or people. (Oxford Dictionary of Politics.)
Post-Colonialism-
Postcolonialism (postcolonial theory, post-colonial theory) is a specifically post-modern intellectual discourse that consists of reactions to, and analysis of, the cultural legacy of colonialism. (Wikipedia)
An era or attitude relating to the period after the settlement of one country by another, or very broadly, after the 1960s, when many colonised countries gained their independence. (Wiktinory)
The term postcolonialism may refer to what happens after colonialism, ie after a state has gained independence from a foreign power. (courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellibst/lsl01-tm.html)
A cultural, intellectual, political, and literary movement of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries characterized by the representation and analysis of the historical experiences and subjectivities of the victims, individuals and nations, of colonial power. (fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/glossary.htm)
Imperial-
A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force (Google Dictionary)
The set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group. (The free dictionary.)
The condition of being oneself or itself, and not another: He doubted his own identity. (Dictionary.com)
The characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is:
he wanted to develop a more distinctive Scottish Tory identity (Oxford Dictionaries.)
Example: Breakwell (1978) studied teenage soccer fans, some of whom went to most games, whilst others did not go to games. Those who did not go to games were the most vehement about their loyalty and showed most in-group bias, presumably as they had a greater need to prove themselves as fans.
Collective Identity-
A collective identity refers to individuals' sense of belonging (the identity) to a group (the collective). From the perspective of the individual, the collective identity forms a part of his or her personal identity...
(web definitions)
The term collective identity may refer to a variety of concepts. In general however, these concepts generally pertain to phenomena where an individuals' perceived membership in a social group impacts upon their own identity in some way. The idea of a collective identity has received attention in a wide variety of academic fields. In psychology, and in particular social psychology, this has led to a vast research literature and concerted scientific study. Most archetypal perhaps being Henri Tajfel’s and John Turner's work in developing social identity theory (Wikipedia.)
"If the hippies cut off all their hair, I don't care"- Jimi Hendrix
Mediation-
in cultural theory, the process by which texts and media products are analysed through an intermediary ‘structure’, e.g. conventions of genre,form of production (media dictionary.com)
The central problem for any media theorist, similar to the problem of a Marxist theorist, is to attempt to analyze what is possible and what is limited by a given medium. (Wikipedia)
Every time we encounter a media text, we are not seeing reality, but someone's version of it. This may seem obvious point, but it is something easily forgotten when we get caught up in a text. For example if you see a picture of a celebrity kissing her boyfriend, you may find it unsurprising that the picture can be altered and does not show the reality of the situation. The media place us at one remove away from reality: they take something that is real, a person, or event they change its form to produce whatever text we end up with.
Representation-
The description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way or as being of a certain nature (web definitions.)
Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures. (http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30820/represent.html)
'Marxist perspectives draw our attention to the issue of political and economic interests in the mass media and highlight social inequalities in media representations.'- Daniel Chandler
1) 'In reflective approach,meaning is thought to lie in the object,person,idea or even in the real world.In this approach,language works by simply reflecting or imitating the truth that is already there and fixed in the world ,is sometimes called “mimetic”.
2) The second approach to meaning in the representation argues the oppsite case.
It holds that it is the speaker,the author,who impose his or her unique meaning on the world throuth language.Words mean what the auther intends they should mean.This is intentional approach.
3) The third approach recognises this public,social character of language.It acknowledges that neither things in themselves nor the individual users of language can fix meaning in language.Thing don’t mean:we construct meaning ,using representational systems _concepts and signs.Hence it is callaed the constructivist or constructionist approach to meaning in language.' (Ali Hajemohamady.)
Examples: Teenagers being represented as 'hoodies.' Men being represented as the dominant sex etc...
For example women are represented as the dominant sex in this video through by Beyonce being positioned on a horse which connotes authority, by the women being placed with a lion and as lions are seen as the dominant animals, this too connotes that Beyonce and her 'army' of women are dominant.
Hegemony-
The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others. (Free online dictionary.)
In media studies, hegemony refers to the ways in which the media encourage people to consent to status quo power structures. Hegemony seems like a tough concept to grasp at first, but it's actually pretty straightword. Here's what you need to know about hegemony.
Antonio Gramsci & Marxism
Hegemony, a term that came from the writings of Karl Marx, was conceptualized by Antonio Gramsci, a Marxist social philosopher who lived in Mussolini's Italy. Because Gramsci was a Marxist, he subscribed to the basic Marxist premise of the historical dialectic. This means that, according to classic Marxist theories, societies must transform over time from oppressive economic systems to more and more liberating ones, until society finally reaches the Utopian state of communism.
Marx believed that capitalism was an oppressive economic system because of the unequal distribution of the wealth among a few powerful people, and he believed that eventually, the masses would overthrow capitalism and move to a less oppressive system. According to the historical dialectic, the masses will overthrow oppressive economic systems.
'The abolition of the class struggle does not mean the abolition of the need to struggle as a principle of development.'-Gramsci, Antonio, Selections from cultural writings. London (Lawrence & Wishart) 1985, 42Colonialism-The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. (Web Definitions.)
Relating to, possessing, or inhabiting a colony or colonies.Or relating to the 13 British colonies that became the original United States of America. (The Free Dictionary.)
A policy by which a nation maintains or extends its control over foreign dependencies. (Answers.com)
The acquisition and colonization by a nation of other territories and their peoples (Oxford Dictionary of Geography.)
The policy and practice of a strong power extending its control territorially over a weaker nation or people. (Oxford Dictionary of Politics.)
Post-Colonialism-
Postcolonialism (postcolonial theory, post-colonial theory) is a specifically post-modern intellectual discourse that consists of reactions to, and analysis of, the cultural legacy of colonialism. (Wikipedia)
An era or attitude relating to the period after the settlement of one country by another, or very broadly, after the 1960s, when many colonised countries gained their independence. (Wiktinory)
The term postcolonialism may refer to what happens after colonialism, ie after a state has gained independence from a foreign power. (courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellibst/lsl01-tm.html)
A cultural, intellectual, political, and literary movement of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries characterized by the representation and analysis of the historical experiences and subjectivities of the victims, individuals and nations, of colonial power. (fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/glossary.htm)
Imperial-
A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force (Google Dictionary)
- A policy of extending your rule over foreign countries (wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)
- A political orientation that advocates imperial interests (wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)
- Any instance of aggressive extension of authority (wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)
Imperialism, defined by The Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination. (Wikipedia.)
Youth Subculture-
A minority youth culture whose distinctiveness depended largely on the social class and ethnic background of its members; often characterized by its adoption of a particular music genre. (The Free Dictionary.)
A youth subculture is a youth-based subculture with distinct styles, behaviors, and interests. Youth subcultures offer participants an identity outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family,work, home and school. (Wikipedia.)
Youth subculture is relevant to the term 'collective identity' as the concept of 'youth subculture' allows people to create their own identity, away from the identity that is already associated with them due to their gender or age etc...
Syncretism-
- The union (or attempted fusion) of different systems of thought or belief (especially in religion or philosophy); "a syncretism of material and immaterial theories" The fusion of originally different inflected forms (resulting in a reduction in the use of inflections) wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
The attempt to reconcile disparate or contrary beliefs. (Wikipedia.)
Syncretism is the interworking of two or more cultural perspectives into one system. (http://www.google.co.uk/url?url=http://www.kheper.net/topics/Gnosticism/glossary.html&rct=j&sa=X&ei=NYYLTo-DD8iChQfP9HE&ved=0CEAQngkwAQ&q=syncretism&usg=AFQjCNHnTL-j2QspWtyJZrb_8thweCybBA)
Post- Modernism-
A currently popular (I hesitate to say fashionable although intellectuals do have fashions) intellectual concept. It is used as a way of grouping and describing the styles of thought and culture attracting most critical attention during the final few decades of the twentieth century. It is sometimes affectionately referred to as 'pomo' by people with beards. 'Postmodernist thought' has caused a revolution across all academic disciplines, from Physics to English via Geography. Postmodernism offers a different way of both constructing and deconstructing ideas. (AS & A2 Media Studies.)
Postmodernism is a movement away from the viewpoint of modernism. More specifically it is a tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the problem of objective truth and inherent suspicion towards global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. (Wikipedia.)
Urban Music-
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. (Wikipedia.)
Musical genre of the 1980s and ’90s defined by recordings by rhythm-and-blues or soul artists with broad crossover appeal. Urban contemporary began as an American radio format designed to appeal to advertisers who felt that “black radio” would not reach a wide enough audience. (Britainia)
Postmodernism is a movement away from the viewpoint of modernism. More specifically it is a tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the problem of objective truth and inherent suspicion towards global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. (Wikipedia.)
Urban Music-
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. (Wikipedia.)
Musical genre of the 1980s and ’90s defined by recordings by rhythm-and-blues or soul artists with broad crossover appeal. Urban contemporary began as an American radio format designed to appeal to advertisers who felt that “black radio” would not reach a wide enough audience. (Britainia)
Hegemony was a concept previously used by Marxists such as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin to indicate the political leadership of the working-class in a democratic revolution, but developed by Gramsci into an acute analysis to explain why the 'inevitable' socialist revolution predicted by orthodox Marxism had not occurred by the early 20th century. Capitalism, it seemed, was even more entrenched than ever. Capitalism, Gramsci suggested, maintained control not just through violence and political and economic coercion, but also ideologically, through a hegemonic culture in which the values of the bourgeoisie became the 'common sense' values of all. Thus a consensus culture developed in which people in the working-class identified their own good with the good of the bourgeoisie, and helped to maintain the status quo rather than revolting.
The working class needed to develop a culture of its own, which would overthrow the notion that bourgeois values represented 'natural' or 'normal' values for society, and would attract the oppressed and intellectual classes to the cause of the proletariat. Lenin held that culture was 'ancillary' to political objectives but for Gramsci it was fundamental to the attainment of power that cultural hegemony be achieved first. In Gramsci's view, any class that wishes to dominate in modern conditions has to move beyond its own narrow ‘economic-corporate’ interests, to exert intellectual and moral leadership, and to make alliances and compromises with a variety of forces. Gramsci calls this union of social forces a ‘historic bloc’, taking a term from Georges Sorel. This bloc forms the basis of consent to a certain social order, which produces and re-produces the hegemony of the dominant class through a nexus of institutions, social relations and ideas. In this manner, Gramsci developed a theory that emphasized the importance of the superstructure in both maintaining and fracturing relations of the base.
Gramsci stated that, in the West, bourgeois cultural values were tied to religion, and therefore much of his analysis of hegemonic culture is aimed at religious norms and values. He was impressed by the influence Roman Catholicism had and the care the Church had taken to prevent an excessive gap developing between the religion of the learned and that of the less educated. Gramsci believed that it was Marxism's task to marry the purely intellectual critique of religion found in Renaissance humanismto the elements of the Reformation that had appealed to the masses. For Gramsci, Marxism could supersede religion only if it met people's spiritual needs, and to do so people would have to think of it as an expression of their own experience.
For Gramsci, hegemonic dominance ultimately relied on a "consented" coercion, and in a "crisis of authority" the "masks of consent" slip away, revealing the fist of force.
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