Currently I watched several short videos about the poor fortune of countries in Africa and Latin America, which aroused my interest in colonialisation history and post-colonialism. Last year I wrote an essay about Africa development, which touched upon this topic to some extent, especially the idea of the economic and political legacies of colonisation. Recent days I have furthered my insights into the topic through more case studies, and this time I also pay special attention to cultural colonisation and postcolonial analysis. My note is attached at the end of the blog.
I find post-colonialism, especial orientalism, particularly interesting as I could apply it in my own life. Prof. Edward Said states in his book Orientalism that ‘the oriental was always like some aspect of the west, and for the rest different aspects, will be understood with a prejudiced colonial ideology.’ The occidental culture is often described as advanced, free, equal; whilst the oriental one is usually summarized by prejudice and backward ways of thinking. Born in China, a ‘far east country’, I also have experiences witnessing the implicit ‘orientalism’ in my daily life, especially in literary works such as movies and novels.
An example I could come up with to apply post-colonial theory and orientalism analysis is the film Mulan. The story of Hua Mulan is a traditional Chinese folktale familiar to every Chinese child. Mulan, a daughter who disguises herself as a male soldier to take her father’s place in the conscription army, has inspired generations of Chinese people for embodying the feminism beyond the times and the oriental values of patriotism: loyalty to the country and filial piety to the family. Last several years, western movie companies such as Disney started to adapt the script and produce films of Mulan. Whilst winning overwhelming praise in the western world, the films are to some extent disappointing to us Chinese citizens. In the cartoon version, the movie meshes Japanese and Chinese culture together, for example by depicting Mulan with white powdered makeup and wearing a Kimono, a style of makeup and clothing not typical in China but instead in Japan. On the other hand, in the live version, several elements of Chinese culture that had never appeared in the same historical period are piled up in a chaotic way, including the Fujian Tulou (a form of building appearing in the Song Dynasty), the Great Wall, the Baxian Table (In Mulan’s time, people sat on the ground to have meals), the typical Tang Dynasty makeup, to name but a few. Another criticism is the film’s distortion of the Oriental sense of honour; Disregarding whether the emperor is wise or not, Mulan just knows to listen to the command and rush forward. The biggest failure of the film is that it deepens the prejudice and fantasy of the Chinese regime in the West – the individual in the East has no right to speak.
I have been fond of the story of Hua Mulan since childhood, regarding Mulan as my idol. Before learning the post-colonialism analysis, when watching these films made by Western companies, I just felt a little uncomfortable, but was not able to tell what is weird or strange point. However, I am glad that, having studied Orientalism, I am now able to figure out the misappropriation and misuse of culture in this type of movies, as well as the stereotypes and unequal power dynamics lying behind.
Original link: https://fiona-f-ang.github.io/2022/12/01/post-colonialism/
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