Mrs Fisher Media Theory Videos SUPPORT ACTIVITY SHEET

Paul Gilroy and Post-Colonialism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzAJCoU9dLk
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Questions based on the video
1) Give an example of a colonial country (sometimes called a colonial or imperial 'power').
2) Give an example of a colonized country.
3) Why did some countries colonize others?
4) Choose the correct answer: Gilroy believes that
a) today's media always criticises colonial attitudes
b) colonial attitudes are still evident in media today
c) media always takes the side of the victims of colonization
5) What word, often in "inverted commas" is used to describe the 'differentness' in the way
media often represent ethnic groups?
6) Which of the following words would NOT apply when describing the way non-white
ethnic groups are represented in the media:
dehumanized, exotic, inferior, familiar, marginalized, strange

7) Which charity's advert does she use as an example of post-colonial bias?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uiy3dkTwPcQ

8) Which signifier at the beginning of the advert is used as a symbolic code to represent
comfortable, middle-class, suburban life.
9) Do you think the advert represents Africans negatively (from an unfairly pro-Western
post-colonialist perspective)?

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Further points
Post-colonialism covers the following:
a) A continuation of colonialist ideology, as outlined in Mrs Fisher's video.
BUT IT ALSO INVOLVES
b) A critical representation ('critique') of colonialism.
c) A sympathetic focus on the experience of the victims of colonialism.
d) Recent media products often explore the experience of the victims and show a more positive
feeling reflecting the joy of liberation and the ability of the former underdog to re-assert their
own independence and identity.

Extra questions and discussion points. (Not in the video)

10) Texts such as Dr Who, Pocahontas, and Avatar explore a post-colonial mindset, with a
more positive representation of the 'other' (the outsider, the 'underdog', the
marginalized group). In these products, the enemy is no longer constructed as a pure
evil villain.
Can you give other examples of media products that do this? Think about war movies,
superhero films, spy thrillers etc

11) To what extent can Deutschland '83 (OCR Media Studies A-Level) be seen as an
example of Gilroy's theory about Postcolonialism?
Hints: occupation themes, repression, role of US as protector but also aggressor, role of
Russia, General Edel's fears about his US colleagues, Prof Tischbier's and Alex Edel's
criticism of Western Capitalism, representations of E Germany.