Art Theory

Postcolonialism: WTF? An Intro to Postcolonial Theory



Tom Nicholas

In this month’s episode of What the Theory?, we’re diving into postcolonialism with an intro to postcolonial theory in literature, film and culture.

We’ll be looking at the ideas of Edward Said (as laid out in his book Orientalism), Gayatri Spivak (Can the Subaltern Speak?), Homi Bhabha (The Location of Culture) and Stuart Hall (The West and Rest).

In particular, this postcolonialism crash course hopes to give you an insight into how some of these core ideas of post-colonialism can be used to analyse cultural texts through the critical lens of postcolonial theory. As such, we’ll put these ideas into action in discussing James Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar and Ryan Coogler’s 2018 film Black Panther.

Further Reading

Orientalism by Edward Said
US: https://amzn.to/2EEviba
UK: https://amzn.to/2Vx1PFW

Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction by Robert J.C. Young
US: https://amzn.to/2VvIg0C
UK: https://amzn.to/2NzCgRC

Postcolonial Theory and Avatar by Gautam Basu Thakur
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UK: https://amzn.to/2NBe9SG

[The above are affiliate links. I receive a small kickback from anything you buy which, in turn, helps to support the channel.]

If you’ve enjoyed this video and would like to see more including my What The Theory? series in which I provide some snappy introductions to key theories in the humanities as well as PhD vlogs in which I talk about some of the challenges of being a PhD student then do consider subscribing.

Thanks for watching!

Twitter: @Tom_Nicholas
Website: www.tomnicholas.com

References

Barry, P. (1995) Beginning Theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Eligon, John (2018) /Wakanda Is a Fake Country, but the African Language in ‘Black Panther’ Is Real/. The New York Times. [Online] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/16/us/wakanda-black-panther.html [18 October 2018].

Hall, S. (1996) ‘The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power’. in S. Hall and B. Gieben [eds] Formations of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press. pp. 275-331.

Sanginga, N. A. (2018) A Portion Of Pan-Africanism In “Black Panther”. The Mac Weekly. [Online] https://themacweekly.com/2018/03/a-portion-of-pan-africanism-in-black-panther/ [20 October 2018].

Said, E. (1978) Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books.

Spivak, G. C. (2010 [1988]) ‘Can the Subaltern Speak?’. in R. Morris [ed] Can the Subaltern Speak? Reflections on the History of an Idea. New York: Columbia University Press.

Wong (Omowale), D. (2018) The Black Panther: An Anti-Colonial Pan-African Superhero. Huffpost. [Online] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-black-panther-an-anti-colonial-pan-african-superhero_us_5a539948e4b0f9b24bf3195e [20 October 2018].

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21 thoughts on “Postcolonialism: WTF? An Intro to Postcolonial Theory
  1. Hi all! Thanks for watching, I hope you found the video enlightening in some small way! If you'd like me to help me to make more videos like this, and to influence what topics I cover next, then I've just launched a Patreon. I'd love it if you'd check it out and, if you're able, consider supporting my channel. Thanks! Tom. https://www.patreon.com/tomnicholas

  2. I loved that you made these concepts easier to understand by using Black Panther as the context to explain them. Great teaching method and very effective.

  3. Hi Tom! I have International Relations as a course in my studies and I really must say your videos are of such great help! They really help me understand the theory better. Thank you!

  4. Theses theories only serve to foster self-hate for westerners. 0:30 is a clear example of that. Why is it assumed that white English speaking people are some sort of evil force that have never experienced prejudice, when that in itself is a prejudgment. It baffles me.

    The segment on Black Panther is horrendous, using huff-po as a source? In what world is the biased, uninformed opinion of a journalist who works for a socially progressive/anti western mouth piece a good source to make the claim that "this is Africa without colonialism", its idiotic. All it does is validate more white hatred and racism.
    Black Panther was a movie designed to play on the guilt of white people caused by these theories of post colonialism, where an African ethno state akin to a black Hitlers wet dream is praised by the same people who call anyone who is white and doesn't hate themselves or their country/race a nazi. Its beyond idiotic.

  5. Thanks for the great video!! I was looking at this for my literature class as we had to research different perspectives, post-colonialism being one of them and this was sooo helpful.

  6. Sorry for posting twice but I was wondering if you have any interest in doing a video with respect to Frantz Fanon and postcolonial theory. I think it could be a really productive endeavor.

  7. Hi Tom! What do you think about the alternative decolonization school of thought which isn't really a theory? would you draw many differences or similarities with postcolonialism

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