Victoria Olayiwola Blog #6: Must salvation come at such a high price?

Steven Biko-the finest example of one who refused to be oppressed and lost his life for it. The perfect Subaltern, for he lives on through the lives of his black brothers and sisters. Those of his time. Those after his time. And those who are to come.

In class we focused on hegemony. Hegemony can be described as the act of an individual, a group or party forcefully controlling a weaker individual, a group or a party. Hegemony can also be described as the concentration of power in the hands of one person or a group or a party.

Gramsci (1891-1937), an Italian philosopher who wrote whilst in prison was mentioned as was Marxism. Marx’s view, evidently expressed through the ideology of Communism, was that the working class will one day rise above the ruling bourgeoisie class and govern their respective states. This he described as the dictatorship of the proletariat. The process of getting there would include a class struggle between the two entities- the proletariat and the elite.

But who were/are the proletariat? In Russia the proletariat included the peasants, for Lenin knew that the working class working in factories and manning the machines of the elite would not be enough to effect change so the peasants included the proletariat. Uniting the two entities would, in the eyes of Lenin, bring about a new hegemony one, in which all strove and worked for the betterment of society. 

There are two examples of where hegemony was exercised ruthlessly. The first can be found in Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl film. A film which charts the life of Diouana, a Senegalese girl, who left her homeland to become a maid in France.

Not only was she far away from home in the home of stranger, not doing the work she was told she will be doing when before she left Senegal  (she thought she was going to France to look after children) but she, being the weaker vessel was overpowered by her Madam. She was forced to cook for strangers, harassed and insulted. 

She was considered the “responsibility” of the Madame, she was bullied (she is called “lazy” and considered to be like “an animal”, she is stereotyped: they say “Africans only eat rice” thus she fits the preconceived notions, the social and racial strata, black people were categorized by in that day) and constrained by their instructions. Unfortunately she could very little about it given that she was in a foreign land among foreign people who did not have the best views and opinions on black people/ Africans.

Life proved unbearable for Diouana as the Madame’s rantings and shoutings intensified (at one point Diouana says “Why does the mistress shout at me? I’m no cook, I’m no cleaner!”). Diouana admits she has no life. For her France is a big hole. She wants to join their discourse, she wants to be a part of their lives and enjoy what they enjoy as members of France’s affluent class. But the family she is working for provides her no chance of doing so; rather they make her nostalgic and miserable.

The only thing she can do to fight her hegemonic opponent, is pack her things-including her much beloved mask (the only symbol of her past, her home), without money and without anything from them or of them.

Her ultimate triumph comes when she takes her own life in the bath tub of the family she is working for. One would think she would slit her wrist but she instead cut her tongue out, her own form of “immolation”. For they, the family she worked for chose to silence her both socially and by taking her personal rights. She used her tongue to show them what they had done to her, a piercing feeling her boss could not atone for by trying to compensate her mother with money or by returning Diouana’s things.

Even in her death, Diouana’s mother keeps fighting her daughter’s hegemonic opponent. When Diouana’s boss went to Africa thinking he would be able to make amends and cement the cracks over with money but Diouana’s mother in no uncertain terms made it clear that she does not want his “blood money”. This act alone showed how dignified Diouana’s mother is and how in the face of poverty would not allow her moral compass and her self-respect cower in. Her mother chose not to submit to the tempting forces of the hegemon. Thus Diouana’s death will continue to haunt the family she worked for.

Again we are made aware of the forces and overpowering ability of the hegemon in the film “Amigo” by John Sayles, for the American troops, like a flood, come rushing in and dent and damage the Filipino’s way of life and customs. This act is not only shocking but scandalous.

The Americans with their weapons and equipment overpower the Filipino’s, who are now the weaker vessels. The Americans force the Kapitan of the barrio of San Isidro (the Cabeza de Barungay-a Creole pioneer), Rafael Dacanay, to move out of his home in 5 minutes. His home then becomes the home of the captain of the American troops.

Religion here is used as a civilizing tool and instrument, which help the Filipino’s especially the women come to terms with the drastic changes in their lives and the atrocities and rules the American impose on them all.

The Priest, the go between, is no different than the Americans. He is a constant shape-shifter, siding with the Americans and telling the Filipinos what they can and what they cannot say to the Americans and then he is there to administer religious rites and encourage the people of the barrio. Thus he cannot be trusted. Rafael even says to his wife that she should forget the Friar and talk only to God.

The Americans being the hegemonic power, when settled beginning setting their own laws and rules and thus controlling the people of the barrio like a true hegemonic unit. For example the people needed to have passes to pass certain areas and a curfew was set. The Americans also played mind games with the people by killing their oxen, even though they knew they had some cultural meaning the Filipinos. If the Filipinos broke any of the American’s rules then they could expect to be hung or shot mercilessly.

Emil Iqbal Blog 5

On the topic of language and community with respect to the film we have just finished (Amigo). It is interesting to point out how Anderson's idea of language being a major factor in creating nations is demonstrated during the film. In the film there were many groups of people all speaking different languages: the Americans speaking English, the natives speaking Tagalog, and the Chinese speaking Chinese. We can see how the Filipinos have their own national identity within their communities, and how the Americans have theirs. At the beginning of the film there is very little mixing between the two groups (mixing the sense of cultural exchange, or meaningful interactions). The only communication between the groups comes through the priest in the village who happens to speak both languages. The two groups have very specific and different identities, supporting Anderson's idea of language being a major factor in developing a nation. Through the film we see more and more interactions between the groups in a more friendly manner: an American solider develops a crush on a native, the natives have a party that the Americans enjoy. We see that a connection develops between the two groups; the two groups almost begin to merge. I would even go out and say that if given enough time (and maybe slightly different circumstances), the two distinct groups with their separate national identities would merge into one and a new kind of nation would be born. One that would encompass multiple cultures. Towards the end of the film we see how much the Americans (the ones who had been in the village the entire time) really did not want the Amigo to be hung, possibility supporting the fact that a deeper connection was forming between the two groups.

Jonno Marlton #7: The Imperial Origins of the Bigoted American Nationalism

American nationalism is a product of the institutions put in place as a reaction to both British rule and the eventual break away from the colonial power.  In chapter seven, Anderson looks at the quantity of pilgrims to the new territory, the administrative response to the growing population, and the use of ‘modern-style education’ in organizing the throngs in order to demonstrate a shift in the mentality of the new colonizers (Anderson 115-6.)  His analysis extends to explain how the social infrastructure designed to accommodate growing and diverse (albeit still European) populations outlasted the English colonial empire and provided a basis for an American National identity.  The newness of the territory’s colonial experience, the infiltration of a uniform language of state, and an administrative interest in privileging European people and values are all factors that combined to influence the picture of American nationalism.

            Britain’s America was located a considerable distance from its imperial center, meaning that a great deal of energy and money had to be invested in order to create an overseas administrative  infrastructure strong enough to maintain the colonies.  As Anderson points out, it was too expensive and difficult and ordeal to include natives in the administrative duties.  Therefore, Europeans and their creoles were relied upon to provide these bureaucratic responsibilities.  The hoards of people arriving were mostly English-speaking Europeans, and their arrival required an influx of services, the demand of which would have created an economic opportunity on both sides of the Atlantic.  Access to trade and business was overseen by the Creole and European administrators.  After the Creole mostly replaced the European, the identity of the America-dweller changed, making the former English at the top of the hierarchy.  As a result, American nationalism evolved to be Euro-centric despite the Revolutionary war.  Natives and non-English-speaking immigrants were looked down upon.

            The shared experience of the pilgrim continued after the process of emigrating.  The institution of educational providers—both church and state—contributed to the breeding of young “Americans” to perform their duties as Creole cogs in the bureaucratic machine.  Thinking back to Amigo, we can see a clear example of the racial prejudice against the natives that fueled the fire of exclusion in administrative capacities.  American nationalism is fully reliant on the hierarchy.  Think back to Who Killed Vincent Chin.  The whitewashed American dream that US car companies shoved onto its American consumers relied on the class hierarchy, as did the colonial economic powers that ultimately molded the modern-day conception of American nationalism.  In terms of national expectation, the hierarchy has remained integral to the identity concocted from the European/ Creole riff that cemented the United States as a nation-state and not an imperial territory.  To leave off, America’s role as a superpower in the second half of the twentieth century has furthered formerly colonial European ideals and has exported the bigoted hierarchy that it clung on to so desperately onto other democratizing nations.

Yue (Ivy) Blog #6: Democratic Cyber Space

In a country like China, where a relative handful control the fate of billions, it is reasonable to expect a high degree of censorship. From the cultural revolution to the more recent silencing of Ai Wei Wei (an outspoken Chinese artist famous for his middle finger and the Bird's Nest stadium), communist China has always preemptively detered the formation of imagined communities within its borders. Ai's arrest is a suitable starting point to this discussion because of its relevance to the internet and the growing access that Chinese people enjoy, which obviously poses the most imminent of threats to the party.

In 2008 the province of Sichuan experienced one of the most devastating natural disasters recorded in recent human history, an earthquake that took the lives of 68 thousand (the party's estimate). Yet there was no call for help and none was given. Defiantly, Wei Wei conducted a "citizen's investigation," which culminated in an expo in Munich. The building facade read "she was only 7, and had her entire life ahead of her," written in Chinese using the backpacks of school children who were crushed by concrete falling from above. Amid this fervent protest for better infrastructure, more aid and more humanity in how people treat people in China, Wei Wei suffered several attacks from an embarrased and frankly, scared, dominant minority. His bank accounts were frozen, his body was beaten to the point of cerebral hemmorage, his family was threatened, his art destroyed. Why then, would the Communist Party tip-toe around a mere artist?

In China, we have a government-approved version of google, a government-approved version of facebook and a government-approved version of youtube, but we also have government-unapproved proxy sites, which allow us to form external blogging communities and also grants access to foreign domains. In this intangible cyber-space, Wei Wei has influence- through twitter. The internet has become the most democratic device for the oppressed and the vigilant. Through this imaginary link that we have between one guy on a laptop in a coffee shop to another guy on a laptop in a coffee shop, we take back the power to speak and to be heard. Wei Wei's followers, abroad and domestically, protect him from disappearing, from becoming a non-issue.

(If you are interested in learning more about Ai Wei Wei and his cause, look him up, follow his tweets. Or watch the documentary on netflix, Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry.)

Clarissa Blanco, Blog #6 "We Break Down in Order to Build Back Up"

          One of the most memorable scenes in Amigo was when the Baryo, with the help of the Americanos, reconstructed a brand new house for the sickly older woman of the community. Not only did this scene epitomize the true definition of "community" but it also proved that when there is a common care people can set aside their differences to work for the cause at hand.
        Amigo is the perfect example of a community that is threatened in multiple ways:

1. The infiltration of American soldiers into the baryo, but also makes the culture of the people seriously susceptible to a change that makes them less "of themselves". When the Americans come they have complete disregard of who these people are and what they stand for. They kill their water buffalo, cut down their crops, and put barbed wire around their land to keep them in/others out.
2. The Americans do not speak their language. The only person who can help the two groups communicate is the Padre, who, seemingly, doesn't even want to help unless he's getting his way. It's also very clear that Padre does not like the head of the baryo, Rafael, and feels as though someone else could better man the baryo, therefore his push is always going to be towards the side that does not keep Rafael at the top.
3. Rafael has been head of the baryo because he is part of a family that has been head for multiple generations. One might say that it is in his blood to lead, therefore when the Americans come and overthrow him for that short period of time, alot could've went wrong.

             Yet, the Americans introduced democracy to the people which was one good example of change. Not only were the Filipinos able to make themselves more vulnerable and susceptible to change, but the Americanos began to understand them and see why their culture was so significant in their lives. The use of the terms "goo-goos" and "monkeys" became much less apparent, and the name "Amigo" bore more significance than just the name they thought belonged to Rafael. Sometimes, when a community is threatened it makes the community stronger. There are forced to stand for what they believe in and think is right. This stood true for both the Filipinos and Americanos. There would be no diamonds without pressure. There'd be no success without the threat of failure.