Paul Gilroy’s - Post-Colonial theory

  

New things I found while reading Dixon’s interpretation of Gilroy’s theory:

- Gilroy argues that many representations of black people after the Second World War - marginalised the black community from the outset - constructing them as a ‘racial other’ in the predominantly white world of 1950s Britain.

- Black immigrants were perceived as ‘swamping’ the white communities of Britain.

- Gilroy argues that Post-War racism is a covert attempt to recover the social order of Empire England.

- Gilroy suggests that Albion England (England created by media) is nothing more than a distracting fantasy that distracts from the realities of what Britain is truly like. 

Key Vocabulary:

- Albionic nostalgia: A representation of Englishness that is marked by nostalgia and generally produces a whitewashed version of an idealised/imagined rural England. 

- Civilisationism: A stark representation of the world in which Western democracy is pitted against extremist others. 

- Cosmopolitan conviviality: A term that describes real-world multiculturalism and the high levels of racial harmony that mark most people’s day-to-day existence. Conversely, the media portrays racial disharmony as the norm. 

- Postcolonial melancholia: A term used by Gilroy to describe the deep-rooted shame felt because of the loss of the British Empire. That loss is deflected through media nostalgia and a widespread anxiety surrounding British identity. 

Challenging Gilroy’s Thinking:

- It could be argued that Gilroy’s theory presents an overly critical view of the UK media, zoning in on the problematic representations constructed by producers in the past. To counter this one might say that today’s mainstream media takes a more complex view of race-relations resulting in rarer instances of the kinds of racial binaries reported by Gilroy. 

- It also might be argued that more traditional or right-wing producers have evolved their approach to target more ‘woke’ subjects critiquing proponents of gender, race and ability diversity as today’s ‘others’ to a civilised traditional Britain. Such stories often name trans or climate activists as swamping influences, citing critical race theory as a corrupting social force. 

Reading this chapter has given me more of an insight into the history behind Gilroy’s theory and what he is trying to stop/spread awareness of. However, it has also shown me that the theory is not necessarily representative of all parts of Britain or the media and that it is important to remember that this dosen’t apply to everyone.