DOCSLIB.ORG

Examining the Role of White Guilt and White Shame Corinne E. Galgay

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Examining the Role of White Guilt and White Shame Corinne E. Galgay Affective costs of Whiteness: Examining the role of White Guilt and White Shame Corinne E. Galgay Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2018 © 2018 Corinne E. Galgay All rights reserved ABSTRACT Affective costs of Whiteness: Examining the role of White Guilt and White Shame Corinne E. Galgay Although scholars have explored the role of emotions, specifically White guilt and shame, in combating racism, there is a dearth of research available regarding differences between White guilt and shame, and measures available that independently assess these emotions in relation to White racism. The purpose of this study was to test a model of White Guilt and White shame as distinct forms of racial affect that serve to promote anti-racism (N=881). The White Guilt and White Shame model, tested using structural equation modeling, hypothesized that combined aspects of White guilt and White shame proneness, collective White guilt (e.g., group based culpability) and motivation processes to respond without racism (e.g., internal, external) would serve to challenge the development of colorblindness and fear of people of color, while fostering greater empathy and willingness to combat racism. Although the proposed hypotheses were moderately supported, and an overall acceptable model fit was found, two modifications were made to White Shame within the original proposed model in accordance with theory and empirical findings. Results from this study indicated that White guilt proneness, collective White guilt, and internal motivation to respond without racism loaded on the factor White Guilt, while White shame proneness, collective White guilt, and external motivation to respond without prejudice loaded on the factor White shame. Furthermore, results also provided sufficient evidence that White Guilt and White Shame have a positive effect on reducing colorblindness and promoting racial empathy, rather than fear. Limitations, clinical implications, and further directions of research are discussed. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………. 1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW..…………………………………… 6 III. METHOD…………………………………………………….. 58 IV. RESULTS…………………………………………………….. 69 V. DISCUSSION………………………………………………… 78 Figures 1 Composite Model…………………………………………….. 111 2 Original Measurement Model………………………………... 112 3 Re-specified Measurement Model………………………….... 113 4 White Guilt and White Shame Structural Model…………….. 114 Tables 1 Demographic Frequencies……………………………………. 115 2 Means and SD for Study Variables…………………………... 116 3 MANOVA Results…………………………………………… 117 Maximum Likelihood Estimates for Original Measurement 4 Model…………………………………………………………. 118 5 Modification Indices………………………………………….. 119 Maximum Likelihood Estimates for Re-specified Measurement 6 Model………………………………………….. 120 7 Maximum Likelihood Estimates for Structural Model………. 121 8 Normality Statistics…………………………………………... 122 9 Fit Indices for Measurement and Structural Models…………. 123 10 Correlation of Study Variables……………………………….. 124 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………... 125 i Appendix A. Study Recruitment Material………………………………….. 142 B. Informed Consent Colorblindness Scale……………………... 143 C. Participants Rights……………………………………………. 144 D. Demographic Sheet…………………………………………... 145 E. Debrief Form…………………………………………………. 146 F. Tests of White Guilt And Shame (TOWGAS)……………….. 147 G. Colorblindness Scale (CoBRAS)…………………………….. 152 Internal and External Motivation to Respond Without Prejudice H. Scales (IMS & EMS)………………………………. 154 I. White Guilt: Collective Guilt Scale…………………………... 155 J. Psychosocial Costs of Racism for Whites (PCRW)………….. 156 K. Modification Rational…………..…………………………….. 157 ii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my dissertation committee for their tremendous support: Dr. Robert Carter, Dr. George Gushue, Dr. Bryan Keller, Dr. Rebecca Campon, and Dr. Stephen Peverly. My path to completion was filled with bumps along the way and your trust and patience was invaluable in helping me to complete this milestone. To my advisor, dissertation sponsor, and mentor, Dr. Robert Carter, I have had the distinct pleasure of being your “last” doctoral student, and while at times this was scary as our research team got smaller and smaller each year, it also meant that our relationship evolved into one that I truly cherish. It was during my first year that you said “research will always be waiting in the corner unless you give it time and attention,” and you were right. While I may have driven you crazy at times with my desire to run before I could walk, requiring often reminders that it takes 3x as long to complete any task, in the end your no-nonsense approach helped me to envision a future as a researcher that previously felt outside of my reach. You have continuously challenged me to push beyond expectations – my own and others – and craft a more authentic personal and professional identity, and for that I will be forever thankful. This accomplishment would not have been possible without the support of my academic family, research team, cohort mates, clinical supervisors, and professional colleagues both past and present. To my academic family: Dr. Melanie Brewster, Dr. Elizabeth Fraga, Dr. George Gushue, Dr. Greg Payton, Dr. Michael Lau, Dr. Riddhi Sandil, Dr. Laura Smith, Dr. Derald Sue, and Dr. Brandon Velez – thank you for investing not only in my academic but personal growth as well, and most of all, for instilling a passion for social justice that I will forever carry with me. To the program staff, Enrika Davis, Chrissandra Taylor, and Elizabeth Tavarez, you truly are the iii backbone of our program, and I am so appreciative of your tireless support, willingness to help out with last minute crises, and support navigating the craziness of TC. I would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Kim Baranowski who went above and beyond, time and again, to serve as a mentor, cheerleader, and advocate when I needed them most these last few years. Likewise, I will be forever thankful to Dr. Richard Keller, whose mentorship, personal commitment to my future, and willingness to take a chance on a masters student to head up a research program close to his heart, led me to pursue my doctorate degree. To my cohort mates: Aaron, Kim, Mariel, and Randolph – this journey has been a rough one but in the end, I am so thankful for the relationship we have developed and am honored to see the amazing people you have become. To my Carter lab family: Veronica, Carrie, Katie, Kat, Sinead, Karima, Lindsey, Rachel, Shawna, and Sunny – thank you for the late-night research sessions, ability to have fun amidst crazy deadlines, and pushing me to check myself and remove self-imposed limitations. Veronica, I cannot express enough how much your texts, emails, sharing of resources, and general “you can do this!” attitude have meant to me and got me through some of the hardest moments of this dissertation. To my clinical supervisors, Dr. Caren Ruzza, Dr. Jason Kornrich, Dr. Robert Berson, Dr. Nicole Van Nortwick, Dr. Ivan Bresgi, Dr. Werner Achatz, Dr. Dinelia Rosa, Dr. Yvette Branson, Dr. Elizabeth Ochoa, and Dr. Neil Newman – thank you for your guidance, reminders of self- care, helping me to learn how to say “no”, and invitations to bring more “me” into the therapy room and supervision process. To my Dean Hope Center/TC Resilience Center for Veterans and Families colleagues – thank you for allowing me to be a part of this amazing project and turning a passion into reality. iv They say it takes a village, and I am so lucky to have the best village possible. Mom, Dad, and Benton, the one thing I know I can always count on is your support, “I’m proud of you” texts, doggie videos to make me smile, and Disney adventures to remind me that anything is possible. To my Galgay, Flynn, Raicht, Bishop, Boogher, and Idi family – thank you for believing in me when I didn’t think I could do this and offering a soft place to land when I needed time to come back together. To Samia and Rosanna, thank you for being you, encouraging me to laugh and make a fool out of myself, yell and cry without judgement, and enjoy the small moments because they will stay with you for a lifetime. Last but not least, Justin, thank you for going on this crazy journey with me, and most of all, for loving me through this, even at times when I didn’t feel that loveable. v Chapter I INTRODUCTION Current events (i.e., deaths of unarmed Black men, such as Michael Brown and Eric Garner, following altercations with the police), while seemingly isolated incidents, can be conceptualized as a reflection of the values inherent within US society which have been shaped by the United State’s history of slave ownership and development of dominant and non- dominant racial groups (Blow, 2015; Wilkerson, 2015). These values (i.e., social norms, beliefs) inform our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in relation to our understanding of ourselves as racial beings, as well as how we view other racial groups. For Whites, these values are often unnamed, outside of conscious awareness, and enacted in ways that convey dominance (Frankenberg, 1993; McIntosh, 1988). This can be evident within both interpersonal (e.g., reduced rates of cross-racial social interactions and relationships) and institutional domains (e.g., responses to affirmative action policies) (Bonilla-Silva & Forman, 2000). While Whites’ awareness of their internal
Load more

Recommended publications
  • White Privilege: Exploring the (In)Visibility of Pakeha Whiteness
    White Privilege: Exploring the (in)visibility of Pakeha whiteness A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in Human Services at the University of Canterbury By Claire Frances Gray Human Services Programme School of Social and Political Sciences University of Canterbury 2012 Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Chapter 1 .............................................................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 A New Zealand Context ............................................................................................................................. 5 Adoption of a Critical Stance ................................................................................................................... 7 Thesis Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 8 A Note on Writing Style .........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Atlantic Slavery and the Making of the Modern World Wenner-Gren Symposium Supplement 22
    T HE WENNER-GREN SYMPOSIUM SERIES CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY A TLANTIC SLAVERY AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD I BRAHIMA THIAW AND DEBORAH L. MACK, GUEST EDITORS A tlantic Slavery and the Making of the Modern World: Wenner-Gren Symposium Supplement 22 Atlantic Slavery and the Making of the Modern World: Experiences, Representations, and Legacies An Introduction to Supplement 22 Atlantic Slavery and the Rise of the Capitalist Global Economy V The Slavery Business and the Making of “Race” in Britain OLUME 61 and the Caribbean Archaeology under the Blinding Light of Race OCTOBER 2020 VOLUME SUPPLEMENT 61 22 From Country Marks to DNA Markers: The Genomic Turn S UPPLEMENT 22 in the Reconstruction of African Identities Diasporic Citizenship under Debate: Law, Body, and Soul Slavery, Anthropological Knowledge, and the Racialization of Africans Sovereignty after Slavery: Universal Liberty and the Practice of Authority in Postrevolutionary Haiti O CTOBER 2020 From the Transatlantic Slave Trade to Contemporary Ethnoracial Law in Multicultural Ecuador: The “Changing Same” of Anti-Black Racism as Revealed by Two Lawsuits Filed by Afrodescendants Serving Status on the Gambia River Before and After Abolition The Problem: Religion within the World of Slaves The Crying Child: On Colonial Archives, Digitization, and Ethics of Care in the Cultural Commons A “tone of voice peculiar to New-England”: Fugitive Slave Advertisements and the Heterogeneity of Enslaved People of African Descent in Eighteenth-Century Quebec Valongo: An Uncomfortable Legacy Raising
    [Show full text]
  • Uncovering the White Place: Whitewashing at Work Reitman, Meredith
    www.ssoar.info Uncovering the white place: whitewashing at work Reitman, Meredith Preprint / Preprint Zeitschriftenartikel / journal article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Reitman, M. (2006). Uncovering the white place: whitewashing at work. Social & Cultural Geography, 7(2), 267-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649360600600692 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY-NC-ND Lizenz This document is made available under a CC BY-NC-ND Licence (Namensnennung-Nicht-kommerziell-Keine Bearbeitung) zur (Attribution-Non Comercial-NoDerivatives). For more Information Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den CC-Lizenzen finden see: Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.de Diese Version ist zitierbar unter / This version is citable under: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-379226 Social & Cultural Geography, Vol. 7, No. 2, April 2006 Uncovering the white place: whitewashing at work Meredith Reitman Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, PO Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA, [email protected] Recent work exploring the racialization of place tends to focus on the racialization of marginalized group space. This paper shifts attention toward the racialization of dominant group space, namely, the creation and maintenance of white places. Using the case study of the software workplace, I argue that white places are formed through a process of whitewashing, which simultaneously denies race and superimposes white culture. Whitewashing wields language and invisibility to deny race and promote a particular kind of multiculturalism, while cloaking the workplace in a culture of informality and business politics.
    [Show full text]
  • 82 PAKEHA IDENTITY and WHITENESS: What Does It Mean to Be White? Claire Gray, Nabila Jaber & Jim Anglem Introduction Whitene
    sites: new series · vol 10 no 2 · 2013 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11157/sites-vol10iss2id223 – article – PAKEHA IDENTITY AND WHITENESS: What does it mean to be White? Claire Gray, Nabila Jaber & Jim Anglem abstract This article is concerned with a critical examination of whiteness among those who self identify as Pakeha within a New Zealand context. Through in-depth interviews with 15 men and women we explored the proposition that the adop- tion of a Pakeha identity may preclude an understanding of the ways that whiteness and privilege operate. Employing thematic and discourse analysis, four major themes were identified within the data; a Pakeha relationship with Maori, the reification of whiteness, a disengagement from privilege and a sepa- ration from other white people. The functionality and organisation of language were considered in order to examine participants’ detachment from dominant white culture. This article suggests that the assumption of a Pakeha self-iden- tity may allow the bearer to discursively obscure both the cultural capital that whiteness provides and the privileges afforded by this capital. Ultimately, this research draws attention to the intersection of privilege and whiteness within New Zealand and offers an explanation for the persistence of white hegemony. introduction Whiteness emerged as a field of study during the 1990s largely in the United States and to a lesser extent in Britain and Australia. In one of the most influen- tial pieces of scholarship on the subject, Peggy McIntosh (1988) examined the advantages available to her on account of her whiteness outlining 46 assets she believed she had accrued solely on this basis.
    [Show full text]
  • Common Racist Attitudes and Behaviors 28 That Indicate a Detour Or Wrong Turn Into White Guilt, Denial Or Defensiveness
    By Debra Leigh, Organizer, Community Anti-Racism Education Initiative COMMON RACIST ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS 28 THAT INDICATE A DETOUR OR WRONG TURN INTO WHITE GUILT, DENIAL OR DEFENSIVENESS. Below is a list of 28 common racist attitudes and behaviors individual, regardless of color or gender, or disability, etc., has that indicate a detour or wrong turn into white guilt, denial or the same access to the rights, benefits and responsibilities of the defensiveness. Each is followed by a statement that is a reality society. The rationalization continues: since slavery is ended and check and consequence for harboring such attitudes. people of color have civil rights, the playing field has now been leveled. It follows, then, that there is no reason for a person of color to “fail” (whether manifested in low SAT scores or small numbers in management positions) EXCEPT individual character 1. I’m Colorblind. flaws or cultural inadequacies. These “failures” could have no “People are just people; I don’t see color; we’re all just roots in racism and internalized racism. human.” Or “I don’t think of you as Chinese.” Or “We all bleed red when we’re cut.” Or “Character, not color, is what counts with me.” 3. Reverse Racism. REALITY CHECK + CONSEQUENCE: A. “People of color are just as racist as white people.” Statements like these assume that people of color are just like you, white; that they have the same dreams, standards, problems, B. “Affirmative action had a role years ago, but today and peeves that you do. “Colorblindness” negates the cultural it’s just reverse racism; now it’s discriminating against values, norms, expectations and life experiences of people of white men.” color.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Loving Blackness in the UK By
    The Politics of Loving Blackness in the UK By Lisa Amanda Palmer A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of American and Canadian Studies The University of Birmingham March 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Can ‘loving blackness’ become a new discourse for anti-racism in the UK and the broader black diaspora? This thesis will critically assess the concept of ‘loving blackness as political resistance’ as outlined by the African American feminist bell hooks (1992). The thesis will show the ways in which blackness has been both negated and denigrated in western cultures and thus constructed in opposition to notions of love and humanness. Conversely, love and blackness are also rehabilitated in different ways by Black diasporic populations in Britain through the transnational space. The transnational space can provide opportunities for constructing, networks of care, love and anti racist strategies that affirm the value of blackness and Black life. However, the transnational space can also be fraught with risks, dangers and exclusions providing Black and migrant populations with uneven forms of citizenship and belonging to western neo-liberal states.
    [Show full text]
  • Slavery in the White Psyche : How Contemporary White Americans Remember and Making Meaning of Slavery : a Project Based Upon Independent Investigation
    Smith ScholarWorks Theses, Dissertations, and Projects 2010 Slavery in the white psyche : how contemporary white Americans remember and making meaning of slavery : a project based upon independent investigation Ryan Nelson Parker Smith College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Parker, Ryan Nelson, "Slavery in the white psyche : how contemporary white Americans remember and making meaning of slavery : a project based upon independent investigation" (2010). Masters Thesis, Smith College, Northampton, MA. https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/1104 This Masters Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations, and Projects by an authorized administrator of Smith ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ryan Nelson Parker Slavery in the white psyche: How contemporary white Americans remember and make meaning of U.S. slavery ABSTRACT This qualitative study explored how contemporary white Americans remember and make meaning of U.S. slavery and assessed if there is psychological conflict in relationship to slavery. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants who identify as “white” and were born and raised in the United States. Participants were asked to reflect on their memories of learning about, talking about, and knowing about the history of slavery; to share their internal representations of slavery and how they imagine their familial, personal, and imagined relationship with slavery; to report their beliefs about the impact of slavery on themselves personally and on contemporary society; and to share their ideas about how slavery should be taught to children. The findings indicated that many contemporary white Americans have an intense and conflictual emotional and psychological relationship to U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Unsettling Pākehā Fragility
    Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. UNSETTLING PAKEH¯ A¯ FRAGILITY A THESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTEROF ARTS IN POLITICS AT MASSEY UNIVERSITY,NEW ZEALAND. Penny Leach September 4, 2020 Ethics statement This project has been evaluated by peer review and judged to be low risk. Consequently it has not been reviewed by one of the University’s Human Ethics Committees. The researcher(s) named in this document are responsible for the ethical conduct of this research. If you have any concerns about the conduct of this research that you want to raise with someone other than the researcher(s), please contact Professor Craig Johnson, Director (Research Ethics), email [email protected]. ii Abstract In this thesis, I explore the way that Pakeh¯ a¯ (settler) identity can act as a barrier to, or alternatively, as motivation for, engaging with colonialism and decolonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand. I also discuss Pakeh¯ a¯ conscientisation, and how Pakeh¯ a¯ can continue to hold ourselves accountable on this non-linear journey. I construct a composite epistemology drawing from interpretivism with an explic- itly structural element, critical feminism and action research with a Baradian twist. This is used to explore the journeys of seven participants grappling with being Pakeh¯ a,¯ discovering their complicity in colonial structures and practices, and imagining differ- ent ways of being and decolonised futures.
    [Show full text]
  • Emotional Reactions to the French Colonization in Algeria: the Normative Nature of Collective Guilt
    Repositório ISCTE-IUL Deposited in Repositório ISCTE-IUL: 2019-04-10 Deposited version: Post-print Peer-review status of attached file: Peer-reviewed Citation for published item: Bonnot, V., Krauth-Gruber, S., Drozda-Senkowska, E. & Lopes, D. (2016). Emotional reactions to the French colonization in Algeria: the normative nature of collective guilt. Social Science Information. 55 (4), 531-554 Further information on publisher's website: 10.1177/0539018416661653 Publisher's copyright statement: This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Bonnot, V., Krauth-Gruber, S., Drozda- Senkowska, E. & Lopes, D. (2016). Emotional reactions to the French colonization in Algeria: the normative nature of collective guilt. Social Science Information. 55 (4), 531-554, which has been published in final form at https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0539018416661653. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with the Publisher's Terms and Conditions for self- archiving. Use policy Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in the Repository • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Serviços de Informação e Documentação, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) Av. das Forças Armadas, Edifício II, 1649-026 Lisboa Portugal Phone: +(351) 217 903 024 | e-mail: [email protected] https://repositorio.iscte-iul.pt NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Social Science Information.
    [Show full text]
  • Wrestling with Stigma
    Hoover Press : Thernstrom DP5 HPTHER0400 08-01-01 rev1 page69 Wrestling with Stigma SHELBY STEELE i have a white friend who has told me many times that he feels no racial guilt despite the fact that he was raised in the Deep South before the end of segregation. Though he grew up amid the inequality and moral duplicity of segregation, and inevitably benefited from it as a white, he says simply that he did not invent the institution. He experienced it as a fate he was born into. And when segregation was finally challenged in the civil rights era, any solidarity that he felt with other southern whites was grounded more in a sense of pathos than in any resistance to change. So, he says, there is no “objective basis” for racial guilt on his part. Recently I was surprised to hear the novelist William Styron, a south- erner by birth and upbringing, say on television that he, too, felt “no [white] guilt” despite the fact that his grandmother had owned slaves as a girl. And there was something emphatic, even challenging in his pronouncement This essay was previously published as Part 1 of “Wrestling with Stigma” from A Dream Deferred: The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America, by Shelby Steele, copyright 1998 by Shelby Steele. It is reprinted here by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Hoover Press : Thernstrom DP5 HPTHER0400 08-01-01 rev1 page70 70 Shelby Steele that discouraged questioning. For as long as I can remember, I have heard white Americans of every background make this Pronouncement.
    [Show full text]
  • Contemporary Maghrebi-French Cinema and Its Audiences
    Postcolonial Popcorn: Contemporary Maghrebi-French Cinema and its Audiences by Alexander Hastie A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Geography The University of Sheffield December 2017 Abstract This thesis is a study of popular contemporary postcolonial cinema, through readings of three recent Maghrebi-French films. The research is comprised of the films Days of Glory (2006), Outside the Law (2010) and Free Men (2011), which narrate unfamiliar colonial stories in familiar ways. The films are a significant part of a cultural and commercial ‘shift’ toward more mainstream filmmaking in France, and therefore provide a fascinating and complex point of entry into the study of popular postcolonial cinema. By incorporating the popular into the postcolonial, the primary contribution of this thesis is that it extends the scope of postcolonial cultural criticism, in order to highlight how such an engagement functions to interrupt hegemonic imaginaries of colonial space, memory and gender. Informed by a postcolonial critique, this thesis deploys textual analysis in order to investigate how the films are textually constituted across and through different cultural frameworks, questioning what this means for conceptualising postcolonialism. Primarily investigating the ways in which the films rewrite colonial histories using the genre conventions of Hollywood, this thesis attends to issues pertinent to postcolonial France. The thesis therefore identifies some of the key relationships to space that are narrated throughout the films, in which geographies of belonging and exclusion for Maghrebi- French people are articulated through popular aesthetics. An important part of articulating place is memory, and so this thesis also examines how occluded memories are mobilised and energised at the intersection with more familiar historical imaginaries, showing how this multidirectional relationship works to situate colonial histories in ways that are disruptive of World War Two imaginaries.
    [Show full text]
  • Get out of La La Land! Naturalizing the Colour Line with “Colour-Blind" Cinema
    Get Out of La La Land! Naturalizing the Colour Line with “Colour-Blind" Cinema by Gavin Ward A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2019 Gavin Ward Abstract This thesis is grounded in semiotics, discourse, and critical race theory to identify and analyze contemporary racial representations in Hollywood cinema during the “post-race” era. “Post- race” has been used sporadically since 1971 when the concept was first published in James Wooton’s New York Times article Compact Set Up for ‘Post-Racial’ South, however I appropriate it here to more accurately reflect the time period from 2008 to 2019. During this time, the United States of America had elected its first African-American president to the White House. For many, this act had symbolically legitimized America as a “post-race” nation in which contemporary racial inequalities could be explained by the principles of universal liberalism and meritocracy, thus “naturalizing” contemporary racial inequalities with nonracial dynamics. This ideology minimizes the impact of historical racisms and uses racial “colour-blindness” to construct a false sense of racial harmony. Antonio Gramsci had proposed that mass media, such as films, have been used to reinforce dominant ideology through cultural hegemony. In the United States, Hollywood has been an important vehicle of discursive formation and narrative control and contributes to the cementing of America’s “post-race” la la land. In this thesis, I conclude that Hollywood films continue to placate concerns of race relations for the dominant ingroup through cinematic escapism, glamour and romance.
    [Show full text]