Breaking Out
They've got you where they want you
Trillion
White boys were taught two things at once while we grew up. The public education system, while assuring us every day of our inherent supremacy as both males and descendants of European aristocracy (isn’t that all we learn about the White continent: Kings and wars) by moving us quickly to the head of every class, sent us contradictory messages, sent us contradictory images of glorified anti-racism, summed up in the reading of Dr. King’s speeches and cute little wall posters ‘celebrating diversity’.1
In Te Kupu’s documentary 'Ngā Tahi - Know the Links’, about Hip Hop’s place in the lives of indigenous people around the world, Moana Jackson talks about ‘colonisation’ of the mind.
Pākeha also are colonised – in the mind – have ‘bought’ messages that Pākeha and Māori have moved past colonisation – so don’t see it as problematic.2
What might Moana Jackson mean by this phrase? How can colonisation take place in the mind? Think back to what the word colonisation really means... the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition) defines it, amongst other things, as 'the formal taking of control over a region by military or civil representatives of a dominant power'. But colonisation involves more than just one power taking land from another. Colonisation is about the domination and spread of influence of one group over another. This happens at the political, economic, environmental, social and cultural levels. It affects the 'people' as much as the 'place'.3
In other words, for colonisation to be seen as 'successful' it must control the thinking of both groups, in order to maintain overall control. Not just the indigenous population, but the 'colonists' who support the new dominant power - for without 'mainstream' support they cannot hold onto this power. Some people might call this 'brainwashing'.
We all know how easy it is to convince someone that something is good or bad for them, if they can be shown the personal benefits or dangers. And we’re all programmed to look after ourselves – to find the safest, most secure place to ensure our own (and our family’s) survival.
‘Colonisation of the mind’ (for those in the dominant group) means that a group have been convinced the ‘reality’ they have accepted is best for their survival and, therefore, ‘true’. This doesn’t necessarily mean that members of the group are ‘bad’ for accepting this ‘truth’… but it does make one wonder whether enough of the hard questions have been asked before accepting what's been told. Think about the generations of privileged white people born in South Africa while apartheid was in place… by growing up within this system it was easy to accept the way a society operated as right, as there were few ‘reliable’ (dominant) voices of dissent. And power, once gained, is very hard to give up willingly.
Most Pākeha seemed simply unaware during the 1940s to 1980s of constant Māori agitation for the rights affirmed to them from the beginnings of Pākeha settlement here.4
[We] empower our students through education and let them know the true history – not the western history that the United States is all good. What we are saying is that the US has done a… very evil act to the native people of this land [Hawai’i]… and there needs to be justice.5
Media, particularly television and newspapers, are often the main source of commentary on the way societies are run. Yet how do we know that what we are being told is ‘true’? Who is deciding what stories to run, and how they are told? Think about the language used in the ‘War on Terror’. The language was often loaded with an ‘Us vs Them’ mentality. For instance, the people who attack a government, with the aim of changing or removing it, could be seen as terrorists by those who oppose that group, but also could be viewed as revolutionaries by those in favour of that group.6 Think about the likely emotional response to phrases like ‘Axis of Evil’ and ‘Coalition of the Willing’, and how the death of innocent civilians in a war can be dismissed and de-humanised by referring to them as ‘collateral damage’.
Check out the external links page for more on Media issues.
In Aotearoa, many Māori claim that the media only ever report the bad news about their people… In a speech by Metiria Turei MP (Green Party Māori Affairs Spokesperson), she said that ‘[p]eople need to learn about our collective history rather than the media-based history that gives the impression that all Māori do is complain to collect preferential treatment.’… and, indeed, there is much to celebrate.
Now For the Good News
The arrival of Māori television, with its unique eye for Māori culture, has been a giant step forward and is a ‘significant milestone for Māori in defining (our) identity and future.’7 The 2004 Hikoi drew Māori from all corners of Aotearoa to voice their unease over the Foreshore and Seabed legislation, and drew the nation’s attention to current land grievances in a moving and powerful way. After 13 years in the making, the Māori Fisheries Act was finally passed. The Wananga movement (Māori tertiary institutions) has seen Māori participation in tertiary education almost doubling from 1999 to 2003.8 Māori Language Week had unprecedented media coverage from mainstream media organisations in 2004, and films such as ‘Whale Rider’ have given the world a unique eye into Māori culture and storytelling, along with such events as Matariki (Māori New Year) celebrations, and the recognition of writers and artists such as Patricia Grace, Witi Ihimaera, and Ralph Hotere.
The rise of Te Reo Māori and Pacific Island languages in local music, and the expression of Māori and Pacific cultures through Hip Hop and other genres, is also a positive move forward. It is only through a true representation of the ‘whole picture’ of Aotearoa’s society, that we can redress the imbalances.
Not Just a Racial Issue
‘Colonisation of the mind’ is not necessarily just a racial issue either. Think of the most widespread beliefs about women’s place in society. What you see and hear from an early age can affect the way you think and behave for your entire life – especially if these beliefs are supported and maintained by the dominating culture. Hip Hop has been accused of supporting negative images of women – we will debate this further in Theme Two: topic 2.
The only sure way to gain a balanced understanding of our world is to ask questions and to seek answers in a variety of places… and Hip Hop, arising from the stark realities of ghetto life, is a good place to start.
Weapons of warfare / Are not only guns, tanks / And bombs, they're television, / Radio and schools / Fools strung out / On what they told ya / To control ya…9
Listen / I’m a nigga on a mission / Do what I gotta to get my people in position / Help ‘em envision a better living condition / Stop putting so much trust in your religion / they couldn’t conquer without division… We don’t need PCP / We don’t need flatscreen TVs and DVDs / We need more knowledge of who we be…10
- What does the phrase ‘colonisation of the mind’ mean?
- What is another term that could be used to describe the controlling of the way a person or group thinks?
- What does the term ‘collateral damage’ mean?
- Why is the arrival of a dedicated Māori television channel such a positive step forward?
- What locally made film helped give the rest of the world a unique (and positive) eye into Māori culture and storytelling?
- What other groups might be affected by ‘colonisation of the mind’?
Extend your thinking
Think about all the beliefs you hold about women and their place in society. Does the way you talk and think help to maintain these inequalities? Are you doing anything to break such inequalities down? If you look at all your most strongly held beliefs, can you remember how you formed them? How are these beliefs still kept alive within your society? Is it possible we are also ‘colonised’ to view Western culture as better than others? One type of religion as better? One economic model? One system of choosing governments?
1. Proffitt, B. 2004, ‘Anatomy of a White Boy’ AWOL Magazine, Vol. 3. Winter.
2. Moana Jackson in ‘Ngā Tahi – Know the Links’ 2003, Kia Kaha Productions.
3. One of the people to identify the colonising process of thinking was Frantz Fanon, a Psychoanalyst from Martinique. His 1952 work 'Black Skin, White Masks' traces the impact of colonisation on the African mind, spirit and intellect. According to Fanon, the African has been taught to regard white skin as the symbol of a superior culture and civilisation. To see the human race in this way is to view the world 'through European eyes'... including the way the African's perceived themselves (as socially inferior, or worse, as a 'savage' to be 'civilised'). Thus, the African internalises and accepts as normal the European's view of him/herself (the African).
Moreover, Fanon sees the white man as much 'enslaved' by this perspective as the black man, for the white man can only exist in his 'negation' of the black man. The white man's sense of self-worth is dependent on maintaining the perception of the black man as the inferior 'other...' and neither can share a 'common humanity' that unites their consciousness.
Sourced from: 'Post-Colonial Literature: The African Context' By Dr. Mariam Pirbhai;
URL: http://fclass.vaniercollege.qc.ca/~pirbhaim/S0010B5D7.-1/AfricanContext.ppt
4. Nandor Tanczos, Green MP, 12 March 2004.
5. Ke Ali'i Gora ‘Ngā Tahi: Know the Links’ 2003, Kia Kaha Productions.
6. ‘There’s a terrorist in my TV’ Global Issues; Issue 11, August 2004
URL: http://www.globaled.org.nz/schools/pdfs/Global_Issues11.pdf
7. Huria, S. Feb 2005 ‘The Good Outweighs The Bad For Māori’, The New Zealand Herald.
8. Ibid.
9. ‘WAR - the perpetration’ – Te Kupu.
10. Saigon on ‘Shock TV’ – ‘Warning Shots’ – The Source Magazine June 2004.
