Representation Theories

• What does Gilroy argue about Britain's mourning of its empire?

  Britain's failure to mourn the loss of its empire creates postcolonial melancholia.
• How does postcolonial melancholia influence modern attitudes?

  It influences attitudes towards race and ethnicity in a postcolonial era.
• What representations are expressed in relation to immigrants and black men?

  Representations criminalize immigrants and oppress black men.
• What is created through binary oppositions according to Gilroy?

  Binary oppositions between east and west are created.
• On what belief is the binary opposition founded?

  It is founded on the belief in the inherent superiority of white western capitalist society.
• What cultural impact did the African diaspora have due to the slave trade?

  The African diaspora created a transatlantic culture or cross-national culture.
• What is referred to as the 'Black Atlantic'?

  The 'Black Atlantic' refers to the simultaneous identities of African American, Caribbean, and British cultures.
• Van Zoonen - Feminist / Patriarchal Theory 

  -> Argues that patriarchal culture leads to different gender representations 

  Woman are viewed as objects whereas male bodies are spectacles 

  Gender is performative 

  • It is ‘what we do’ rather than ‘what we are’ 

  Gender is socially constructed through performance of our own ideas of gender 

  • This makes gender contextual and varies depending on the contexts of given society / the time 

  The internet offers a diverse range of gender identity 

  • Eg neopronouns