Post colonialism is a broad term mainly used for the many changes in ideas and views of British colonies around the world after gaining independence from their mother country; the changes in these colonies include the way race, culture, religion and identity are represented in modern day civilization. The overall premise however is the idea that all that is white is considered "pure and good" while all that is black is considered "tainted and evil". To put it more simply, white is better than black, therefore lighter skinned people are superior over darker skinned beings.
This contemporary example is from a Louisiana Wal-Mart in March of 2010 where the darker skinned Theresa dolls were marked down for discount at $3.00 where as the exact pale-skinned model was marked at $5.93. The models, side by side, can be seen as identical copies of each other with the exception of skin tone. Modern society has dictated Caucasian, fair skinned humans as the zenith of beauty. For a multi-billion company to recognize that dark skinned Barbies are not as sought after as their fairer skinned cousins gives a horrific indication of the racism that lingers still even in first world nations. To market light skinned Barbies at a higher price suggests that Caucasian people are of greater value than other nationalities which in this case is African. Furthermore, dolls are targeted to young girls and this separation in value due to skin colour plants seeds of discrimination as well as sense of inferiority into the hearts of the next generation. Such insolence is rarely tolerated and yet still surfaces into the media regularly. Although Britain no longer rules most her colonies, her values of human identity remains in the souls of countless nations forever.
This is really well written and I'm fascinated at the fact that you picked out those details of the picture! I've seen many children buy barbie dolls and play with them and it's interesting that none of them I see are darker skinned. Even children are starting to buy into this idea that white is better. It is so tragic that children that young are already adapting to this idea. It is interesting to see that they are exactly alike except for the skin tone however the dark skinned barbie is marked cheaper. That is horrible!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool piece of example you have found Douglas!
ReplyDeleteI find this interesting how post colonialism has made its way into everyday items that we don't pay much attention to. There has to be little pieces of post colonialism hiding right under our noses for young children to adapt to this idea at such a young age. I think that television is what contributes most to preaching post colonialism. For example, there are commercials of make-up featuring mostly Caucasian women and television shows with Caucasian main characters.