Long-term Impact Of The Empire On Culture Flashcards
When did familiarity and interest in the British empire significantly decline and why?
1950s and 60s as Britain moved towards decolonisation:
. Society more subject to Americanisation
. Interest in Europe fuelled as much by charter flight holidays as by political concerns around the EEC
When was empire day abolished?
1962 - this is a clear symbol of a move away from the empire
What part of the empire stayed strongly with British people?
The strong patriotic current that had been brought about by victory in the second world war
- it seems more about pride of Britain now
. Britain were still misguided into the belief that they single-handedly defeated Hitler in Western Europe (not the case)
This patriotism seemed like a level of support for imperial links, especially where Britain wanted to be seen as the leading power that led the ‘family’ of the empire
How were some of Britains associations formed by the empire maintained?
Commonwealth became a medium for maintaining cultural links as well as reinforcing political and economic ties
How did British cultural influence spread in the long term through the empire?
The empire enabled a British diaspora of around 10 million people
- sometimes they clustered in vibrant ex-patriots communities
- elements of British traditions introduced across the empire
- contact with British family members back at home influenced British post-colonial ties as all parts of the empire seemed to be integrated in some way
- policies of westernisation over time meant people continued to use anglicised names, live with anglicised communities and British railways, and spoke variants of the English language
How can it be argued that many post-colonial states were satisfied with the cultural influence of the British empire?
. Union Jack kept in the corner of many flags such as Fiji and New Zealand
. Anglican Church had more members in Africa than in Britain itself
. Boy Scout movement maintained its ties across the former dominions in particular
Clearly despite the wrongdoings of the empire, by the end, the ex-colonies came to appreciate the integration of British traditions
What was the most obvious residual impact of the British empire and give examples?
In sport:
. Football and racket sports were exported across the empire by Britain
. Rugby firmly established in countries such as New Zealand and SA
. Cricket established in India and Australia
How did sport maintain an essence of imperial links and togetherness in the post-colonial world?
Through sporting competitions
- commonwealth games brought nations together every four years
How did the colonies also residually influence Britain itself?
. British adopted words such as pyjamas (from India) and zombie (from Africa)
. Colonial contacts remained strong in British public schools, the military, and in some professions
How did royal ceremonies and celebration continue to exhibit some traditions from the imperial past?
Empire still featured in royal honours:
. GBE
. KBE/DBE
. CBE
. OBE
. MBE
. BE, (British empire medal at bottom)
How did remnants of the British imperial spirit continue on through music?
. Edward Elgar’s ‘Pomp & Circumstance March No.1’ had land of hope and glory as part of it
. British national Anthem
. Henry Wood’s ‘Fantasia on British sea songs’
. 1954 - tradition created where second half of the last night of the proms would be used for patriotic British music
How did the collapse of empire impact the media?
The appeal of imperial topics was weakened e.g Children’s stories and comics abandoned their imperial themes
How did the once imperial boy’s comic called Eagle show the change in media representation of the empire after its collapse?
Had been published between 1950-69
- it’s writers were told not to depict foreigners as enemies or villains and at least one child in any group of children in the comic should be from an ethnic minority
What happened to the imperial themes of cinemas after the collapse of the empire?
. Mass audiences didn’t welcome over-patriotic films in a post-war Britain riddled with economic decline and decolonisation (may not have that same pride in the empire)
Were all imperial messages in cinemas lost in the wake of the empire’s collapse?
No, some films still had imperial themes but more so now in an attempt to justify their actions as an empire and avoid responsibilities of the darkness of the empire’
. North West Frontier (1959) hinted that empire in India was necessary to preserve order
. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - Lawrence torn between loyalty to king and empire, this film was generally critical of empire
Clearly representations of empire in film were varied
How did the medium of the spread of popular culture change in the post-war era?
From radio to television
In what ways did television help to weaken the appeal of imperial messages?
. Documentaries enabled the public to become aware of other countries and cultures and appreciate them
How did television in some ways uphold some imperial message even in the post-war era?
. Traditional imperial attitudes were often introduced in the 1960s satire boom
. Imperial messages were often conveyed in comedies such as That Was the Week
How did race and immigration creep into media?
Often came in through comedy programmes in the 1960s such as Till Death Do Us Part
- comedians used popular music to ridicule immigrant communities
- lots of theatre and tv comedy freely used racist stereotyping such as the Black and White Minstrels’ show where white singers wore ‘blackface’ makeup as African-American characters (this show ran from 1958 to late 1970s, which is surprisingly long)
Can changes to popular attitudes be linked to the decline of the empire?
Definitely, but is difficult to establish causation. It could be argued that British society became more open to culture and became accepting of its colonies as a community rather than subjects of an empire
