Major Theme 1: identity, roots, history, cultural origins, the weight of their past lives. Flashcards
prologue, queenie ‘i thought i’d been to africa’
‘i went to africa when it came to wembley’
lack of underrstanding as she has grown up with an internalised mindset
internalised beliefs - they have been taught to her- intergenerational conflict?
‘mother liked to go ‘it’s like a holiday’ she would say to father
‘bloody waste of time’ he’d grumble (resentment, unwelcoming attitude towards otherness)
queenie’s prologue- attitudes towards the west -
‘the empire exhibition’ - celebrating british colonialism
‘the king described it as ‘the whole empire in little’
‘the empire in little. the palace of engineering, the palace of industry, and building after building that house every country we British owned. some of them were grand like castles…’
british empire’s industrialisation, ‘the mother country’ - power, dreams of the western world
‘the whole world and only one day to see it’
‘makes you proud’ graham said to father
queenie expressing a mix of awe, curiosity and naivety about the achievements of the british empire
she is fascinated by the grandeur of the exhibition and the vastness of britain’s global influence
but her perspecitve is shaped by the idealised and sanitised portrayal of empire that the exhibition presents
the plays are designed to glorify british colonial rule, showcasing the empire’s wealth, innovation and supposed benevolence
queenies young and limited worldvoew prevents her from questioning the realities of the empire
queenie prologue on empire exhibition - analysis of queenie’s mother
‘mother was not interest in the different woods of burma or the big game trophies of malaya’
‘maybe later,’ to the coffee of jamaica
‘ooh,no’ to the sugar of barbados
‘where in heaven’s name is that?’ to sarawak
different commodities of different countries showcasing the empire,exploitation
- microcosm for the lack of care west holds for outside world,
queenie’s mother reacts to the parts of the empire exhibition showcasing other countries with discomfort, suspicion and a sense of british superiority
she embodies the narrow minded and prejudiced attitudes common among many britons at the time, viewing the colonised peoples and their cultures as strange or inferior -
rather than being impressed by the diversity of the empire, she seems to be wary of it, reinforcing the idea that britains’s global reach was something to be controlled rather than celebrated for its multi culturalism
her attitude reflects a deep seated racial and cultural ignorance, shaped by a belief in british exceptionalism
she likely sees the exhibition not as a tribute to the contributions of colonial subhects but as proof of britain’s dominance voer them
this constrasts with queenie’s more open and curious outlook, suggesting a generational divide in attitudes towards the empire
levy uses queenie’s mother to highlight the insular and patrionising mindset that underpinned british imperial attitudes, where colonies were valued for resources and labour but not people and culture
empire exhibition
‘australia smelt of apples. ripe, green, crisp apples. a smell so sharp and sweet it made my teeth tingle’
‘we’ll have some of them’ father said
- analysis of australia vs other colonised colonies
graham then told us all that he was going to live in australia
‘australia- you? you daft beggar’ father laughed
‘i was promised that i would see a sheep being sheared in new zealand’
australia is depicted as an extension of britain itself, a white majority settler colony ‘self governing and racially aligned with britain’ - as opposed to places like the caribbean, africa and india presented as exotic, foreign and needing british rule
queenie’s parents do not react with discomfort and suspicision as they did to parts of the exhibition showcasing ‘non white colonies’
a racialised double standard, ‘ highlights how the british empire valued its colonies differently based on race,
‘ripe green crisp apples’ - ripe and crisp- sensory and colour imagery to reinforce the racial and cultural hierarchy, the fresh clean natural connotations create an image of prosperity and abundance, aligning australia with an idyllic, almost pastoral vision of britishness, depiction contrasts with the more exotic, unfamiliar and sometimes condescending portrayals of non white colonies elsewhere in empire exhibition.
‘green’ evokes imagery of lush landscapes, fertility, growth- qualities associated with an idealised, cultivated land that aligns with british values of civilisation and progress- reinforces perception of australia as a natural and rightful extension of britain
on the asian colonies, at empire exhibition- seen as alien, unwelcome and incompatible with british society
‘hong kong smelt of drains, and india was full of women brightly dressed in strange long colourful fabrics. and all these women had red dobts in the middle of their forehead. no one could tell me what the dots were for. ‘go and ask one of them’ emily said to me. but mother said i shouldn’t in case the dots meant they were ill- in case they were contagious.’
internalised british beliefs of superiority, ignorance and racialised ‘othering’ that shaped attitudes toward the empire’s non white colonies
queenies descriptions rely on sensory imagery creating a stark contrast with different parts of the empire
‘hong kong smelt of drains’- immediately frames the colony as dirty, unpleasant and inferior - reinforcing steryotypes of non western places as unsanitary and uncivilised- hong kong depicted through olfactory imagery evoking discomfort and repulsion
india described through visual imagery ‘brightly dressed in strange long colourful fabrics’ - strange - suggests unfamiliarity and otherness, british percpetions of colonised people were shaped by exoticism rather than genuine understanding ‘all these women had red dots’ reduces indian women to a single, uniform characteristic, showing a lack of cultural awareness and a tendency to homogenise diverse groups under a colonial gaze
interaction with emily and queenie’s mother highlight deeper colonial anxieties- emily shows a more open minded perspective by suggesting queenie to ask about it,
queenie’s mother rejects this idea out of fear suggesting dots might indicate illness and contagion. this reflects a deep seated british tendency to associate non white people with disease, uncleanliness and danger - a belief used historically used to justify segregation and colonial control
assumption that something unfamilair must be a sign of sickness than culture, reveals an ingrained sense of british superiority , positioning the colonisers as rational and civilised while reducing the colonised to mystery and potential threat
a03, fear of contagion particularly relevant when considering real historical events, such as perception of carribean and south asian immigrants in 1950s and 60s, many met with racist steryotypes about hygiene and discrimination - discrimination in housing, employment and healthcare
the exhibiton which is meant to celebrate imperial power, actually reinforces the deep racial and cultural divides that persist long after the empire’s decline.
