The Bestselling Novel: Currents in American History and Culture Main Menu Introduction Intersectionality and Power Relations in Bestsellerism An intersectional analysis of the concepts of gender, race and power relationships, highlighting how the overlap between these concepts fueled the novels’ rise as bestsellers. Slavery Beyond Chains The Variation of the Forms of Slavery Inflicted on Charlotte in Susanna Rowson's _Charlotte Temple_ and Dana in Octavia Butler's _Kindred_. Perception of Women in Society Inspecting the ways in which the woman’s default “doomed” status can be blamed on the society's narrow perception of women in Susanna Rowson's Charlotte Temple and Edith Wharton's House of Mirth. Gendered Violence and Racism: The Short End of the Stick The Struggle of the Black Woman Across the Centuries Brief summaries of course texts

Conditioned into Inferiority?

29761
Throughout Kindred, many of the characters are unhappy with the injustices they have to face as slaves. However, while they do not agree with slavery, they seem to have grown to accept what their masters tell them--that they are inferior and unworthy. This phenomenon, whereby one group imposes its belief structures on another group, can be referred to as cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism is the construction of a dominant cultural understanding that reflects the experiences of a specific group in society. This construction leads to “both an imposition of meaning onto the oppressed group and an erasure or elimination of their experience” (Rasmussen 7-8). The oppressed group, slaves in this context, start believing that they are in fact inferior.

An example of this is how in the nineteenth-century South Dana was called a “white-ni---r” for being an educated woman. In one incident, the enslaved Alice--demoralized and abused--gets frustrated at Dana for healing her and not letting her die. Alice expresses,

“Doctor-ni---r. Think you know so much. Reading-ni---r. White-ni---r! Why didn’t you know enough to let me die?” (Butler 160).

Here, Alice is attempting to insult Dana using words such as reading and doctor, that typically have positive connotations. Alice may be angry at Dana's relative freedom and education compared to her own. However, viewed through a lens of cultural imperialism, this may also show that Alice believes a person of African descent either is not able to or should not be able to do all these things, and by being able to read and practice medicine, Dana is trying to pass as white. The cultural imperialism of white culture has led to Alice internalizing racism. Yet, Alice continues to attack Dana, targeting Dana's white husband (who is passing as her indulgent owner in the nineteenth century): “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, whining and crying after some poor white trash of a man, black as you are. You always try to act so white. White ni---r, turning against your own people!” (Butler 165). Thus, alluding that by loving her white husband, Dana is distancing herself from or rejecting her own race, and trying to act white. In this instance, Alice accuses Dana of siding with cultural imperialism and internalizing racism herself.

This cultural imperialism is not limited to the novel. It can be seen in modern times. For instance, influential rapper Kanye West recently tweeted support for Republican President Donald Trump, shocking the general public. He went on to state that slavery was a choice and people need to stop discussing race. Kanye’s behavior showcases that cultural imperialism is still a huge issue where he passionately believes that the African American population needs to get over the history of slavery, and in so doing, aligns himself with white revisionist history. This stance ignores the societal legacies of slavery, including structural inequalities, loss of generational wealth, and mass incarceration.

 
However, while racism may have been historically internalized in many African Americans, it is important to mention that many in the community are actively working to dismiss racial prejudice and systematic oppression. An example of such a group is presented in the footage, where an African American man responded back to Kanye calling him out for his ignorance.  Cultural imperialism and its aftereffects pose a great threat and need to be tackled.




References 
Butler, Octavia E. Kindred. Beacon, 2003

Rasmussen, Claire. “Some theoretical perspectives on women in the modern world.” Women and Politics Around the World: A Comparative History and Survey. Ed. Joyce Gelb, Ed. Mariar Lief Palley. Santa Barbra: ABC-CLIO, 2009. 3-15. Print.

 

This page has paths:

  1. Intersectionality and Power Relations in Bestsellerism Students in ENG 410: American Novel, an upper-level undergraduate seminar

This page references: