The following clip is the opening scenes from the movie, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, a movie that investigates Irish resistance to British colonialism in the 20′s.
Notice:
* the way movement by those who are colonized is not only restricted, but hyper-monitored. The British Army was well aware of the fact that the men had been out in public and specifically state hurling (or *moving without permission*) is the reason they are being punished.
* the hurling ‘team’ was ‘broken’ by the way the British Army targeted the men as individuals (taking down individual names, places of employment etc).
* the Army waited to attack the men until they were in a ‘home’ space (aka a space of supposed ‘safety’).
* both resistance (hurling) and violence against resistance (army) here are gendered male.
* despite the fact that the resistance being punished in this case is the movement of men in the community–women are also punished. They are expected to submit to the orders of the Army, they have no rights, they have no ability to keep the Army off their land, they have no right to protect their children.
* not submitting to the punishment the Army felt was its right to inflict was a justified basis for death.
* not submitting in the proper *way* to the punishment the Army felt was its right to inflict was a justified basis for humiliation and increased bodily control (strip!).
How do actively colonized people come to this understanding? Short of death, in what ways do they demonstrate to those “doing” colonization that they accept defeat? Is there a way that is not death?
For those living two, three, five, ten generations past active colonization–how does the way they currently “move’ demonstrate 1. that which kept their ancestors alive? and 2. that which killed their ancestors? In what ways does the movement of children of actively colonized people demonstrate both resistance and the act of accepting (or dealing with) colonization at the same time?
Is there a way to mold the movement of resistance into a new way of moving? One that compassionately and tenderly makes space for the past–and the present and future?
- Share
January 25th, 2009 at 7:46 pm #
An awesome post. I remember Professor Black Woman recommending this film a while back and now I definitely have to make time for it. Thanks for sharing your notes and questions.
January 26th, 2009 at 10:38 am #
>In what ways does the movement of children of actively colonized people demonstrate both resistance and the act of accepting (or dealing with) colonization at the same time?
Thank you for effectively addressing that which I had not-so-contentedly been holding emotionally safe under wraps. Dang, I’ve got to reconsider the entirety of my family relationships.
Love and Peace
January 26th, 2009 at 10:51 am #
Maybe I’m just being naive and uncharacteristically optimistic, but it doesn’t seem like any colonized people has entirely lost the will to try to fight for their rights, at the very least, and their independence in most cases.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:01 am #
oh, I disagree whit–I’m thinking of mexican-americans versus chican@s here. Mexican-americans (in general in my part of the country, it may be different where others are at) are pretty conservative and look at ‘mexican-american’ as a culture that is deeply invested in proving their commitment to the u.s.–chican@s on the other hand, have a pretty solid critique of nationalism/colonialism–and there’s be a LOT of historic tension between the two groups–for example in farm worker organizing/unionizing.
Not sure tho, how other poc communities have “dealt’ with assimilation/colonization (more often than not, assimilation becomes required because of economic/or active colonization)–
January 26th, 2009 at 11:59 am #
yeah, I think it was prof black woman that introduced me to the movie too, if I remember correctly!!!! It’s a really great movie–the first time I watched, i watched through the lens of ‘observer’ and cried all afternoon when it was done. After that, I watched it again as a ‘movie critic’ sorta thing, and it’s a very well made film in that it invites all the complications all the social justice movements of today are currently dealing with–
and just in general, it demonstrates tactics of colonialism very very well–the tactic of sexual humiliation that was show in this clip (where they had to strip) is still one used today–as are home invasions, restriction of movement, monitoring and survellience, etc…
at what point do we all get to say–no, that’s *bullshit*–rather than if he would’ve just kept his mouth shut, everything would’ve been ok? you know?
I mean, short of death–is there a way for colonized peoples to properly follow the rules of colonization?
January 28th, 2009 at 8:29 am #
bfp, maybe we’re coming at this from two different angles, then. My experience of mexican-american culture is through my father’s family in Texas, where they’re happy to be socially conservative about sex/marriage/family matters, but very much want social justice that benefits them and to keep their spanish language services and community intact. They want to preserve their culture, not subsume it for assimilation.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:45 am #
yeah, i’ve found whit, that whenever I try to make generalized statements about mexicans/chicanos/latinos–I’m usually swatted down!!!
I grew up on the west side of the state, and in *that* community–it was religious conservative that presented “mexican’ as people who were “thankful” for the great opportunity the America had given us all–and if they could’ve passed as americans (they couldn’t because of langage and skin color!) they *totally* would have. Because they were just that grateful.
My community was mostly immigrant or *maybe* one generation of u.s. citizens tho–and I wonder how that is different or makes ‘assimilation’ different than other more settled mexican communities…
January 28th, 2009 at 11:55 am #
Hey, I grew up in the barrio in west michigan, but with my white mother’s family. So I know what you’re talking about, a little bit. My uncle works in spanish community outreach on the south side of GR with a CRC. Heh, those acronyms aren’t going to mean anything to anyone who isn’t familiar with the west side of the state.
Anyway, I dunno, that was my impression there too. The supermercado down the street didn’t stop stocking Goya products, and the businesses at the busiest intersection by my family’s church (ugh, gag me) all catered to the newly rooted immigrant community there – music, clothes, restaurants, bakeries, car repair. All seemed to speak spanish and preserve the culture. I would love to have a decent supermercado within a 20 minute drive here. Mexicantown just isn’t feasible for me. Counting on meijers to have plantains is hit or miss. I miss fried plantains.
January 29th, 2009 at 12:59 am #
all of ken loach’s films beautifully address complex issues of colonialism, injustice, the state, cultural identity, religion, family, power and privilege, etc. (as if i could use “etc.” here in any clear way…). the wind that shakes the barley is my personal favorite, but a fond kiss is also remarkably well-done, if we’re analyzing from a postcolonial/marxist/rWoC feminist perspective…
January 29th, 2009 at 4:32 am #
Whit, I live in GR and I know what you are talking about, but that isn’t the whole story here. There are definitely also the Mexican-Americans (and others) who shun that area of the city, look down on those who live/shop there. There are Latinos here who are more “white” than Latino, who say things like “I came here with documentation so there’s no reason anyone should be here without it”, forgetting that they lived lives of relative privilege in their home countries and could afford to come here the “legal” way. I know many of these people who trash “immigrant” Latinos and those who do not fully embrace being the dominant “American” ideal.
“Not sure tho, how other poc communities have “dealt’ with assimilation/colonization (more often than not, assimilation becomes required because of economic/or active colonization)–”
Um, can we say Native Americans??? Yes, since AIM etc we are much more in touch with our history and striving to work for our people. But I have family that still actively denies even being Native. There are still people alive who lived through boarding schools and just barely exist, try to melt into the dominant group (i.e. white). There are still people alive who think that to speak our languages holds us back.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:09 am #
@aaminah–yeah, I think I grew up surrounded by those Mexicans–and the ones who think it is their american duty to “encourage” every single mexican person in the world to speak english–and left people like *me* with no way to converse with their own family members. I know that GR is a lot less conservative than Holland–(or should I say, a lot less far right religiously inclined)–so it makes me wonder what roll the Dutch reformed church has in assimilation practices on the west side of the state….It sorta makes me sad (actually sorta pisses me off) that there are so few sociological studies done about Latinos in general and mexicans specifically as they exist outside of the “latino belt” of California through Texas. I would love to be able to make generalizations about us! (haha)–but more seriously, I’d just love to know the role that the church has had on how Mexicans and other cultures have assimilated in michigan…
And that makes *total* sense on NA’s, aaminah–I just didn’t want to make any more general statements!!!
January 29th, 2009 at 9:22 am #
thanks for the suggestion emilka. you know how when you see a film that is so great, you think there’s no way to outdo it? that’s kinda what I feel like with this movie, and so i’ve been sorta putting off watching more of his films. I didn’t want to be irritated or disappointed to find out he’s secretly an asshole or a right winger or something you know? haha. but I will check out your suggestion, thanks again for offering it!
January 31st, 2009 at 6:11 pm #
“Is there a way to mold the movement of resistance into a new way of moving?”
My first urge is to share a video of capoeira angola…a living tradition of resistance created by generations of africans in brasil and the americas. It’s a study in movement and gameplay and songs in the midst of repression It also survived long decades of attempts like that portrayed in the clip to crush the rights of assembly, movement and celebration. Capoeira angola continues to be a guiding force in my search to regain my body after centuries of colonization.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydllFisF8Us
February 5th, 2009 at 7:47 am #
sorry I haven’t returned to this thread in any reasonable time frame. At any rate, I would agree that the reformed churches on the west side of the state have changed the nature of assimilation for latin@ communities in the area. And probably not for the better.
March 6th, 2009 at 10:03 am #
Hey, I know I’m wa-a-a-y late on this thread, so I’ll be brief. Bfp, thanks so much for this post and for sharing your process of exploring the relationship between movement and colonialism/ power. There’s a short film that got released online a couple of days ago, Closed Zone, made by the animation director of Waltz w/ Bashir. It deals expressly with rights and freedom of movement – in this case, for the residents of Gaza. Thought I’d pass it along…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzqw7oBZT8k&feature=related