Inverting the Medium, Severing the Oppressive Hand

Abstract

Media use has played a key role in the fight against colonialism. Different mediums from film to radio have become an integral strategy for groups resisting colonial forces. Frantz Fanon’s account of the Algerian revolution in A Dying Colonialism shows how Algerians subverted colonialist media, the radio. What was once a tool for dispersing colonial ideology soon became a way for Algerians to mobilize their revolution against French rule. This paper explores the historical and contemporary use of media as a tool for resistance and self-representation. Expanding on the blueprint provided by Fanon, the paper draws on Edward Said’s Orientalism and Barry Barclay’s Fourth Cinema to discuss the importance of self-representation in media and the dangers of colonial distortion, which often infects and overrules the narratives of those facing oppression. To expand on the concept, this paper also looks at the state of the current resistance movements. From Palestinian social media activism to Indigenous filmmaking, the way media is subverted to remove oppressive forces from gaining authority over the narratives of oppressed groups demonstrates the importance of the practice in the fight against colonialism.