In this paper I analyze the movie Robinson Crusoe to understand the rhetoric of empire building and to stand at instances of appropriation that push the west to cherish superiority over the “other”. I focus on the discursive strategies used by the west to inferiorize the other race and to reduce them to cruel creatures. I start by dwelling on the representation of the “other” and the landscape and I focus on the production of knowledge as a tool used to inferiroize them. At the end I stop at some paradoxes within the colonial discourse that create ruptures in the western empire. I do that by questing signs of resistance that break the discourse of empire building and that reveal the ambivalent nature of the colonial discourse.
Keywords: Robinson Crusoe - Colonial Discourse - Empire Building – Orientalism - Film Studies
Table of Contents
1. The Representation of the “other” in Robinson Crusoe
2. Paradoxes of the Colonial Discourse and the Weaknesses of the Colonial Authority
Objectives and Topics
This paper aims to analyze the 1997 film adaptation of "Robinson Crusoe" to uncover how colonial rhetoric, the production of knowledge, and the misrepresentation of the "other" serve to justify empire building and Western superiority, while simultaneously identifying moments of resistance within the film that destabilize this colonial discourse.
- Analysis of the representation of the "other" and the "oriental" landscape.
- Examination of Western knowledge production as a tool for mastery and control.
- Investigation of colonial strategies such as naming, domestication, and civilizing missions.
- Identification of paradoxical signs of resistance and counter-discourse by the "other" (Friday).
Excerpt from the Book
1-The Representation of the “other” in Robinson Crusoe
I start analyzing the movie by analyzing the misrepresentation of the land in the movie Robinson Crusoe. The land is depicted in the movie as an oriental exotic land where exotic animals and "cannibals" live. It is a virgin land, a virgin territory which is unexploited. It is represented as a land that waits for the Christian civilization and enlightenment to explore it, exploit it and tame it down with its "creatures". In fact it is represented as uncivilized place; it is a dark continent of the world. The land is represented as an oriental land that is entirely different from western European world which fixes the stereotypes and prejudices about the orient as an exotic land. Such representation is based on orientalism that Said defines as a "style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between "the orient" and (most of the time) the "oxidant" (1978: 2).
We can understand that orientalism is a science that creates knowledge and stereotypes about the orient and these stereotypes create a kind of difference between the western "I" and the "other" and hence make a kind of asymmetrical relationship between the east and the west. A west that is superior at the expense of an inferior orient and this gave the westerners the opportunity to create or produce knowledge about the orient. The movie does not only misrepresent the land but also dehumanizes the "natives" as barbarous, cruel and uncivilized as opposed to the noble civilized westerners and that is reflected in the character Robinson Crusoe. The natives are deprived of their humanity; they are no more than animals, savages and cannibals. However, Robinson Crusoe is represented as a pious civilized man. He distinguishes himself from the barbarous natives and as Peter Hulme says in his book Colonial encounters: "So that paradigmatic manifestation of cannibalism finally allows Crusoe to clearly distinguish himself from others" (1986: 198).
Summary of Chapters
1-The Representation of the “other” in Robinson Crusoe: This chapter analyzes how the film constructs the island as an exotic, uncivilized space and utilizes stereotypes to dehumanize the natives, thereby establishing a dichotomy between the "civilized" Westerner and the "barbarous" other.
2-Paradoxes of the Colonial Discourse and the Weaknesses of the Colonial Authority: This chapter argues that the film's colonial discourse is inherently unstable, as the character of Friday exhibits resistance and moral superiority that undermine Robinson Crusoe’s supposed authority and the "civilizing mission."
Keywords
Robinson Crusoe, Colonial Discourse, Empire Building, Orientalism, Film Studies, Otherness, Resistance, Western Hegemony, Knowledge Production, Friday, Counter-Orientalism, Cultural Identity, Domestication.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper examines the movie "Robinson Crusoe" to understand how it perpetuates colonial rhetoric and how the representation of the "other" is used to assert Western superiority.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
Central themes include the production of colonial knowledge, the dehumanization of indigenous people, the concept of the "civilizing mission," and the subversion of colonial authority through resistance.
What is the main research objective?
The objective is to reveal the ambivalent nature of colonial discourse in the film by evaluating how the narrative simultaneously promotes and fails to sustain its own logic of Western dominance.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author employs a postcolonial analytical approach, drawing on established critical theories from scholars like Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Peter Hulme to deconstruct the film's representation of East and West.
What is the content of the main body?
The main body focuses on the misrepresentation of the land and the native "other," the use of naming as an act of power, the role of blackness in orientalizing the "other," and specific scenes where Friday acts as a source of resistance.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include Colonial Discourse, Orientalism, Empire Building, Resistance, Hegemony, and the representation of the "other."
How does the author interpret the act of naming in the film?
The author views Robinson Crusoe’s act of naming himself "master" and naming his companion "Friday" as a demonstration of power, ownership, and the classification of indigenous people as inferior subjects.
What significance does the "contact zone" hold in this analysis?
The "contact zone" represents the space of colonial encounters where the master and slave interact, serving as a site of both coercion and potential resistance that destabilizes the binary power structure.
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- Omar Moumni (Autor:in), 2014, Imperial Eyes: Rhetorics of Empire Building in the Movie Robinson Crusoe, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/270826
