- Colonialism – it is a policy that a country has over extending or retaining authority over other people or territories, which generally has an aim for economic dominance.
- Post-Colonialism – this is the academic study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, which focuses on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonised people and land
- Diaspora – this is a scattered population where the origin lies in a separate geographic locale. In the past, diaspora was used to refer to the involuntary mass dispersion of a population from indigenous territories
- Bame – BAME stands for Black, Asian and Minority ethnic people and derives from the “political blackness”, which was an idea that various ethic groups has united behind to fight discrimination back in the 1970s.
- Double Consciousness – this is a term that is used to describe the internal conflict that was experienced by subordinated groups in an oppressive society.
- Cultural Absolutism / Racial Essentialism = this is a philosophical position that declares a society’s culture to be a supreme ethical value.
- Cultural Syncretism – this is when there are aspect of two or more distinct cultures blend together in order to create a new custom, philosophy, idea or practice.
- ORIENTALISM (SAID) = this is a book that was written by Edward W. Said where Said developed the idea of orientalism to define the West’s representations of the East, which are the people and societies that inhibit Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.
- Appropriation – this when you acquire different aspects from different cultures and then use them within a culture
- Cultural Hegemony – according to Marxist philosophy, this is the domination of a culturally diverse society. This is by the ruling class that manipulates the culture of society
- The Public Sphere (Habermas) – the public sphere was a term created by German philosopher Habermas, who defines the public sphere as being a “virtual or imaginary community which does not necessarily exist in any identifiable space”. Within the public sphere, individuals can come together freely to form public opinions and legitimisation of state and democracy.
- The role of the public service broadcasting in terms of fair representation of minority groups – a key issue that is facing PSB (Public Service Broadcasting) is the representation of ethnic minorities as one of the functions of PSB is to reflect the reality of multi-ethnic and multicultural republics.
- THE SPECIALS BACKGROUND INFO:
- Is song by ‘The Specials’
- Released on the 12th of June 1981
- The song spent 3 weeks at No. 1 and 10 Weeks in total on the Uk Singles Chart’s Top 40.
- It was awarded the “Single of the Year” in 1981
- It won an NME award for being the ‘Best Single’
- Formed in 1977, the group had become the pioneers of a cross-cultural sound that fused the sounds of reggae music with the raw anger of punk.
- In a space of 2 years (1979-1981), the original “Specials” managed to embody the new decade’s violent emerges of violent energies, morals and conflicts.
- CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
- The song was addressing the themes of urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment and violence in inner cities
- In 1981, industrial decline had left the city suffering badly and unemployment rates were at the highest level within the UK
- In 1981, unemployment was heading up to 3 million people
- Ghost Town is believed to be a prophecy that sounds like an aftermath as the Ghost Town it describes of is gutted by recession and appears to be the terrain before a riot.
- 1981 was the height of youth unemployment as the UK reacted to Margaret Thatcher’s cuts and riots were erupting all over the country
- The song consists of many different sounds, chords and unusual instruments to represent the chaos and confusion which was happening during 1981
- The origin of the song began back in 1980, after Dammers had witnessed the St Paul Riots in Bristol. For most of the 1970s, St Pauls, which was a predominantly black and white working class area, was a victim of deteriorating housing, poor education services and and increasingly strong Police presence.
- The band included both members with black and white skin, which was very rare back in the 80s, identifying the “Specials” are challenging the dominant ideology
- HOW THE VIDEO CREATES MEANING USING MEDIA LANGUAGE:
- Some of the band members are in dark suits, whereas some are in bright clothing, which contradicts each other and could possibly signify the divide between different skin colours
- The lighting of this music video is very dark and not much is happening in the background, suggesting the idea of a Ghost Town.
- Cinematography is used through the merging of each scene of the music video, that switches from scene to scene using a sliding transition, which was common in music videos during the 80s
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