Art, Culture and Race - Grade: A+ PDF

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Week 10 Arts 1-C Art, Culture and Race Page 1 of 2 Recall a movie you have watched which you may analyze through a specific concept in postcolonial theory (e., orientalism, mimicry, hybridity, or self-othering). Briefly explain your answer in 300-500 words.“ The Gifted” portrayed by Anne Curtis, Sam...

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Week 10

Arts 1-C Art, Culture and Race

Page 1 of 2

Recall a movie you have watched which you may analyze through a specific concept in postcolonial theory (e.g., orientalism, mimicry, hybridity, or self-othering). Briefly explain your answer in 300-500 words.

“The Gifted” portrayed by Anne Curtis, Sam Milby, and Cristine Reyes can be related to some postcolonial theories which are prevalent nowadays. The movie is all about two childhood friends in which both of them are gifted. Their friendship has been on the rocks ever since Anne’s parents ‘pressured’ her to become better than her friend, Christine. Adding fuel to the fire, Sam Milby entered their lives, and the two girls competed over him. In relation to this, they transformed themselves enable to gain the confidence they need. Anne who is obese undergoes liposuction while Christine goes for cosmetic surgery. (Manila, 2014) In mimicry, the colonizers compel the colonized to imitate them—to use their language, customs, religion, schooling, government, etc. (D'Alleva, 2005). Orientalism is the ideology that the West is generally more superior than the East. The effect of these two theories can be seen in the movie where the notion and standard of beauty can be measured on how fit they are, their ‘whiteness’, thinness or thickness of their lips, etc. Anne and Christine’s characters imitated features that would make them ‘beautiful’ in the eyes of the society wherein these features can be seen or found to the people of Western countries. The decision of the two to undergo several procedures proves that the Western superiority is still prevalent and has become the standard of the society not only to beauty. Stereotyping and under-representation of Asians in everything are widespread. During their elementary and high school years, Anne and Christine saw themselves as someone who is not beautiful enough and not acceptable to standards of the society because of the negative comments they constantly receive from their academic community. They began to see themselves as hideous and shameful with respect to our social construct. The movie also used an accent in speaking English to depict that someone is illiterate which does not measure the literacy a person has. The disparity of our tones and accent is acceptable and normal for we have different cultures and different languages. The lead actresses, who are white themselves have a “Western” features meanwhile the supporting actors/actresses have a feature of the East or Asian people. Most of the successful or blockbuster movies adapt Western characteristics for “non-western art” are treated marginally and viewed from a colonialist perspective all over the world.

Week 10

Arts 1-C Art, Culture and Race

Page 2 of 2

References: D'Alleva, A. (2005). Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Theory. In Methods and Theories of Art History (pp. 79-80). London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd. Manila, C. (2014, August 12). Retrieved from https://coconuts.co/manila/lifestyle/fat-annecurtis-and-ugly-cristine-reyes-gifted/...