How Does Frantz Fanon Address Neocolonialism in His Books?

[klusener]

Is anybody here familiar with his works (The wretched of the earth, A Dying colonialism, Black skin, white masks).. I am just beginning to read some of them.

 

[Esnas]

I've read parts of each book many years ago. I remember him writing specifically about the psychological effects of French colonialism in Algeria. What are some of the points that stand out for you?

 

[klusener]

What surprises and amazes me is the way he exactly describes what the colonized people do.. The incidents which he cites in the book specifically, Black Skin, White Masks, still ring absolutely true in modern countries today that were previously colonized.. For example, when someone from these countries goes to one of the European countries or America, and then he comes back to the home country, he has this sort of superior attitude and tries to speak in an "American" or "European" accent... Fanon exactly says how in Martinique, if people went to France and came back, they would try to stress their r syllables to make them sound like French.. I am only almost 1/3 into the book, so as I read, maybe I will find more things like these.. But he seems like a realistic author, he doesn't have what you would call like unachievable visions..

 

[klusener]

after reading for a couple of weeks, I confess that some parts are simply too hard to read and understand, his knowledge is so wide that he draws analogies from just about everywhere, so I don't understand some of these, but he always tones it down so that the reader can get the basic summary by the end, but still he analyzes everything, about every part of the colonized's mind possible..

 

[Michael Irwin]

I've read parts of each book many years ago. I remember him writing specifically about the psychological effects of French colonialism in Algeria. What are some of the points that stand out for you?

One of his theories is that when the French insisted that Algerian women cease wearing the haik ( have I spelled that correctly?) the French were lessening the difference between the male and female Algerian. And so in effect femenising the Algerian man and undermining the culture as a whole. It's about all I remember.

 

[Esnas]

Sorry, I am not aware of the above comment on Algerian women's dress. Where did you read it?

What appealed to me was Fanon's warning on the ease in which decolonialized nations could slip into neocolonialism. He thought that these nations should not simply use Europe or the U.S. as models. A very difficult goal for a number of reasons. (See his book, Wretched of the Earth)