How Westernization Changed Culture

How Westernization Changed Culture

In Africa, you can see a mixture of the ancient culture as well as some westernization after-effects of other countries taking control of them. These resulted from the period of time known as Imperialism. The impact of that period of time can still be felt throughout the world in many different ways, but the most prominent is the westernization that occurred in the colonies. A shift toward a western-like world is observable over time, as the films “Within the Work Fair” (1926), “Gold” (1938), and “In 50 Years” (1958) portray. The change in the way they dress, think, and act are all very evident in the said films. From this, I argue that the impact of colonialism and westernization are caused by non-natural borders, the “civilizing mission”, while it was most commonly seen through the change in culture that occurred.

Rifts were caused from the unnatural borders created by the colonizers during the Imperialism time period, those of which can still be witnessed today. When the Europeans carved up Africa between each other, they paid no attention to cultures or way of life that had already existed in the areas. They divided Africa according to what they thought were best for their home countries. These actions eventually caused a rift between cultures that had previously been extremely similar. The cultures that had been similar were forced to conform to the type of culture the metropoles thought to be more civilized. In the long run I believe the different cultures that emerged from mixing the old culture with the colonizers culture caused a rift which has impacted the region.

The rift, caused by unnatural borders, can also be seen through a language barrier. The film “Within the Work Fair” shows this predicament when the colonizers are directing the natives of what to do and where to go. Instead of them given orders through vocal means, a lot of silent gestures were expressed. This can be assumed to be a result of a language barrier caused by taking the natives out of their home villages and bringing them together from natives from a different village. While they may be from the same general area, their dialect could be very different causing for troubles when communicating. This is, I argue, a minor but big impact that the European-determined borders changed the lives of many colonized people, which leads to the next point.

After the European powers had divided up Africa, they saw the conditions the natives lived with. Determining it as an uncivilized way of living, they made it their mission to “civilize” and help the indigenous people of the land. This can be seen over time through the film “In 50 Years” within the first couple minutes. In this propaganda film, they show the ancient culture that used to exist; A few people are shown smoking in front of a fire and living in huts made of leaves. It then talks about the challenge of showing and teaching the indigenous people what “... we have learned in centuries. How to make a civilization.”. At the time this was played back in the homeland, the citizens there were tired of the colonies and didn’t want their country to have control of them anymore. This film was made as a way of trying convince the home country there was still work to be done in the colonies and that not only were the colonized people similar the home country, but that they actually enjoyed the Belgians being there. Civilizing the natives was a way to justify the great powers of Europe keeping control of these colonies when it would be easier for them to let the colonies become independent. While this did eventually occur, the effects of westernization left its mark on the colonized.

Westernization, by definition, means the “conversion to or adoption of western traditions or techniques”. The “western” refers to those countries of North America and Western Europe. It was first used in 1873 by those who were imperializing themselves. It’s most commonly used to describe the culture change that occurred in the colonized regions of the world during the period of Imperialization. In order to westernize the colonies, the metropoles of these colonies brought their culture from home to the colonies to help assimilate the natives to the western customs. The things brought over included: education, housing, clothing, and entertainment. Curiously, the art that was already there was left alone. These can be observed when watching the films “Gold” and “In 50 Years”.

The education the natives received can be seen in the film “In 50 years”. In this film, children of the colony were shown in a classroom. This classroom had many of the same characteristics as a classroom that would have existed in the metropole; the students sat in desks and each had their own chalkboard to do their work on in class. However, when they reached their sixth year of basic education, they then entered a more technical school where they could learn the trade the specific colony was given. In this film, the Congo colony is assigned to work in a gold mine, so that becomes that trade they learn in their teenage years. Other post-primary courses were of family care. These classes were what the women took after finishing the six primary school years. In these, they learned how to sew, cook, do housework, and take care of their young ones the “western” way. I argue all of this western education had a big influence on the colonies because the children that were raised in this time only knew how to do one trade or raise their family one way.