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Mackenzie Nalepa

The Developing World

Final Paper: Fanon Project

12/8/16

Frantz Fanons Postcolonial Theory

In recent events concerning the presidential election, and even since 9/11, there has

been an emphasis in conversation about acts of racism, terrorism, and racial stereotypes

specifically pertaining to individuals of African American and Middle Eastern decent. There

has always been a constant struggle for minorities to make a name for themselves and be

able to be their own person in society with out feeling ashamed. My initial reaction to

watching Black Skin, White Masks was that although Fanon experienced prejudice and

was a black man of medicine in a metropolitan area, it seemed as though he was still

exceptionally successful in his field. Being a woman in science, I can relate to standards

expecting me to fail and change career paths. Although my circumstance is not nearly as

traumatic, it adds in the aspect of another minority group. I was shocked to see such racial

factors implemented at such a young age; it was if as though a black child living in a white

world was never able to feel like they could be express themselves in ways that they

choosethis is referring to the scene in the DVD where Fanons mother would not let him

listen to creole music, and instead turned on classical music. Essentially, not only was there

a difference between skin color, but black people were basically forced to act like white

people in order to somewhat fit in with societywhich explains black skin, white masks.

From my interpretation of Fanons principles, I was able to compare

decolonialization with the abolition of slavery. Just because a colony or nation has become
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decolonized, does not mean that all tension between two parties have been terminated;

there will be long lasting unresolved conflicts that will linger with time. The same concept

can be applied to slavery; although it has been abolished since the 1800s for France and the

United States, equality is still a struggling point. There are still tensions among people of

white skin and people of black skin. Often times with lingering tension, comes violence.

Violence is necessary to a point because colonizing or decolonizing more often than not

favors one side, so the only way to get the other side to listen is to either use violence, or

give them what they want. One of Fanons points he makes in his essay On Violence is that

the very same people who had it constantly drummed into them that the only language

they understood was that of force, now decide to express themselves with force (Fanon, pg

42). In saying this, he means that the colonized people were colonized with force, so it is

what they are familiar with and it worked to colonize them in their minds that must be

the right way to go about things. In return, they use violence and it is a never-ending cycle.

Another point that he made was that for the last can only be the first only after a

murderous and decisive confrontation between two protagonists (Fanon, pg 3). Fanon

claims that the western colonizers have dehumanized the colonized, and violence is a way

to gain their voice back and show that they are human beings too. By becoming de-

alienated from society, they can become first rather than last and they can take off the

white mask that has been shielding their true identity. In my opinion, I believe that

violence, like all things, is acceptable in moderation. I think violence is productive in the

psychoanalytic approach to re-open dialogue between two parties. In contrast, I do not

agree with Fanon when he claims that it is the only way to resolve conflict. There have been

treaties made that did not include violence.

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Fanon compared living in a colonial world to living in a zoo. It is where the colonized

are dehumanized to the point where they are basically animals, and the colonizers resort to

speaking of the colonized as if they possessed animal-like qualities (Fanon, pg 7). He refers

to this corruption and disruption as Manichaeism. He also claims that this nation is divided

into two groups, or it is compartmentalized. The white are wealthy and the black are poor

solely based on their respective skin types. In a sense, they are treated as two different

species. Fanons ideas further resonate with topics of conversation in our breakout

discussions throughout the semester. The International Criminal Court (ICC) works to

prevent or resolve every issue that Fanon is trying shed light on. There are many factors

that the ICC aims to prosecute, but the ones most affiliated with this topic are crimes

against humanity (racism) and crimes of aggression (using force to occupy an otherwise

independent nation) (Frequently Asked Questions about the ICC, 2012). Fanons Essay on

the Veil relates to the ideas of Edward Sad and orientalismanother topic of breakout

discussion in class. Sads ideas epitomize Fanons thoughts in this essay. Sad talks about

the constant struggle of middle Easterners and how there is much more to the Middle East

than terrorism. Both individuals claim that their minorities are referred to as the other.

Throughout pages 15-18 in his essay, Fanon describes how the colonized individual

is always on edge. He is constantly thinking about what he has to do to fit in, and can never

decide if he has camouflaged himself enough to the standards of the colonizer. The

colonized are made to feel inferior but they themselves do believe that they are inferior.

There is a build up of tension against the colonizer and that tension is waiting to be

released once the colonizer turns his back. Fanon states: This impulse to take the colonists

place maintains a constant muscular tonus. It is a known fact that under certain emotional
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circumstances and obstacle actually escalates action. (Fanon, pg 17). From that quote he

means that sometimes the tension builds up so much that it cannot be contained any

longer, and the tension is released not always on who it is intended for. An individual only

has one self, and when dehumanizing words or comments shatters that self, the individual

himself shatters because he no longer has an image of himself. Under these circumstances

of emotional turmoil, sometimes our only reaction is to turn against someone we are close

with, which explains when the blacks turn against the blacks. They had no one else to turn

against so they turned on themself. It was surprising to me a person can be dehumanized

so much to the point where they have no one to turn on but the people that are on the same

team as them.

Often in times of crisis, we find peace in what we know, which is our culture. When

the colonizers came in and started implementing their own principles on the colonized, the

colonized would compare them to mythological creatures such a zombies, and vampires

(Fanon, pg 18). Fanon describes that because the people are neglected of their culture

under colonial rule, they revert to only dreaming about it. With all of the violence going on

around them, they do not have time to be telling stories and reminiscing about their

childhood. Fanon urges the colonized to wake up to reality and realize that the colonist is

no worse than a zombie, and that to colonists can be overturn. The main point in his

argument is that in mythological stories, the mortal usually has no chance at survival, but

the colonized must turn that around and realize that the colonizers are no worse than these

creatures, and can be overrun when the community comes together as a whole. This relates

to the ugly American concept in the way that when we as people neglect the culture of

another country, we are seen as those zombies and six-legged monsters. We have to be
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sensitive to other cultures, because without culture, they are left with nothing and their

identity has been stripped from their existence. Eventually, they are going to realize that

we are no scarier than these mythological creatures and will be able to find our weak point.

One of Fanons main points is that violence acts as a way to bring the colonized

together by means of establishing a common goal or understanding. He states: but it so

happens that for the colonized this violence is invested with positive, formative features

because it constitutes their only work. (Fanon, pg 50). Fanon explains that each individual

is a link in a chain of violence that goes up against the colonizer. The violence is what brings

them together as a community and unifies them. Fanon uses the term work as a more

positive synonym to violence because essentially it is literally the work of the colonized

people to fight back to regain their sense of self worth. Every day is a struggle and every

day they have to do whatever it takes to survive in a place where their culture is not

necessarily accepted. From his argument, Fanon was able to convince me that violence

may have a positive side to it. Before reading his essay On Violence I had never associated

violence as a way to unify people. He uses the term catharsis to describe how violence is a

way to restore their sense of self that was destroyed by colonialism. However, I am still not

convinced that fighting violence with violence is the best way to approach every conflict, as

if that were the case I would think more worldly conflicts would have been resolved.

It seems as though the main goal of the developing world is to become independent,

and to be able to provide for them without external help. But what else comes with this

newfound independence? Essentially once these developing countries claim their

independence they lose any monetary funding by the colonizing country that previously

ruled over them. Another way I interpreted that statement was that by returning to the
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Dark Ages, it means to be prepared for battle and bloodshed. The fight and violence it will

take to gain this sought after independence will resemble dark times. Independence is

basically seen as a curse, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, because they got what they

wanted, but they were not prepared for what it is like to be on their own. It almost seems

as though the countries have not made any progress. They were not expecting the work it

was going to take to go from being underdeveloped to developed, or even developing. You

then question your thinking and decide if independence is worth it after all, or if it is just

easier to be content. Fanon would not agree.

Overall, my impression of Fanon after reading The Wretched of the Earth and

watching Black Skin, White Masks was that he was a man who took all of the negative

things he had been through in his life and tried to turn them around and make them

positive by making sure other people would not have to go through the same things that he

did. His idea that deepened my understanding of the historical reality of colonialism was

how the influence of violence had such a substantial impact. Within the movie, even

soldiers would come to him and say how awful the war in Algeria was. Imagine if instead of

talking about it, people put an end to it. There was another idea in particular near the end

of the film that stood out to me. Fanon asked how do you heal a mental patientsomeone

who rejects society? His response was that you have to change society so that the patient

can re-enter it; this is considered sociotherapy. The way he was able to change the lives of

the patients by releasing their cuffs and chains and conforming society to them rather than

them conforming to society shows an idea that is applicable to todays society. Instead of

trying to implement our practices on the developing world, more emphasis should be
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placed on ways to improve their own ideas in a way that better suits their natural way of

life. In order to progress as society we need to be the change you want to see in the world.
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Works Cited

Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched Of The Earth. New York : Grove Press, 1963. Print.

"Frequently Asked Questions about the International Criminal Court." Council on Foreign

Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.