Commodification in Frantz Fanon’s ‘The

Fact of Blackness’

Modern and Contemporary Literary

Theory
Subject code: ENG ‘L’ 558.1
Date: 12th Feb, 2024

Submitted By Submitted To
Mr. Pukar Khanal Dr. Tilak Bhusal
Roll no: 12 Lecturer, Department of English
M.A English, 2nd Sem. Butwal Multiple Campus
Butwal Multiple Campus

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Commodification in Frantz Fanon’s ‘The Fact of Blackness’

‘The Fact of Blackness’ is a crucial essay written by Frantz Fanon in his groundbreaking

book Black Skin, White Mask which was first published in 1952. Frantz Fanon (1925-

1961) was a psychiatrist, philosopher and revolutionary thinker from Martinique, a

Caribbean Island colonized by France. In this essay, Fanon explores the social and

psychological aspects of racial identity while diving into what it’s like to be black in a

world where white people rule. The main argument of ‘The Fact of Blackness’ is that

blackness is a socially constructed identity that has been given significance by racist and

colonial systems rather than just a biological or physical characteristic.

The term ‘commodity’ originates from the Latin word ‘commoditas’ that means

‘usefulness’ or ‘convenience. In English, the word ‘commodity’ began to be used in the

late Middle Ages to refer to goods or products that are purchased or sold in marketplaces.

Similarly, Fanon notes that there was slavery system in America, which is clearly

depicted in the book Black Skin, White Mask. It means that black people were being sold

and purchased in marketplaces by white people to make them slave. Actually, slavery

was in effect through out what would eventually become Britain’s colonies, starting in

1526 and extending to the Thirteen Colonies that would eventually create the United

States. Wikipedia defines that a person in slavery was regarded by the law as property

that may be purchased, sold, or given away.

The writing of this essay begins with a dialogue, which remarks the black people as ‘dirty

nigger’. The perception of black people is same in France as like in America. Bell hooks,

a social critic says, “ We are often told by white pears that we are ‘too bitter’ that we are

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a ‘full of hate’ (hook, 1992).” The self of black men is lost. It is commodified. Black

people are treated as an object which is made in consumerism culture. Fanon notes that

“the process of objectification is the part of racialization (Fanon, 2008).” He further adds

that commodification is the product of racism and colonialism, creates the stereotype.

Through this article he is trying to say that society is very biased. In the essay, Fanon

argues that black people’s identities are entirely determined by the color of their skin, not

by anything. As Stuart Hall says,

“From this I came to understand that identity is not a set of fixed attributed, the

unchanging essence of the inner self, but a constantly shifting process of positioning. We

tend to think of identity as taking us back to our roots, the part of us which remains

essentially the same across time. In fact, identity is always a never-completed process of

becoming - a process of shifting identifications, rather than a singular, complete, finished

state of being (Hall, 1997).”

The title of the essay is an instance of being black and its consequences while living in

the white world. In the white world, the man of color encounters difficulties in the

development of his bodily schema. The objectification of black bodies is portrayed in the

essay. The writer talks about white gaze. He expresses that gaze of a white child demands

‘monster’ in a black person. He suffers because of this gaze. He finds himself in crisis.

His inner rumination and contemplation are clearly presented as the title also suggests the

fact of being black man. ‘Blackness’ conjures a reaffirmation of “the innate dignity of

every human being and of the very idea of human community, a same community as

essential human resemblance and proximity (Mbembe, 2017).”

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The obvious meaning of this writing is racism. The writer’s story takes place in France.

The person who loses references a self, some new references are imposed in him, and this

identity crisis is exposed by this pivotal essay. In this article the writer illustrates how

commodification operates in various contexts. Fanon's critique revolves around his

analysis of the ‘white gaze’ which shows how black bodies are objectified and subjected

to scrutiny and criticism from the white Other. This gaze reduces ‘blackness’ to a

collection of preconceived notions and conventional wisdom, negating the humanity and

agency of the black people. His discussion on the fetishization of blackness can possibly

teach the world that why the blacks are named as ‘nigger’ by the white people. Therefore,

the essay ‘The Fact of Blackness’ does a great job of highlighting the ways in which

negative stereotypes and caricatures of black people are used to commodify their identity.

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Works Cited:

Fanon, Frantz. "The Fact of Blackness.” Black Skin, White Masks (1952), ed., Grove

Press, 2008.

hooks, bell. “Revolutionary Renegades.” Black Looks: Race and Representation, South

End Press, 1992, pp.191

Hall, Stuart. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, Sage

Publications, 1997.

Mbembe, Achille. Critique of Black Reason (2013), ed., Duke University Press, 2017.