White Man’s Burden — Rudyard Kipling’s
Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem “White Man’s Burden” in terms of the theory of civilization, modernization, progress, development, enlightenment ideals, and Orientalism.
The most basic example of the concept of “civilization”, which Western states see as a divine power from past to present, is clearly seen in the poem “The White Man’s Burden” written by Rudyard Kipling in 1899.
Considering the period when this poem was written, it coincides with a period when the United States’ intervention in the Philippines, the control of Cuba, conceptually “imperialism” were discussed and America’s sphere of influence was gradually expanding.
According to Rubyard Kipling, “the ungrateful” and “half devil-half child” primitives would never appreciate it, while the “White Man” took the “noble” burden of civilizing responsibility and destroyed his “best sons” in the wild. Based on this understanding, the supremacy of the white man was affecting America’s political and cultural life, and this poem would resonate for many years — Western powers who had a divine mission to civilize — all over the world.
In fact, this poem still echoes for more than a century and in the fertile crescent where civilization was born, in the geography where human beings built life; In Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, this poem continues to be echoed by America, England and France. Kipling claims that the “White Man” is the defender of democracy under God’s will, and it is his duty to lead others into the light of democracy. If we explain these expressions with an example; During the September 11, 2001 attack, US President Bush described him as “Crusade” for the fight against terrorism. Later, within the scope of the fight against terrorism, he entered the country to cleanse Afghanistan from terrorism, to civilize, liberate and develop it, but despite being a leading country in terms of underground riches, after 20 years, there was an Afghanistan that was struggling with poverty and where terrorist organizations were very concentrated.
Based on this poem, in which the messages such as the White Man is superior, talented and powerful and the rest of the world is modernized, developed and progressed, western values have been tried to be culturally integrated into the geography where Muslims have lived for over 200 years, which they called modern life. Thanks to the puppets serving them from every country as economic progress, underground and aboveground natural resources were transferred to western states, and governments that promised democracy politically but only served their ideological interests were established, thus creating a modern, enlightened, forward-looking and civilized society. . However, a Kenyan President in Africa, where Kipling’s poem echoes, explained this civilized understanding very well: “When the westerners came, we had the Bible in our hands and our land. They taught us to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened our eyes, we had the Bible in our hands and their land in their hands. “ Jomo Kenyatta
He explains this poem, which was written under the influence of orientalism, with another example: “A Europe or America that sees itself at the center of history, defines it as the last evolutionary stage of humanity, and believes that everything from morality to science does the best and the right thing, does not mean Africans, Chinese, or Latinos. It is no wonder that the Americans are viewed as primitive societies stuck in the lower stages of the Evolutionary process, in need of “civilization” and therefore deserving of exploitation. It is one of the most disgraceful realities of this process that modern sciences such as archeology, anthropology and psychology provide scientific material for these Eurocentric and racist ideologies. How far contemporary social sciences have survived this dark history is another matter of debate.Rudyard Kipling Western man’s mission to “white man’s burden”
clearly expressed in his poetry. A century after Kipling, we see that this perception is still common.” (Kalın,2021)
Why Turkish newspapers began to use more cartoons in 1930s?
If we evaluate the period based on the movie:
Since the early years of the Republic, the revolutions and innovations made in all areas of life are understood by the society and as one of the most important stages for the progress of Turkish modernization, the phenomenon of humor and the function of caricature in modernization have been seen. There are many reasons why cartoons were used in the 1923–1930’s, but a few important ones should be mentioned:
To tell people about innovations through caricature through humor in order to moderate the radical modernization in Turkish society and to calm the reactions against the reforms.
During this period, there was a serious pressure on the press, and therefore there was a monophonic understanding of the press. At the same time, cartoons were used in order to explain the innovations coming from the west to the society correctly, and one of the important reasons was explained through cartoons in order to better understand the westernization and modernization activities that started with the alphabet reform. In the first phase of the Republic, the press was silenced on the grounds of the uprisings against the abolition of the caliphate, the revolution of letters, and interference with the lifestyle, and cartoons were only allowed to describe urban problems, municipal works, and reforms.
How were etiquette rules used in the construction of Turkish national subjects?
In the later minutes of the movie, a family singing in the village is raided by the soldiers and the soldiers tell the villagers that Turkish Folk Music is forbidden, from now on you will sing western music and play with music. However, here, the Turkish people’s etiquette and family lifestyle are violated, and the soldiers want everyone in the family, especially the women, to dance and belly, and the soldiers resist without disturbing the family seriousness, but the soldiers force them into this situation.
How was the censorship working against religious representations in modern movie?
Towards the end of the movie, the soldiers point their guns at people in the house, contrary to the values of the society, and they have fun and play. Respect is very important in Muslim traditions and families, but the soldiers’ shouting at family members and forcing them to play violated the family’s religious representation.
How Turkish modernization shaped bodies, places, and time? (Do not forget to mention about the interventions in clothing and the construction of national cities with statues)
In the early periods of Turkish modernization, it was essential that the dress and the concept of time were taken directly from the western states and that the Turkish society should dress like a westerner. As seen in the movie, the clothes of the soldiers were not unique to the Turkish soldiers, and besides the effects of the hat law, it is possible to see the effects of modern life, which is far from Islamic values and aimed for women.
References:
Said, E.W. (1988). Oryantalism, Vintage Books
Kalın, İ.(2021. İslam ve Batı, İsam yayınları
Metin, C.(2009). Cumhuriyet’in İlk Döneminde Kültür Değişmeleri (1923–1950) (PDF) Cumhuriyet’in İlk Döneminde Kültür Değişmeleri (1923–1950) (researchgate.net)
Bilgin, R. (October 2015). Karşılaştırmalı Olarak Türkieye’de Devlet ve Miller Modernleşmesi. The Journal of Europe — Middle East Social Science Studies 1(2):90–128.
