By “power relations,” we mean interactions between people for which one person exerts significant influence over another, whether via direct coercion or more covert means. All civilizations have power structures. There are power dynamics in every human interaction, every social group, and every global system. They may be linked to demographic factors such as age, education level, employment, income, and even political affiliation. It’s more common for one group to assert dominance over another in communities with many resident groups. Yet there are several methods to demonstrate an organization’s influence on its members. A dominant group can conceal its superiority over a subordinate one or more times. One clear case of this is the preponderance of male characters in cinema. The male predominance is implicit rather than expressed or enforced.
The socio-ecological results of the involvements and the aptitudes of individual community associates to profit from or tolerate the charges and dangers associated with the involvements are profoundly impacted by the vertical and horizontal power relations, which are implemented in overt and covert ways. Social representations play a part in these three stages—the inter-, trans-, and intra-subjective levels. Social representations operate at the most general trans-subjective level by grounding dominant social groups’ authority in thematic, ideologies, and social norms. Given their dialogic character, social words determine the intersubjective spheres of activity and influence by imposing certain communication patterns between individuals and groups. Internalization of power relations is facilitated, in part, by subjective social representations.
The extent to which a person may act is constrained by his consciousness of otherness, by an intersubjective reality that likewise requires an awareness of both the self and the other. As a consequence of the interplay between oneself, another, and the object in question, symbolic knowledge necessitates an awareness of the boundaries of our agency and the influence that the other has over us. Therefore, power is realized via the subjective absorption of an individual’s connection with the environment, which would be formed through conversation with others.
Important to the study of both international relations and warfare is the idea of a “balance of power,” or equilibrium between competing powers. Examined in light of the nineteenth century, the notion is important to developing modern literary, philosophical, and political discourse. There was ‘no global or systemic conflict throughout this historical period.’ Still, the hypothesis has been interpreted as either a cause or a condition of war, peace, or a combination of the two.
If we examine it from the perspective of causing conflict, we find significant regions where this is a plausible argument. The first is the ‘security conundrum,’ which is often a part of the idea of a power balance. The idea that “all states could at any moment employ force, all republics must be able to do so” was prevalent during this period. The environment of fear that’s been fostered led to weapons competitions, alliance formation, and, in many instances, outright confrontation. The decentralized structure of European foreign policy allowed this to happen. After the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire were deposed in Westphalia, each nation-state in Europe became fully independent.
Despite much of the action occurring on other continents, the power balance in Europe was profoundly affected by imperialism, the main force of the time. Since the pursuit of an Empire even by European nations increased the possibility for rivalry from a localized to a global scale, imperialism may have rendered the system untenable and increased the likelihood of a general conflict. Another important consideration is how precarious the equilibrium is. Centered principally on the reunification of Germany, which provided ‘structural reasons that made it impossible to sustain the established order, the system was finally revealed to be only as powerful as its members who, in reality, failed to keep the equilibrium at the end of the century. Although this may be more of a failure of both the international balance and the institution itself, it does lend credence (along with imperialism) to the claim that this idea of balance is what ultimately led to conflict.
Imperialism may be defined as a mother country taking control of a smaller nation or colony to advance its political, social, or economic agenda. Imperialism has been a significant driving factor in the development of the contemporary world. This great act of imperialism occurred in the latter half of the 19th era and the early 20th century. In the modern world, it had a greater number of adverse impacts than it had favorable benefits.
A beneficial impact can be observed in document one, “Modern Progressive Nations.” This document demonstrates how the more powerful nations helped the less powerful colonies. Various countries constructed infrastructures like roads, canals, and trains. They were taught how to use the telegraph and newspapers, they were given schools, they were given the benefit of their culture, and altogether they were pushed to become more frugal. After this event, they were ingrained in the culture of the contemporary era. In document three, titled “Colonial Governments and Missionaries,” we discover evidence of yet another beneficial consequence.
It demonstrates how the colonial rulers enhanced medical care and sanitation by instituting new practices and procedures. There were new kinds of crops, equipment, and ways of farming that all contributed to an increase in the amount of food that was produced. Because of these shifts, fewer people died in the smaller colonies, improving the overall standard of life. In comparison to the time of the previous imperialism, they now had access to better sanitation and could live longer.
A detrimental consequence may be observed in document two, called “Colonization.” As seen in the illustration, the colonies responsible for the mother nation’s hard labor did not contribute to the civilization of the smaller settlements. They were used as low-cost labor and put to work. They still had no freedom and had to do what their home nation told them to do since the mother country had such immense influence over them. Additionally, they were abused and taken advantage of. Document four, titled “Missionaries,” reveals yet another undesirable consequence. This quotation demonstrates that when white people arrived in Africa, they possessed only authority over the African people they encountered. This resulted in several unfavorable outcomes for Africa, including the practice of putting Africans to work as enslaved people, although they were used more as cheap labor. They were relocated, exploited, and not kidnapped of their own free choice, and all of their lands were seized from them; as a result, many of them lost their lives.
The final unfavorable impact is in document seven, “The German Cartoon.” The existence of imperialism had a devastating effect on several continents, including Africa, as this cartoon demonstrates. They were corrupted and given bad thoughts, all of their money was stolen, and most importantly, religion was imposed upon them without their will. The guy in the machine is being forced to consume strong whiskey and booze.
Imperialism refers to a mother nation taking control of a smaller colony for economic, political, or social gain. As was seen, they brought about many changes to the contemporary world, most of which made it a more challenging place to live at the time. Everything is determined by the perspectives that are taken into consideration. Some people would believe it was a good thing, but in general, all that it did was lead to bad things happening in the world. Even while contemporary imperialism didn’t begin until a little over a hundred years ago, its effects on our society and how we organize our country are still very much felt today.
The cinema industry has also been subject to an increasingly important impact from public relations campaigns against imperialism. The crucial era immediately after the end of the cold war was when the concept of globalization started to gain traction. The expansion of international commerce, the worldwide mobility of people, the emergence of a greater number of international rules and forums, economic liberalism, the advent of the media, the Internet, and global digital communication networks have all contributed to its development.
Films are a primary means through which Western nations, and the United States, in particular, disseminate a significant portion of their culture to countries that are not part of the Western world, creating what is known as the Western media flow (Grunig, 2020). Hollywood in the United States is the mindset of filmmakers and audiences worldwide. At the same time, there are films from around the world that export contra-flow to the United.
Hollywood shapes the mentality of filmmakers and moviegoers everywhere in the United States. The effect of cultural imperialism on the film industry can be assessed as positive or negative. It should be discussed in conjunction with the exact situation in the country, even though there are films from all over the world that export contra-flow to the United States and thus influence American filmmakers from a primarily commercial point of view. Colonialism, on the other hand, describes the overlordship of one group of individuals over another in several domains, including but not limited to territory, law, culture, language, politics, knowledge, and economy.
Although European colonialisms had several commonalities, such as the fact that each colonial territory’s attempts at dominance, law, appropriation, and confinement evolved through time, the processes by which they were implemented were still mostly similar. The first were the initial penetration and reconfiguring of colonial marketplaces, provinces, and ways of life by concessions companies and Christian clergymen. Secondly, accumulation by dispossession, or imperial advancement through legalized geographic domination, resource exploitation, indentured servitude, and taxation policies and finally racialized, paternalistic, and stereotyped norm.
Scholarly Interest in the Links between Colonialism/Imperialism and the Rise of Capitalism Is Widespread
Indigenous people, including such tribal communities, have frequently been reduced to minorities in zones where they were formerly the dominating majority due to imperialism. The Maori of New Zealand, the First Nations of Canada, and the Hawaiians of Hawaii are all prime instances of societies undergoing this transformation. Countries dominate other countries through superior military might, well-organized politics, and large-scale financial investment.
The extent to which the dominant tribe has colonized the land is another factor that may influence power. The connection between the nation that occupied a region and the colonized individuals is analogous to that of a prevailing group and a lesser group that is exploited. The colony’s subjects may only ever anticipate being able to sustain themselves via low-paying, menial occupations. The nation’s political elite stands to benefit financially from the country’s natural resources.
It is essential to acknowledge the considerable effect that colonialism has had on native peoples and the many measures of help that have been taken. The indigenous peoples of many regions are subjected to oppression. They are denied the opportunity to pursue lifestyles that directly result from their own distinctive body of knowledge and cultural norms. This results in the indigenous peoples’ inability to live under their unique cultural norms and knowledge. This kind of tyranny encompasses many practices, from just suppressing indigenous peoples to committing murder.
After doing this study, one concludes that power and resistance are the two components that drive power interactions. In addition, the function of discourse as an instrument for establishing power relations is bolstered. Foucault contends that this particular sort of power dynamic is devoid of both norms and ideals. This suggests that making any good or negative conclusions is not feasible.
Reference
Grunig, L.A., (2020) “Power in the public relations department,” In Public Relations Research Annual, (35)4 pp. 115-156.