S.Hall---Cultural-Identity-and-Diaspora

CulturalIdentityandDiasporaSTUARTHALLAnewcinemaoftheCaribbeanisemerging,joiningthecompanyoftheother'ThirdCinemas'.Itisrelatedto,butdifferentfromthevibrantfilmandotherformsofvisualrepresentationoftheAfro-Caribbean(andAsian)'blacks'ofthediasporasoftheWest-thenewpost-colonialsubjects.Alltheseculturalpracticesandformsofrepresentationhavetheblacksubjectattheircentre,puttingtheissueofculturalidentityinquestion.Whoisthisemergent,newsubjectofthecinema?Fromwheredoeshe/shespeak?Practicesofrepresentationalwaysimplicatethepositionsfromwhichwespeakorwrite-thepositionsofenunciation.Whatrecenttheoriesofenunciationsuggestisthat,thoughwespeak,sotosay'inourownname',ofourselvesandfromourownexperience,neverthelesswhospeaks,andthesubjectwhoisspokenof,areneveridentical,neverexactlyinthesameplace.Identityisnotastransparentorunproblematicaswethink.Perhapsinsteadofthinkingofidentityasanalreadyaccomplishedfact,whichthenewculturalpracticesthenrepresent,weshouldthink,instead,ofidentityasa'production',whichisnevercomplete,alwaysinprocess,andalwaysconstitutedwithin,notoutside,representation.Thisviewproblematisestheveryauthorityandauthenticitytowhichtheterm,'culturalidentity',laysclaim.Weseek,here,toopenadialogue,aninvestigation,onthesubjectofculturalidentityandrepresentation.Ofcourse,the'I'whowritesheremustalsobethoughtofas,itself,'enunciated'.Weallwriteandspeakfromaparticularplaceandtime,fromahistoryandaculturewhichisspecific.Whatwesayisalways'incontext',positioned.I222CulturalIdentityandDiasporawasbornintoandspentmychildhoodandadolescenceinalower-middle-classfamilyinJamaica.IhavelivedallmyadultlifeinEngland,intheshadowoftheblackdiaspora-'inthebellyofthebeast'.Iwriteagainstthebackgroundofalifetime'sworkinculturalstudies.Ifthepaperseemspreoccupiedwiththediasporaexperienceanditsnarrativesofdisplacement,itisworthrememberingthatalldiscourseis'placed',andthehearthasitsreasons.Thereareatleasttwodifferentwaysofthinkingabout'culturalidentity'.Thefirstpositiondefines'culturalidentity'intermsofone,sharedculture,asortofcollective'onetrueself',hidinginsidethemanyother,moresuperficialorartificiallyimposed'selves',whichpeoplewithasharedhistoryandancestryholdincommon.Withinthetermsofthisdefinition,ourculturalidentitiesreflectthecommonhistoricalexperiencesandsharedculturalcodeswhichprovideus,as'onepeople',withstable,unchangingandcontinuousframesofreferenceandmeaning,beneaththeshiftingdivisionsandvicis­situdesofouractualhistory.This'oneness',underlyingalltheother,moresuperficialdifferences,isthetruth,theessence,of'Caribbean-ness',oftheblackexperience.ItisthisidentitywhichaCaribbeanorblackdiasporamustdiscover,excavate,bringtolightandexpressthroughcinematicrepresentation.Suchaconceptionofculturalidentityplayedacriticalroleinallthepost-colonialstruggleswhichhavesoprofoundlyreshapedourworld.Itlayatthecentreofthevisionofthepoetsof'Negritude',likeAimeeCeasireandLeopoldSenghor,andofthePan-Africanpoliticalpro­ject,earlierinthecentury.Itcontinuestobeaverypowerfulandcreativeforceinemergentformsofrepresentationamongsthithertomarginalisedpeoples.Inpost-colonialsocieties,therediscoveryofthisidentityisoftentheobjectofwhatFrantzFanononcecalledapassionateresearch...directedbythesecrethopeofdiscoveringbeyondthemiseryoftoday,beyondself-contempt,resignationandabjuration,someverybeautifulandsplendiderawhoseexistencerehabilitatesusbothinregardtoourselvesandinregardtoothers.Newformsofculturalpracticeinthesesocietiesaddressthemselvestothisprojectfortheverygoodreasonthat,asFanonputsit,intherecentpast,223IdentityColonisationisnotsatisfiedmerelywithholdingapeopleinitsgripandemptyingthenative'sbrainofallformandcontent.Byakindofpervertedlogic,itturnstothepastofoppressedpeople,anddistorts,disfiguresanddestroysit.1ThequestionwhichFanon'sobservationposesis,whatisthenatureofthis'profoundresearch'whichdrivesthenewformsofvisualandcinematicrepresentation?Isitonlyamatterofunearthingthatwhichthecolonialexperienceburiedandoverlaid,bringingtolightthehiddencontinuitiesitsuppressed?Orisaquitedifferentpracticeentailed-nottherediscoverybuttheproductionofidentity.Notanidentitygroundedinthearchaeology,butinthere-tellingofthepast?Weshouldnot,foramoment,underestimateorneglecttheimportanceoftheactofimaginativerediscoverywhichthisconceptionofarediscovered,essentialidentityentails.'Hiddenhistories'haveplayedacriticalroleintheemergenceofmanyofthemostimportantsocialmovementsofourtime-feminist,anti-colonialandanti-racist.ThephotographicworkofagenerationofJamaicanandRastafarianartists,orofavisualartistlikeArmetFrancis(aJamaican-bornphotographerwhohaslivedinBritainsincetheageofeight)isatestimonytothecontinuingcreativepowerofthisconceptionofidentitywithintheemergingpracticesofrepresentation.Francis'sphotographsofthepeoplesofTheBlackTriangle,takeninAfrica,theCaribbean,theUSAandtheUK,attempttoreconstructinvisualterms'theunderlyingunityoftheblackpeoplewhomcolonisationandslaverydistributedacrosstheAfricandiaspora.'Histextisanactofimaginaryreunification.Crucially,suchimagesofferawayofimposinganimaginarycoherence