Author: manhoff.3

Text Review: Peaky Blinders

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Peaky Blinders is a fictional TV series which is based off of the real Peaky Blinders gang from Birmingham in the early 20th century. It follows the life of the gangster Tommy Shelby and his family as they attempt to build and defend the Peaky Blinders’ empire during the aftermath of the first world war.  Although much of the plot of the show is “stylish depictions of gangsterism” there is a lot of insight into the relationships between people of different cultural identities during this time. 

Peaky Blinders' Spoilers: How Did Season 2 Leave Off? Recap Before The Season 3 Premiere

Focusing on season two of the series, there is a lot of interaction between the Peaky Blinders and Jewish and Italian gangs in London. The Shelby family identifies as Romani, which is an ethnic minority in Europe which have faced discrimination and persecution for centuries. The relationship between the Peaky Blinders and the Jewish and Italian gangs is described when one of the leaders announces “Peace between the Jews and the Italians…and war, against the Gypsies.” This defines how the three groups view each other and shows the distinct ‘othering’ that occurs between the cultures. 

What We Learned From Cillian Murphy And Tom Hardy's Peaky Blinders Audio Stories

Another element of this season which shows how the characters view each other’s identities is the level of pride that they each show for their own cultures. While the leader of the Italian gang and the Jewish gang tend to be prideful about their identities, they often talk down on Tommy and his family, and he tends to avoid discussing his cultural identity. For example, the Jewish gang leader says to Tommy in episode two “I’ve heard very bad, bad, bad things about you Birmingham people… you’re gypsies right?…what do you live in then…a tent or a caravan?” Tommy then dismisses this comment and changes the subject to business matters. He feels like the ‘other’ around these groups and does not express pride for his Romani roots. Throughout the season the Peaky Blinders’ enemies tend to insult Romani people, trying to make them feel like the inferior minority group, establishing strong power dynamics amongst the various gangs. 

Diary of Systemic Injustices Showcase: Uranium Mines in Navajo Nation

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A systemic injustice example that has plagued the United States since its creation is the treatment of Native Americans. They have faced extreme discrimination and suffering starting with colonization and continuing today as the United States is a nation built off of their stolen land. The specific injustice case that I will be focusing on, as I learn about it in many of my environmental classes, is the natural resource extraction that occurs on land primarily inhabited by Native Americans. In the mid to late 20th century millions of tons of uranium were being extracted on Navajo lands without regard to the people living in the area’s health and safety. Navajo people were often paid very little to work in these mines as well, and even though the health implications of working in and living near uranium mines were well known by the government and corporations at the time, the Native American people being affected were not informed. Today these people are still experiencing high rates of cancer, impaired kidney and lung function, and other issues related to the uranium exposure from living and working near the mines and from the nearly 500 abandoned mines that exist on their land now.

Map of Abandoned Uranium Mines on the Navajo Nation

This is a systemic injustice because it targets a specific marginalized group and the government has had many opportunities to help these communities but they have not taken effective action. There are clear steps that can be taken to attempt to fix this issue such as reparations for the years of medical issues and deaths that have occurred in these areas as well as the proper closing and cleaning of the abandoned mines. The fact that the way to begin to repair this injustice is so clear but not being done makes it very obvious how much the government cares about indigenous populations. 

Navajo, others press EPA, Congress to act on uranium mine cleanup - Cronkite News - Arizona PBS

This systemic injustice reminds me of Spivak’s theory of the subaltern. Spivak says that “the subaltern cannot speak,” meaning that marginalized groups’ voices are often not heard. Since the colonial period, Native Americans voices have been disregarded and silenced and they lack a say in what goes on on their land. In the example of uranium extraction on Navajo land the government and mining corporations have been ignoring the Navajo Tribe’s cries for help and have been disregarding any protests over land use. 

 

https://msmagazine.com/2020/12/14/systemic-injustice-nuclear-threat-disarmament-weapons-war/

https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2014/06/19/spivak-gayatri-chakravorty/

Lasting Consequences of Colonization

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Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is set in Nigerian villages during the beginning of British colonization. One of the overarching conflicts throughout the book is the traditional ways of the villages fighting against the new ideas and customs being brought in from Britain. We see in the book that while colonization is happening, there is great strife occurring within the country being colonized. Some examples of this are disputes between villagers who welcome Britain’s ideas, customs, and new resources and those who prefer the old ways, and ultimately Okonkwo’s suicide. So from Things Fall Apart it is obvious that colonization causes a lot of friction and suffering while it is occurring but what are the lasting effects of this in countries who have experienced colonization today? 

When a nation conquers and exploits another nation, there are going to be long lasting consequences even if the country regains their independence. Some of these consequences can actually be positive. According to National Geographic, “Colonial governments invested in infrastructure and trade and disseminated medical and technological knowledge” (Blakemore). Colonization also often increased the literacy rates, established human rights, and set up democratic governing systems (Blakemore). So, there can be developmental gains made when countries experience colonization. 

Of course, this is not to say that colonization is justified, and there are many negative lasting consequences as well. Some outcomes that former colonies are left to deal with today are poor treatment of indigenous populations, income and wealth inequality, weak governmental infrastructure, and religious conflicts. Many places such as parts of Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Balkans, are currently experiencing major conflicts over issues like resource distribution, human rights violations, and bad governance, which are all lasting effects of colonization (Marker). So although colonization can have the potential to leave countries with a few developmental advancements, this does not outweigh the negative outcomes that post-colonial societies face today from this unjust practice. 

Bibliography:

Blakemore, Erin. “What Is Colonialism?” Culture, National Geographic, 3 May 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/colonialism.

Marker, Sandra. “Effects of Colonization.” Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: November 2003 <http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/post-colonial>.