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A review by lispectorsexual
Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
5.0
Where do I even begin man
The Black man and language: To start a book with such an eye opening chapter is beyond amazing. When we look at the use of language either by a black man or a white man, there lies some similarities. A black man would either speak (the coloniser’s language) in a manner that would either separate him from his fellow black folk or bring him closer to the white man. How his way of speaking changes in the presence of white folk, a desperate attempt to appease the white man, to let him know that “See? I can also speak the same way you do, now acknowledge me”. If we were to observe the white man or the white man’s response, it is some what patronising, as Fanon says, almost as though he is talking to a toddler, or a victim in need of help. This chapter was 24 pages long and I’m doing Fanon injustice by not even biting the surface. It’s just too good. It also explains how colonisation evidently becomes internalised, where Antilles will deem themselves above their fellow Africans, because they speak their oppressors language, and fluently for that matter. The black man wants to become like the white man, and the white man thinks of himself as the peak of man.
The Black man and language: To start a book with such an eye opening chapter is beyond amazing. When we look at the use of language either by a black man or a white man, there lies some similarities. A black man would either speak (the coloniser’s language) in a manner that would either separate him from his fellow black folk or bring him closer to the white man. How his way of speaking changes in the presence of white folk, a desperate attempt to appease the white man, to let him know that “See? I can also speak the same way you do, now acknowledge me”. If we were to observe the white man or the white man’s response, it is some what patronising, as Fanon says, almost as though he is talking to a toddler, or a victim in need of help. This chapter was 24 pages long and I’m doing Fanon injustice by not even biting the surface. It’s just too good. It also explains how colonisation evidently becomes internalised, where Antilles will deem themselves above their fellow Africans, because they speak their oppressors language, and fluently for that matter. The black man wants to become like the white man, and the white man thinks of himself as the peak of man.
“To speak a language is to appropriate its world and culture. The Antillean who wants to be white will succeed since he will have adopted the cultural tool of language.”
The Woman of Colour and The White Man:
I think, the psyche of the black woman is the search for acceptance in a community she was denied access to, and again with their view towards the men within their own community. The black man is nothing but a slave to the eyes of the white man and so to the black woman. She cannot be with a being that is inferior, that is weak to her. She detests it, but she does not see herself in that manner. The perfect example of this view is the story of the three men that arrive at the gates of paradise (p31): a white man, a mulatto, and a black man.
“What do you want most in the world?” says Saint Peter asking the white man.
“Money.”
“And you?” He asks the mulatto.
“Glory.”
And as he turns toward the black man, the latter declares with a wide grin: “I’m just carrying these gentlemen’s bags.”
The Man of Colour and The White Woman:
In the case of the black man, it’s rooted in a revenge-like nature. To be acknowledged as just as good as the white man. To have what is his, to assert. Fanon presented an example of a man whom they’d call an abandonment neurotic with a negative aggression. This has trouble to do with the person’s childhood and environment. In other cases the black man is considered to be of a certain sophistication (education, mannerisms, fluency, etc.) that is beyond the average negro and places him somewhere close to the white man. So a push to this ideal could be external (from others) or internal (from himself) but he will evidently and desperately want to prove to himself that he is just as good as the white man. He has to immerse himself in the flesh of the white woman. This sometimes is a result of a lack of self-esteem. The abandonment neurotic can very from a number of behaviours/manners - he either feels entitled, fears showing himself as he is, or exclusion. It varies, grandly so to speak.
“Out of the blackest part of my soul, through the zone of hachures, surges up this desire to be suddenly white. I want to be recognised not as Black, but as white. But who better than the white woman to bring this about? By loving me she proves to me that I am worthy of a white love. I am loved like a white man. I am a white man. Her love opens the illustrious path that leads to total fulfilment…
I espouse white culture, white beauty, white whiteness. Between these white breasts that my wandering hands fondle, white civilisation and worthiness become mine.”
The So-Called Dependency Complex of The Colonised:
This chapter was Fanon debunking the notion of a dependency complex, established by Mannoni, as it is a harmful view in respect to the oppressed. Fanon argues that this is basically an inferiority complex that is made present by the colonist - not that it is something that is inherent from the colonised. The white man enforces his superiority and makes the latter deem themselves lesser, this is a result of him being in the minority. Take for instance there are 2,000,000 whites in South Africa and 13,000,000 people of colour, yet it’s never the case that they’d feel the need to establish superiority over the minority. Thus it is a reaction (by the whites to act quick in making the declaration of superiority), in a sense.
He also makes a great point of holding the people of a nation accountable for the atrocities its nation has committed.
“You pride yourself on keeping your distance from a certain order of things; As a consequence and give a free hand to those who thrive in unhealthy atmospheres, a creation of their own behaviour. And if, apparently, you manage not to soil your hands, it’s because others are doing the dirty work in your place. You have your henchmen, and all things considered, you are the real guilty party; for without you, without your blind indifference, such men could not undertake acts that condemn you as much as they dishonour them.”
The Black Man and Recognition:
This chapter is divided into two segments first The Black Man and Alder and second The Black Man and Hegel. Fanon allows us to examine the consciousness of the Antillean, the meaning behind his actions rather than telling us his behaviours. The Antillean utilises his fellow Antillean or “the other” as a mirror, to make himself look good, unconsciously he still thinks that he is not black so he exercises that by needing his fellow Antillean to use as a stepping stone. He gazes in the eyes of “the other” not to look at him, but to look at himself. And this would be the Adlerian way.
[White] / [Ego different from “the other”]
Now regarding the Hegelian way, Fanon uses the example of the slave. When his master grants him freedom (by Hegel) the former slave will now have an object of go after and discard his former master. But Fanon, looks at it differently, the former slave doesn’t desire the object, at least not to that extent, but he now wants to be just like the master, he’s not “thankful” for freedom but he desires to be in the position of granting.