Key terms for Media & Colonialism
January 24, 2013
Fetish
1. Definition: Any object, idea or thing that people come to regard highly
2. Authors’ use: “short-haired dolls don’t sell” (p. 33); long hair is now a fetish. Disney turned
Pocahontas into a sex symbol
3. Other examples: crucifix
4. Similar terms: totem, obsession, mania, fixation
Sanitization
1. Definition: making a source of media “appropriate” for the entire broad audience; editing a source to
reach a full audience
2. Authors’ use: Pocahontas was developed into a character of beauty, and influenced children with her
participation in nature & adventure. Disney is commercializing Native American culture by eliminating
dark historical details
3. Other examples: other Disney movies & Disney princesses
4. Similar terms: censorship, editing, vacuum-cleaned
Appropriation
1. Definition: taking something and assigning a new meaning apart from its original context
2. Authors’ use: Pocahontas was a relevant historical figure and Disney commodified it and
appropriated it to fit the mainstream so they could capitalize on its success
3. Other examples: Anastasia, sushi, yoga
4. Similar terms: redefinition, comformation
Cultural Imperialism
1. Definition: Dominant countries and civilizations taking a culture, and rebranding it for their own use.
2. Authors’ use: Disney took the Native American culture in the film Pocahontas and created their own
story that they marketed to children for profit. In certain ways they disregarded the historical accuracy
of the events in order to create a more attractive and marketable story.
3. Other examples: McDonald’s took their brand of junk food, and spread it across the country, creating
an epidemic of obesity. America also takes television shows and rebrands them in order to market them
to the American people (American Idol and The Office).
4. Similar terms: Globalization, Cultural Appropriation, Cultural Genocide
Commodification
1. Definition: commercial exploitation of a thing or symbol to create commercial needs.
2. Authors’ use: “Many modern media franchises require the commodification of their brand in order to
reach a wide range of publics within a capitalist society.”
3. Other examples: Facebook, Apple products, Angry Birds, Disney animated films, Other media
franchises such as Star Wars, LOTR, Marvel
4. Similar terms: Valorization, Branding, capitalization, commercial exploitation
Colonialism
1. Definition: the exploitation and dominance of one group or territory over another territory.
2. Authors’ use: the authors use colonialism to define the relationship between the Native Americans
and the English settlers, but also how Disney appropriated the story of Pocahontas and repurposed it for
their own use and profit.
3. Other examples: French colonization of Africa, Spanish colonization of South/Central America,
America's colonization of other countries in current years.
4. Similar terms: Appropriation, domination, exploitation, mercantilism
Noble Savage
1. Definition: oxymoron that refers to a subspecies of human but personifies them.
In article: "a traditional, sacrificial, and "noble savage" who acts as a willing cultural liaison between
colonizers and Native Americans." pg. 34
2. Authors’ use: they took the symbol "noble savage" and emptied it of meaning, only to reappropriate
in this manner.
3. Other examples: Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained: husband and wife slaves are separated and
husband has to kill in order to be reunited with his wife.
Tarzan
Avatar - female heroine Neytiri
4. Similar terms: "magical negro" - stock character in American cinema that is a sidekick to white
people. Green Hornet - Seth Rogen is the "Green Hornet" and Jay Chou (Asian who does karate) is his
side kick "Kato"
Cipher
1. Definition: A cipher is a symbol, emptied of meaning, that then becomes re-imbued with meaning
through its attachment to various commodities
2. Authors’ use: “Cipher” refers not to commodities themselves, but to the PROCESS of
commodification.
It is therefore better-suited to understanding how modern media industries promote their products by
giving symbolic value to otherwise useless objects.
3. Other examples: Swoosh, swastika
4. Similar terms: “empty signifier”, branding
Ono, K.A. and Buescher, D.T. (2001). Deciphering Pocahontas: Unpackaging the commodification of a
native American woman. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 18(1), pp. 23-43.