Shohat and Sham's "The Imperial Imaginary"

A lot of Shohat and Sham’s "The Imperial Imaginary" follows with what we were discussing in class on day 1. The colonists of the late 19th and early 20th century had access to filming equipment and were able to use it to record their imperialism. “The most prolific film-producing countries of the silent period – Britain, France, US, Germany - also ‘happened’ to be among the leading imperialist countries.” (Shohat and Sham, 1) This is not a coincidence. It proves that the ability to shoot and manipulate one’s own footage is powerful enough to convince large amounts of spectators one way or another.
This ability, which was new at the time, was unlike anything the world had seen, and was able to bring those large audiences together unlike any novel or newspaper. “While the novel is consumed in solitude, the film is enjoyed in a gregarious space, where the ephemeral communitas of spectatorship can take on a national or imperial thrust.” (Shohat and Sham, 3)
Once the population of imperialistic nations became enthralled and enraptured by cinema, the filmmakers/imperialists could show anything however they wanted. “No one questioned how Egyptian land, history, and culture should be represented, for example, or asked what Egyptian people might have to say about the matter.” (Shohat and Sham, 5) This power put filmmaking countries in the lead for imperialism. These nations were now able to expose foreign peoples to their heart’s content, for instance, getting pygmies sick off of European cigars and filming it.

Shohat, Ella, and Robert Stam. "The Imperial Imaginary." 9 Sept. 2007 .