Contrapuntal Reading: Postcolonial Theory concepts | Postcolonialism |Edward Said

[@kb7816]

Thank you so much for this. It's really helpful. Please do more. I'm struggling to find more on the concept of contrapuntalism. Your video made a big difference.

[@masoodraja]

You are welcome. I will see if I can record a longer one with better examples.

[@perfectgaming1285]

Thanks a lot respected sir I read your book Democratic Criticism and I learned a lot from it . Hats off to you for such a comprehensive pleading of Islam 👍

[@masoodraja]

You are welcome.

[@masoodraja]

Also, if you liked the book, could you please add a review and rating for it on Amazon. Thank you!!

[@emanmasoud6721]

You make it easier. Thank you dozens💝

[@masoodraja]

You are welcome.

[@darrendonate30]

Thank you so much for this Dr. Raja. This was incredibly helpful.

[@masoodraja]

You are welcome.

[@khadidjadaci6184]

Thank you dr

[@masoodraja]

You are welcome.

[@abdulbasheer9472]

Excellent explanation sir, i admired it... Thank You

[@masoodraja]

Thank you.

[@shaguftanaaz5829]

Well done sir ....u r great

[@masoodraja]

Thank you.

[@namrabashir-w2q]

Respected professor i want to asked how this is connected with deconnstruction theory relation examples

[@masoodraja]

Thank you. I am not sure of any connections. I recommend reading Edward Said for further guidance.

[@DhanyaRaghavan]

Thank you so much for the video. I was hoping if you could do a critical exploration of the concept of 'exile' proposed by postcolonial scholars. That would be very helpful. Thank you.

[@masoodraja]

Thank you. That’s a really good suggestion. I will add it to my list.

[@hinakainth3719]

It is very interesting topic and I think there should be a detailed lecture about it....If possible, thanks

[@masoodraja]

Thank you. I will see. Maybe, one day when I record something about Said's Culture and Imperialism.

[@hinakainth3719]

Postcolonialism sure! Thanks 👍

[@khokha6728]

Thank you sir for all your helpful videos.. I have a question please, what is the canonical work that Michelle Cliff's "Abeng" is countering? For example Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" is a counter-discourse to Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", in the case of "Abeng" what is the opposed work?

[@masoodraja]

Thabk you. I don’t think there is any single canonical work that it is countering.

[@khokha6728]

@@masoodraja Thank you for your reply

[@mayarayman4500]

Thank you so much! But please what is the name of the novel, that you applied this concept on it, is it 'The bank of the river by Michael Richan?

[@masoodraja]

I think you mean Abeng by Michelle Cliff. Here is a video on that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hX3GoIWcnqaYnrM

[@muhammadwaqarazeem9430]

Thanks for summing it up so lucidly. Any text other than Culture and Imperialism where Said elaborates contrapuntal? Or any other book on contrapuntal reading you might suggest?

[@masoodraja]

I am not sure if he explains it in any other book but he does practice it. This seems to be an interesting article on it if you can access it: muse.jhu.edu/article/416160

[@ayayouche633]

Can we apply Contrapuntal Reading to Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy) by Naguib Mahfouz? I noticed that some of the characters are silent against the corruption and the colonization of Britain to their land. Is possible to apply this concept on them? By the way, your videos are so insightful, thanks

[@masoodraja]

Yes, but please read the Said text carefully before you decide to use it to read any novel.

[@harshilldhingra4984]

Thank Mr. Raja, excellent explanation. My question is Can and How we apply this contrapuntal reading to Films made by Western people about the former colonies or the third world eg. slumdog millionnaire, Extraction. Those are made my white people. What about the ones made by the former colonized based in the west eg. Mira Nair, Salaam Bombay, etc. I've seen the problematic part is the goal of the characters in these movies is very western (like the materilistic american dream) but the characters are themselves indian/pak, etc. So in a way the stories are to promote the Western status quo and not focusing on the actual lives of these people.

[@masoodraja]

Yes, you can take the concept and apply it to any text or media. Just make sure to read the text (Said’s text) carefully did that you understand it better and then you can use it more effectively.

[@harshilldhingra4984]

@@masoodraja is it normal that i read almost every page twice, still didn't grasp much from it. İt's a very hard book to read. İ think your video really helped me. Please make a whole series about this book or let me know if the paid course includes it.

[@masoodraja]

I will probably do some recordings on it soon. Probably after I finish Orientalism. I also read every text several times before I get it. So, keep trying. I have no paid course that includes this.

[@moilautre831]

Hello :) here I try to give you an exemple that may help you. In William Friedkin's movie Rules of Engagement that I worked on it, we can see how american children and arab children are differently represented in the movie. American children are represented as joyfull, "physically clean" and putting nice wearings however arab children are represented as agressif looking dirty and poor so I think this is an image that makes us, from a contrapuntal reading, ask the question: why they are represented different? The movie tries to simplify this question and so it makes quick answers like they are different because both american and arab cultures are basically different. And it is due to different educationnal notions in both sides and another answer can be simply the result of rich and developed american society against arab less developed and poor society, then the movie simplifies and gives a mere lecture and interpretation of visual difference...The movie never proposes the idea for exemple that this difference between both societies is the result of western hegemony and the production of longtime colonization, the movie doesn't mention that the displacement and dispossession of the Other's resources and wealth can be also the reason of poverty and "bad looking" of arab children whose their land and culture were illegally exploited. The movie, which is considered as the most racist in american cinema history, does never depict these characters/ actors objectively in space and history because in a structural sense of the story/ synopsis of the movie the richness and good education of american children depends also on the dominance of arab space (wealth) and history (culture). The structure of the act of being superior depends also on the act of being dominator. I think when we try to read a novel (or a movie) "contrapuntally" we have to try to "deconstruct" (Jaques Derrida) its structure to show what is not seen, not mentioned and not spoken in order to make such an order and logic to this structure and to legitimate its sense in space and history. I just hope that this can be helpful and i hope also that contrapuntal reading here is applied correctly on this exemple. thank you :)

[@masoodraja]

@@moilautre831 Yes, in my understanding a contrapuntal reading will highlight the inherent biases and inequalities but also what a text, including the movies, takes fir granted or privileges.