Alyssa Wallingford
November 8, 2022
English 206
Professor Catherine Frank
Commodification of Culture
In chapter two of the book Venus Noire: Black Women and Colonial Fantasies in Nineteenth-Century France, author Robin Mitchell seeks to establish occurrences in history which exemplify the idea that commodifying women was common practice. In this chapter, she focuses specifically on France during the nineteenth century, as well as the political and historical reasoning as to why this commodification and objectification occurred. In using examples such as Venus Hottentot, she is using a Marxist form of critique to show this cultural and gendered commodification. At this time, France was going through many political and cultural strifes, and as a result of having disasters in their colonies, they projected that fear and anger onto black people, especially black women, as a form of the other, to be hated and unwelcome in this new french way of life. This kind of critique leads to larger questions of why people and cultures(especially western ones in this case) choose to commodify aspects of another culture, or even the people themselves. By separating these people from “normal” society and deeming them “the other”, it allows for the continuation of hate and the trading around of unfounded discrimination and injustice. And in identifying some of the causes for this, it can allow us to recognize these patterns and behaviors and ensure that they do not apply to how we treat others today. And if it does, recognize that and work on acceptable solutions.
This idea of “otherness” has been a source of conflict in a multitude of settings throughout history, and it is not one which seems to disappear over time, it simply changes forms. At the time of this writing and example of Venus Hottentot, the backbone of using these people as the “other” was to embody what was not ideal in France’s cultural standards of the time, at a point in their history where they were trying to reestablish what it meant to be French and exist in that culture. Ultimately, Sarah Baartmann became representative of a few different concepts of the time. The first was how she served as a tool for the promotion of larger discussions about race and gender roles that were deemed as acceptable (Mitchell 79). The second was reducing “black bodies” which were beginning to hold power in light of Napoleon’s failure in the colonies to more of a spectacle instead of a threat to the current “status quo”(Mitchell 79). Both of these concepts tie into the idea of Marxism and commodifying people as a result of the materialistic and capitalistic society we are living in.
This objectifying of Baartmann served to show uncivilized life, and in paintings, her form was exaggerated and she was viewed by other “savages” including some Irish men and a woman, furthering the ostracizing and creating a spectacle around her and how not to be a “savage” like the people depicted in the painting. Mitchell argues that “despite or perhaps because of their inaccuracy, these cartoons and prints serve as a useful mirror of French culture.”(Mitchell 71). This is an interesting concept because it has many applications to not only the past, but also to our society today. Even today, there are so many uses of the “other” to separate and condemn these people from society at large, leading to an overall more divided society when one of its original intentions was to unify. But this screen of unification simply serves as a thin wall shielding a much deeper division which will not bring any benefit to our society in the long run, and will perpetuate conflict, ultimately preventing true societal growth.
In conclusion, Mitchell seeks to explain some of the reasoning behind why Venus Hottentot became such a representation of how not to exist in French culture. This idea became such an integral part in what it meant to be French in that time of turmoil, and has many larger implications to understanding the uses of having “the other” and how it can unify groups of people, but with a heavy, unthinkable cost: the commodification of other living beings. The idea that a single person or object can become a symbol of so many different things without that being the original intention is a really important one, and one that is still relevant in our society today. Identifying these ideas in our society is an incredibly important step in creating a more accepting, and overall better society tomorrow.
Works Cited
Mitchell, Robin. Vénus Noire : Black Women and Colonial Fantasies in Nineteenth-Century France. Athens, Ga, The University Of Georgia Press, 2018, pp. 51–79, eng206-f22.uneportfolio.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4242/2022/11/Venus-Noire_Chap-2.pdf. Accessed 14 Nov. 2022.
Parker, Robert Dale. How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and Cultural Studies. 4th ed., New York, Oxford University Press, 2019, pp. 230-267.
