Colonialism, the Gaze, and Surveillance

David Spurr, in his book The Rhetoric of the Empire, seeks to dismantle the elements and rhetoric of colonialism and imperialism and their effects on the people and places where they are imposed.

Colonialism is, by definition, "control by one power over a dependent area or people" (Merriam-Webster). The colonizers believe that it is upon themselves to impose certain "better" modes of living upon the people and places that they enjoined. They take on a sort of "stewardship" in which they attempt to control, change, and nurture something or even someone that they deem to be under their care. However, this creates a number of issues, especially when they encounter an already settled people inhabiting the area which the colonizers wish to develop. The people that are already living there have their own ways of living and their own ideals. So, for the colonizers, to be able to enforce the natives to become "colonized," need to assert a dominance or superiority that eventually bends or forces the natives to either adapt to their way of life. And if the natives refuse to conform, then the colonizers use their false dominance to force them from their land.

There are two important elements that a colonizer will employ when trying to assert their superiority. One is "the gaze" and the other is "surveillance" (Spurr).

"The gaze" is method for viewing the people or cultures in to which the colonizers have stumbled. The gaze allows for the colonizer to view the habits, motions, and customs of a person or group of people. They can then report or analyze what they've seen, however they are never a part of the culture they view, thus leaving their view very limited. For example, a person comes across a group with whom they are not familiar. The person takes note of their clothing, their movements, and speech. He may take into account the groups mannerisms or habits. When the person leaves, he takes with him what he saw, but there's very little depth or understanding. There's no history and a lot of generalization.

The gaze is extremely effective when it comes to ordering or controlling a people or place. With the gaze, a colonizer can view an entire culture without ever relating to or fully understanding what they're seeing. It's a restricted view that allows the colonizer to see it all in a distant and inhuman manner. It allows the gazer to gain a command over what they see, thus moving them into a position of power which is key when trying to force others to live your way.

"Surveillance" is very similar, though on a broader scale. We often see surveillance occurring in descriptions of places or events. The surveyor is often in a position where they can see a great deal. They have a wider and more commanding view of everything occurring around them. For example, a surveyor may be standing on a hilltop, detailing all they can see below them, from the far stretching fields and trees, to the rivers and surrounding hilltops. It's a very detailed landscape view, perhaps, but there's no idea of the people or life that resides in that view. The surveyor is at a vantage point from which they can see all, but those being seen cannot see the surveyor. They are in a constant position of inferiority since their view is limited to what is surrounding them. Again, the surveyor has achieved a specific type of superiority that is key when trying to control or order the world that they view.

The gaze and surveillance have often been employed for "reading" and documenting on Native American cultures. The colonizers who came across Native American tribes would have generally maintained a certain distance since they wished to colonize their land and use their resources. The gaze and surveillance would have been employed so as to gain a scope of the people whom they wished to adapt to their way of life or simply force off their land. Their "readings" of the people would have been the distant, outsider view that left the Native American's in a place of inferiority and misunderstanding. The colonizers would have documented a culture that they had only nicked the surface of, a culture they neither understood nor identified with. This would have led to the stereotypes of Native American's and the loss of their individual identities in the eyes of the settlers.