Customer Reviews

Post-modern rap - By: conjunction, 26 Feb 2006
This is a post-modern take on race, racism, & particularly anti-racismin Britain between 1945 & 1985. Its fundamental suggestion seems to be that traditional Marxist approaches are not fully helpfulin appreciating the value & significance of race issues. The book's emphasis is towards the Afro-Caribbean experience & looks closely at the anti-racist movements of the seventies & also & the popular music of the black 'diaspora'in Britain, the US & the Caribbean. In doing so it picks out the importance of culture as expressedin the life of the community & suggests revolution by a kind of cultural assertion.

Parts of the book verge on the unintelligible - 'These diverse elements combine syncreticallyin struggles to reconstruct a collective historical presence from the discontinuous, fractured histories of the African & Asian diasporas' - is fairly typical. Nevertheless Gilroy's enthusiasm & commitment comes through, he was there, you can smell the silk-screen presses making posters for Rock against Racism & get real insight into for instance what really happened on the Broadwater estate or the Bristol riots. There is a lot of detail &in my view a careful balance is maintained.

Gilroy adds a lengthy intro from 2002, somewhat more detached & resigned, but preserves his sense of humour. This is a very valuable overview of our 'multicultural society' for anyone who wants to penetrate the media waffle.