,COM2614 Assignment 1 (COMPLETE ANSWERS)
Semester 2 2025 – DUE 15 September 2025; 100%
TRUSTED Complete, trusted solutions and
explanations.
3 Different Essays Provided
Whose Story? A Decolonial Analysis of Power, Knowledge, and
Voice in Dahomey (2024)
Introduction
The 2024 documentary Dahomey, directed by Mati Diop, follows the
return of looted artefacts from French museums to Benin, exploring
questions of ownership, memory, and epistemic justice. This subject is
deeply relevant to decolonial communication analysis because it
addresses not only the material restitution of objects but also the
symbolic restitution of knowledge, history, and cultural voice. At stake
is more than the physical relocation of artworks: it is the power to define
whose knowledge is legitimate, whose narratives dominate, and whose
memories are preserved.
Drawing on the African Perspectives in Global Context framework, this
essay argues that Dahomey exposes the enduring power of colonial
knowledge systems in the global museum industry while simultaneously
creating space for African voices to reclaim agency. However, the film
also demonstrates the tensions within decolonial approaches, particularly
the risk of essentialising cultural identity and overlooking global media
dynamics.
, Main Analysis
Colonial Legacies and Historical Context
The artefacts at the centre of Dahomey were taken during French
colonial expeditions in the late 19th century, housed for over a century
in the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. Their presence in France
symbolises what Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (1986) calls the ―cultural bomb‖ of
colonialism — the erasure of African histories and the elevation of
Western institutions as the custodians of universal knowledge. By
tracing their return, the documentary underscores how colonial power
extended beyond political rule into epistemic dominance, shaping who
had the authority to curate and interpret African culture.
Representation and Agency
A central question in decolonial communication is: Who speaks, and
who is spoken for? In Dahomey, Mati Diop deliberately centres the
voices of Beninese students and artists who reflect on the meaning of
restitution. These perspectives challenge the dominance of European
curators and anthropologists, shifting interpretive power back to African
communities. The use of voice-over — particularly imagined
perspectives of the artefacts themselves — disrupts Western
documentary conventions by granting subjectivity to what colonial
discourse treated as ―objects.‖ This creative choice reflects Walter
Mignolo’s (2011) notion of ―epistemic disobedience,‖ refusing
Eurocentric categories of knowledge.
Knowledge Systems and Epistemic Justice
The documentary highlights competing knowledge systems: Western
museums present themselves as guardians of ―universal heritage,‖ while
Beninese scholars and communities assert that the artefacts’ meanings
cannot be separated from their cultural, ritual, and spiritual contexts.
This contrast illustrates the decolonial critique of the hierarchy of
knowledge, where European archival practices are privileged over
Semester 2 2025 – DUE 15 September 2025; 100%
TRUSTED Complete, trusted solutions and
explanations.
3 Different Essays Provided
Whose Story? A Decolonial Analysis of Power, Knowledge, and
Voice in Dahomey (2024)
Introduction
The 2024 documentary Dahomey, directed by Mati Diop, follows the
return of looted artefacts from French museums to Benin, exploring
questions of ownership, memory, and epistemic justice. This subject is
deeply relevant to decolonial communication analysis because it
addresses not only the material restitution of objects but also the
symbolic restitution of knowledge, history, and cultural voice. At stake
is more than the physical relocation of artworks: it is the power to define
whose knowledge is legitimate, whose narratives dominate, and whose
memories are preserved.
Drawing on the African Perspectives in Global Context framework, this
essay argues that Dahomey exposes the enduring power of colonial
knowledge systems in the global museum industry while simultaneously
creating space for African voices to reclaim agency. However, the film
also demonstrates the tensions within decolonial approaches, particularly
the risk of essentialising cultural identity and overlooking global media
dynamics.
, Main Analysis
Colonial Legacies and Historical Context
The artefacts at the centre of Dahomey were taken during French
colonial expeditions in the late 19th century, housed for over a century
in the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. Their presence in France
symbolises what Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (1986) calls the ―cultural bomb‖ of
colonialism — the erasure of African histories and the elevation of
Western institutions as the custodians of universal knowledge. By
tracing their return, the documentary underscores how colonial power
extended beyond political rule into epistemic dominance, shaping who
had the authority to curate and interpret African culture.
Representation and Agency
A central question in decolonial communication is: Who speaks, and
who is spoken for? In Dahomey, Mati Diop deliberately centres the
voices of Beninese students and artists who reflect on the meaning of
restitution. These perspectives challenge the dominance of European
curators and anthropologists, shifting interpretive power back to African
communities. The use of voice-over — particularly imagined
perspectives of the artefacts themselves — disrupts Western
documentary conventions by granting subjectivity to what colonial
discourse treated as ―objects.‖ This creative choice reflects Walter
Mignolo’s (2011) notion of ―epistemic disobedience,‖ refusing
Eurocentric categories of knowledge.
Knowledge Systems and Epistemic Justice
The documentary highlights competing knowledge systems: Western
museums present themselves as guardians of ―universal heritage,‖ while
Beninese scholars and communities assert that the artefacts’ meanings
cannot be separated from their cultural, ritual, and spiritual contexts.
This contrast illustrates the decolonial critique of the hierarchy of
knowledge, where European archival practices are privileged over
