Imperial Encore: The Cultural Project of the Late British Empire by Caroline Ritter

Abstract

Reviewed by: Imperial Encore: The Cultural Project of the Late British Empire by Caroline Ritter Nelson Costa Ribeiro Imperial Encore: The Cultural Project of the Late British Empire By Caroline Ritter. Oakland: University of California Press, 2021. Imperial Encore: The Cultural Project of the Late British Empire demonstrates the importance of culture in supporting colonial rule and sustaining the British influence in Africa after the empire was brought to an end. The book focuses on drama, books and broadcasting to demonstrate how these three cultural industries were used as tools to promote British values and interests from the 1930s to the 1980s. Ritter's work is innovative for three main reasons. First, she adopts a multimedia perspective, enlightening how different media and cultural institutions developed in similar manners and, on many occasions, joined forces "to spread British values and the English language around the world" (7). Second, by demonstrating the continuities between the colonial and postcolonial periods, the book offers a refreshing perspective on how British cultural diplomacy developed after the end of the Empire. Ritter convincingly argues that cultural agencies used structures and their own image and credibility established during the colonial period to continue to pursue their aim of promoting British culture and interests in the new African nations. Third, Imperial Encore is entirely dedicated to the promotion of British culture and interests in Africa, a continent that has been the focus of less attention from scholars in comparison with other geographical regions of the British Empire. The book details the operations of several British institutions, with a special focus on the BBC, the British Council and Oxford University Press. Throughout the years, the BBC and the British Council, being official institutions, had to adapt to changes in policy but, nevertheless, as Ritter argues, they also propagated their own views of British culture. In Africa, both institutions started by targeting the white elites; a policy that remained mostly unchanged until after the Suez crisis when the British government funded the BBC to broadcast in African languages and urged the British Council to reach African audiences through performances by British actors and actresses who were sent to Africa on tour. On the other hand, Oxford University Press and other publishing firms, despite being commercial companies, took a central role in promoting the English language through their English courses that were widely taught throughout Africa under colonial rule and also after decolonisation. When reading the book, one question that may arise is what led the author to focus on plays, radio and books while disregarding other cultural productions, namely film. Even though Ritter does not answer this question directly, her research clearly demonstrates the relevance of her selection. While broadcasting became the medium that potentially could reach larger audiences, books and plays had a direct impact on education, which became a priority for the British authorities from the early 1960s. While the main investment prior to this had been in delivering British culture and language to the small number of well-educated urban elites, the new policy, enforced from the early 1960s, urged cultural institutions to encompass mass audiences. This had a clear impact on the theatre companies that were sent to perform in Africa as well as on the content of the broadcasts from the BBC. It was no longer the case that just reputable companies were sent to Africa, they were joined by amateur and provincial companies. The BBC too was pushed to "use entertainment to lure" (30) listeners so that these would stay for news and commentary. In practical terms, the black audiences that had been mostly ignored until the mid-1950s became the main targets just as Britain was losing its African colonies and would be left to "compete for postcolonial listeners" (103). One striking conclusion that emerges when reading the book is how little the UK government and the cultural institutions based in London knew about audiences in Africa, which illustrates their incapacity to understand the reality on the ground. The book comprises two parts: the first is dedicated to the colonial period and the second to the postcolonial period, when British cultural institutions struggled to become more inclusive regarding languages and also content (what...