Monte Carlo Hosts Imperialism

Themed Paper Lantern

Monte Carlo has always been my favorite event at K. A night of cards and fine clothes placed right in the middle of the glum winter is always a real pick-me-up. And that was no different this year; what was different was an tactless theme that reveals deep-seated ignorance toward both Western cultural imperialism and the inability of our society to discriminate between East Asian cultures. Surprising for a college whose entire image is built on international understanding.

First, let us contextualize the period referenced, when Shanghai was the “Paris of China,” as the event’s Facebook page put it. Europeans made up a little more than one percent of the town but were the only ones who could own riverfront property. The town layout was based on British models and even included a racetrack. The Orientalist dominators called themselves “Shanghighlanders.” And Shanghai, of course, passively let this happen, sedated by both the wealth of their oppressors and the recent cultural memory of the Opium Wars, in which the English used their superior technology and weaponry to kill armies trying to keep drugs out of China—China learned the hard way to let the West have its way with its people, culture, and economy. As patrons, what role were we playing on Saturday night? Shanghighlanders? Imperial aggressors?

Next, let's consider the aesthetic—paper lanterns, collapsible fans, and umbrellas spotted with blossoms. The lanterns are only for specific occasions—they have a useful material purpose. And as for the fans and umbrellas, a Chinese student agreed that though, at some point in the distant past, those motifs were Chinese, they have been more closely related to Japanese aesthetic since before the early modern period. There was even one faculty/staff chaperone in a kimono, an outfit that can only be called Japanese, ironic given Japan's own conquest to take over parts of China proximal to this period.

In a similar vein, what about those among both chaperones and students who chose to masquerade as Chinese through clothing choice? What power dynamics are involved in the import, sale, and donning of Chinese dresses in the U.S.? Such practice, out of the context of the ball, is not as innocent as it seems—it reflects a blind usurpation of cultural artifacts without knowledge of history or authenticity. In context, it's even worse: a sort of makeup-less yellowface, involved in the politics of the constructed East/West dichotomy—contemporary Chinese wear suits in submission to globalization, but we wear antiquated Chinese clothing to be fun and exotic.

For a school recently celebrating its 50th study abroad anniversary, the hallmark that has made it famous, that nobody on the Student Activities Committee recognized the self-apparent Orientalism of a “Shanghai Grand” theme is a shock.