Master narratives

Master narratives

Master narratives have the power to influence the perspective from which we view the world around us. The danger in a single story perspective is in the many other possible aspects of the phenomenon hidden from our view once we choose this approach. While master narratives can be used to positively impact the world through promotion and emphasis on sustainability and equity, the negative use poses more threat. In America, for example, racism has been perpetuated over centuries with the myopic view that Americans are white. This perspective has been propagated through history by the information carried down, showing the term ‘American’ in ‘white’ light. It is from this perspective that Americans that are not white have a prefix attached to their American-ness. Such prefixes seem reasonable now and seem to work towards identifying the American’s descent (Finnie & Wizner, 2019). However, their relevance has been overtaken by time. Some of those people in the current generation of Americans were born and bred in America, making them no less American than their white counterparts..

Ronald Takaki shares his experience of the master narrative attached to race in America in his book ‘A Different Mirror’. The writer was born and has lived all his life in America. He shares how he is always viewed as a foreigner simply because of his Japanese descent. The automatic assumption that he is not American simply because he does not fit the profile of how a typical American should look is a testament to the stereotype attached to the racial master narrative perpetuated in America (Takaki, 2012). Even when he is finally identified as American, his American-ness is attached to a prefix. Notably, there has never been a word used as White-American. This shows that the default setting of being American is white, which requires no prefix. Such a view demonstrates the extent to which the racial master narrative in America has subtly taken hold and is now viewed as normal.

References

Finnie, S. M., & Wizner, A. D. (2019). Unlocking the master narrative: History and intercultural communication.  United States: Cognella Academic Publishing.

Takaki, R. (2012). A Different Mirror. La Vergne: EBookIt.com.