Expression as an immigrant in your colonizing nation

[timotee_allouch-chantepie]

The song Empire Empire offers a glimpse into how South Asia’s living in the UK artistically express their stories, and their histories. What is extremely relevant to the larger sociological analysis is to go further than the lyrics of the song, which clearly condemns the British Empire and its behavior in the Raj it controlled. If we listen to the music itself, we hear something of an oriental, South Asia ambiance, but in a westernized fashion. The accented beat muffled by a controlled chaos reminds us of the UK’s rebellious punk scene of the 80’s and 90’s. What’s interesting with this is that the song loosely or strongly, depending on much you hear it, borrows from this format. Despite being able to draw parallels between the rebellious anti-monarchic youth of the 80’s in the United Kingdom and the anti-colonial South Asian populations, it remains to me a paradox that to express something against the United Kingdom, this song uses integrated an aspect of the UK’s culture.
There are a few theories I have drawn from this:

1. If the target audience of this song is the British people to get them to understand the message, spreading your message in a way they can understand it is more efficient.
2. The immigrant populations of South Asia have become naturally influenced by their life in the UK and this is a sign of unconscious integration despite the song’s message that is deeply rooted in the origins of the artist.
3. This is a voluntary message that the artist wished to pass along, the message being that there is a persisted grasp on South Asian culture by the UK that South Asians must push away. This would explain why the last few seconds of the song are free of all the UK punk influence and remind us a more of a simpler, less confusing theme.

Whether any of the theories work, it is undeniable that the UK has had tremendous influence on South Asian culture, and South Asians living in the UK are individually and collectively faced with a balance they must tip themselves between assimilation and heritage.