Cultural Cringe in Vekllei

Part of the culture series of articles

Cultural cringe is an expression to describe the perceived internalised inferiority of Vekllei people towards their continental neighbours and, more specifically, their former colonial masters. It is part of a broader discourse on post-colonialism in Vekllei and influences local identity, art and culture to this day.

In its basic form, cultural cringe is a colonial mindset of inferiority common enough to be observed in Vekllei. It is the sense that Vekllei art and culture are not much good and inferior to more sophisticated parent cultures in Britain, the United States, France and Portugal. It was first used in a Vekllei context in 2023 by Prime Minister Regular Campbell of Lucaya, who said:

“The Atlantic person will soon settle space, but he will always carry with him the mark of a servant. This cultural cringe is a recurring phenomenon across the former British Commonwealth […] and dogs everything we do.”

In parts of Vekllei, this phenomenon is closely related to the history of slavery in Vekllei’s colonised republics, and is sometimes called a “slave mentality” or a “servant’s mentality.” There is a general sense that unless a Vekllei artist or intellectual spends time overseas, preferably in London or New York, they are assumed to be deficient in comparison to foreign artists. Another factor of this idea is the abundance of casual art and hobbyism in Vekllei, which reinforces the expectation that Vekllei art is shoddy, inferior and basically plebian.

This sense carries on throughout all manner of cultural life in Vekllei, and extends to their consumer products. Part of it is exoticism and scarcity; a lot of it is the sense that British or American products are made with better hands in a better kind of culture. This experience is not a general inferiority, in which Vekllei people have no pride or satisfaction in their own country, but it does affect how they think of their achievements. It is especially common with older generations, many of whom have sharp, anxious memories of British occupation. A cocktail of shame, gratitude, admiration and fear manifested in the memory of a ration book has had substantial cultural impacts down the line.

The phenomenon occurs all over the country, which has common, though disparate colonial origins. It is most pronounced in anglophonic and francophonic republics, particularly those with strong links to the United States and Britain. It also reflects the history by which Vekllei gathered independence slowly and over time, and the reoccupation of the Volcanic Commonwealth after the Oslolan Civil War. It has been improved by Vekllei music finding success overseas and an increasing international appreciation for Vekllei culture, but still persists as a form of cultural alienation in the country today.