The Postcolonial Discourse of Resistance and Violence in the Short Movie Jibaro (2022)

Abstract

Aim: Postcolonialism examines how narratives of the colonizing culture distort the experiences of the colonized, who strive to articulate identity and reclaim their past in the face of imposed otherness. The ‘other’ is portrayed as lacking identity and legitimacy. Resistance remains central to postcolonial discourse and often appears as subversion, opposition or mimicry. The short movie Jibaro (2022), directed by Alberto Mielgo for Love, Death and Robots season 3 on Netflix, presents a haunting relationship between colonizer and colonized marked by violence, resistance and destruction. This paper studies these issues in the narrative of Jibaro (2022).

Methodology and Approach: The paper examines postcolonial concerns in Jibaro (2022) from a theoretical perspective. It evaluates the role of violence and resistance within a postcolonial framework and is analytical and descriptive in nature.

Outcome: Jibaro (2022) employs the figures of a conquistador and a deadly siren to depict themes of conquest, inversion of power and tragic mutual loss, making it a postcolonial parable. The narrative highlights how colonial expansion shaped cultural domains and projected dominance as natural. It suggests that power between colonizer and colonized is reversible and destructive.

Conclusion and Suggestions: The film explores colonialism, greed and toxic relationships, with the siren symbolizing the native inhabitant. The paper emphasizes the destructive nature of colonial ambition, where both colonizer and colonized become trapped in a cycle of violence, desire and mutual ruin.