The Importance Of Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation has been in the limelight over the years and this controversial topic has sparked off many debates. According to Sherwood (2017), the term “cultural appropriation” is defined as the act of adopting the elements of one culture by members of the presiding culture. It comes in many different forms, ranging from food, fashion to even music. While it may be deemed to be necessary for one to appreciate another’s culture, cultural appropriation, when used with the wrong intention, can potentially harm the society. This is especially so in America’s music industry or more specifically, black music.
Cultural appropriation is especially problematic in this aspect because most of the time the contributors, which are the
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(Gray,
2017) Although, there are some who argued that the whites are really just curious to learn about the styles of different genres. While this may be true to a certain degree, it is very difficult to ascertain the true intentions behind the appropriators and because of this, there is an equal chance that the whites are just trying to reap the profits off the black through appropriation.
Furthermore, cultural appropriation undermines the originating culture. Very often, the originating culture are seen to be disrespected by the appropriators as ideas are borrowed without a deep understanding of the culture concerned. For instance, Bresnahan (2016) mentioned that just last year, Coldplay’s and Beyoncé’s music video for the song “Hymm for the Weekend” in which Beyoncé was portrayed as a Bollywood actress, sparked a lot of anger among the public as it was seen as a form of stereotype towards the blacks. Indeed, such acts can have a catastrophic impact on the originating culture as they might be misunderstood by the public, resulting in them being marginalised and alienated.
In order to mitigate the problems that come with cultural appropriation, measures such as
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Hence, taking into account of the benefit cultural appropriation can bring about, here are some suggested solutions that can effectively resolve the problem of cultural “misappropriation” and yet allow for countries to continue exchanging cultural elements. One way to achieve this would be through education. Like what most people say, education empowers. By instilling common knowledge of cross cultural sensitivity onto the general public from a young age, they will be able to comprehend the importance of thoroughly understanding another culture before borrowing ideas from them. Unfortunately, educating a person takes time and therefore this measure can only be effective in the long run. As a result, short term measures must also be implemented in complement with education and one possible example would be the signing of an agreement between the cultures involved. Embedded within this agreement would be the sharing of profits generated so that the appropriated culture will not be exploited. As long as both sides can come to a common consensus, cultural appropriation can still continue, thereby not hindering culture
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What I Pledge Allegiance To By Kiese Laymon
607 Words | 3 PagesCultural Appropriation is a problem because we do not choose to accept other people livelihoods. “ cultural appropriation typically involves members of a dominant group exploiting the culture of less privileged groups.” (Little, Cultural). That is the society we live in today, we do not want to understand other cultures, race, and ideas. It is like when our mothers say don’t judge a book by its cover, it is the most important lesson we can all learn in this lifetime.
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Summary Of Three Cheers For Cultural Appropriation
705 Words | 3 PagesIt's especially terrible when those doing the stealing are "rich" […] and those they are stealing from are "poor." to define cultural appropriation. Not only does this definition not cover the complexity of this term, it gives no room to qualify the examples given by this author. Weiss' simplification of this term makes cultural appropriation seem blown out of proportion which in turn compliments his argument that cultural appropriation accusations are over dramatically labeling the simple blending of cultures that are directly related to the success of America. Aside from this, Weiss' examples of the MTV music awards, including references to Kendrick Lamar, accused of "borrowing Asian dress", Katy Perry, accused of "caricaturing African-American women", and Beyoncé, accused of "exploiting Persian culture", and their respective acts of cultural appropriation. Weiss effectively includes these examples of "cultural appropriation" to show his audience how the term "cultural appropriation" is excessively applied to "every corner of American life".
Blackface Minstrelsy In African-American Culture
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Other Wes Moore
554 Words | 3 PagesIntroduction: We as a society face many issues. Due to our diversity as a country, the values and beliefs of one culture battle against another. II. We must address the current standing issues that we face, but before we can do that, we must understand them.
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847 Words | 4 PagesCulture is easily influenced and is constantly shifting as it passes through various racial and ethnic interactions and exchanges. “With your liberal minds, you patronize our culture, scanning the surface like vultures, with your tourist mentality, we’re still the natives. You’re multicultural, but we’re anti-racist. We ain’t ethnic, exotic or eclectic” (Prashad, 56). This refers to when cultures are commodified and picked apart without taking both the negatives with the perceived positives.
An Indian Father's Plea '
628 Words | 3 PagesEvery day we use our culture. Whether it be to argue claims, express opinions, or make decisions, culture plays a part in each area. Culture is who we are, one’s identity, its extent is enormous over our views and actions. A person grows up surrounded with culture at a young age. This can affect how they learn and what they learn.
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615 Words | 3 PagesPercival Everett’s short story entitled, “The Appropriation of Cultures” explores themes of irony and absurdity. The irony lies within each and every page. The story begins with Daniel, who is a young and successful black man with a degree from Brown University. He is also a musician and frequently played old tunes with a group of musicians. The story then shifts as white frat boys make suggestions of what the musicians should play, “One night, some white boys from a fraternity yellow forward to the stage at the black man holding the acoustic guitar and began to shout, ‘Play ‘Dixie’ for us!
Cultural Appropriation In The Native American
1068 Words | 5 PagesCultural appropriation is the product of globalisation in the 21st century. Fashion designers from around the globe are continuously appropriating from one another. Cultural appropriation refers to the adoption of cultural elements from other cultures (Young, 2008). Appropriation has given the freedom to the dominant group to dress beautifully; however, it has devastating consequences for the minority group being appropriated, particularly the Native Americans. For decades, social activists were unsuccessful in stopping companies from selling Native inspired designs (Trevor, 2016).
The Noble Or Ignoble Savage: A Cultural Appropriation Of American Culture
1494 Words | 6 PagesThroughout American history, the population of the country has become more and more diverse, and with this growth in diversity comes the growth of the diversity of cultures in this society. However, cultural appropriation has become a problem as the American society became more and more diverse throughout the course of the years. Cultural appropriation is the theft of one culture’s intellectual property or key beliefs, generally by a larger culture, and then this larger culture using what is taken from a minority culture incorrectly or inappropriately. Cultural appropriation perpetuates many of the stereotypes found within American society, and it also is a main contributor to the misinterpretations of minority cultures within the country.
Appropriating Native American Imagery Honors No One But The Prejudice Summary
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Hip Hop And R & B Thesis
647 Words | 3 PagesCultural appropriation: The integration of indigenous music into commercialized genres like Hip Hop and R&B may be seen as cultural appropriation, as it often neglects the historical and spiritual significance behind traditional sounds. This can result in the commodification of indigenous culture and a detachment from its original context. 2. Dilution of traditional sounds: Blending indigenous music with mainstream genres runs the risk of diluting the authenticity and uniqueness of traditional sounds by conforming them to Western musical structures and standards.
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1219 Words | 5 PagesIn any academic platform plagiarism is a major offence. How is cultural appropriation any different? Aspects of certain cultures are used and wrongly made to belong to the appropriator. Taking someone’s culture is undoubtedly as wrong as plagiarism; however there is no punishment for the
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