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Perspectives of cultural appropriation
Perspectives of cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation introduction
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Cultural Appropriation
Culture is the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Cultural appropriation, the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of another culture, has become extremely overused and has lost all meaning in our society. What started out reasonably (i.e. to prevent racism) has morphed into selfishness and complete idiocy (i.e. preventing the usage of inventions like canoes).[7] Cultural appropriation had a low, steady amount of attention until late 2013, when the topic exploded.[4] Eradication of cultural appropriation is impossible and even if it was possible, it would be detrimental to our civilization.
Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation
No one is attempting
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In response to the ludicrous question, “Are non-ethnic scholars able to successfully research minorities,” Harvard Graduate and Columbia University sociology professor Robert K. Merton simply says, “For there is nothing so irrelevant in telling the truth as the color of a man’s skin.” [6]
If “Cultural Appropriation” Ruled
If society truly played by the “rule” of cultural appropriation (Stick with your own kind and don’t take anything from others.) then our world would be a lot different, a lot more divided, and a lot less efficient. Some examples are as follows:
Only French people could have pasteurized milk[5]
Only Americans could be vaccinated for Polio [1]
Only Chinese people could use paper
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However, both events are being compared and used as examples of cultural appropriation. This museum is probably petrified to try any other sort of interactive learning exhibit. This is an example of what society will look like if these ideals take hold and become popular. No one will want to contribute new ideas or learn about old ones for fear of having these ideas stolen or being accused of appropriation. Society adopting this train of thought would be a major step backward in the unity and advancement of exploration of mankind’s
Omi & Winant, Bonilla-Silva, and Loveman all have different approach in understanding the distinction between ethnicity and race. Omi & Winant and Bonilla-silva all made a distinction between ethnicity and race, and study race through the lens of power relation, while Loveman argued that it is important to study these two side by side. DuBois articulate blackness as both race and ethnicity with the approach of “Double-Consciousness”.
One is bound to influence the other. Take New York’s music scene for example, it is a melting pot for all types of cultures and all thrive off of on another. But for one culture to take something from that culture and put it off as their own that is wrong. This is why cultural appropriation is a different problem all within itself. Cultural appropriation has next to nothing to do with someone’s exposure to different cultures. Cultural appropriation has more to do with the fact that someone from a privilege background or lifestyle exploiting someone’s culture from a less than privileged background hence Iggy Azalea, Katy Perry, Elvis Presley, and Miley Cyrus. This is more than often done through ethnic and racial means all while having little to no understanding of the history, experience, or
Cultural appropriation, characterized comprehensively as the utilization of a society's images, curios, types, customs, or innovations by parts of an alternate society,
“Cultural appropriation refers to picking and choosing elements of a culture by a member of another culture without permission” (O’Reilly). For example, white people steal certain parts of African American culture. They exploit it, misuse it, and whitewash it. “Exploiting a culture deprives the culture of the credit they rightfully
Cultural Appropriation is not only undeniable but also unavoidable in a mixing bowl society. Yet, though one cannot help but be intrigued by other cultures, it is important for one to realize that when one “borrows” cultural aspects without proper representation and/or permission is not a form of appreciation but rather appropriation. For this reason, it is not only suggested but required for people in a salad bowl society to learn the difference between borrowing and taking. Just as you would want your image to be respected and properly acknowledge, one must make it a personal duty, to never for this reason, misrepresent or disregard another’s
Cultural appropriation is a great injustice that is plagued throughout the history of music. As humans began to settle down into communities and civilizations, people now had time to focus on activities and studies other than those needed for basic survival. All over the world, humans began making music and art. Each group of people developed their own musical instruments, as well as their own guidelines and expectations of what music was and should be. As time went on and these civilizations began to convolve, so did their music. Some composers in Europe heard compositions from Asia and took influence from their styles and techniques, and vice versa. On the surface this seems quite harmless, and I admit that it is in this circumstance. However, it wasn’t always this just.
This also brings up the questions of: Can cultural appropriation be defined and can it be avoided? With the new fads of Chinese character tattoo's, Hindu god t-shirts, and the selling of such things as Native sweat lodge kits and ceremonies, does this not show that North Americans can appreciate other cultures and that western culture has become a product of a multicultural society.1 Through examples of film and art, sports, and religion, I will answer the following questions and specifically how cultural appropriation has affected North American First Nation peoples. There is much confusion when it comes to the meaning of cultural appropriation. The literal meaning begins with Culture-Anthropological: the sum total of the attainments and learned behaviour patterns of any specific period, race or people; Appropriation's meaning is to take for one's own use.[2] Most people today then know cultural appropriation then as "to take someone else's culture to use for your own purpose".2 I believe that the argument is not that appropriation is "stealing", as some people claim, but that it does matter how a person goes about putting to use the knowledge
Some believe that, cultures are meant to be shared. Others believe that cultural appropriation actually helps cultures grow. It is easy to see how these conclusions are made, especially in such a diverse country, and in such a changing time, when the faraway Asia can be reached with the click of a button. It can seem to many as simply a bindi at a music festival, or even a post on a blog about cornrows. Quite simply, in the 21st century it is hard to educate millions to follow an opinion, because in the end, people will do what they please, even it means debilitating a culture. “Cultures are not intrinsically valuable, nor should they be preserved by virtue of their uniqueness. Cultures emerge from different groups of people trying to best navigate the world. Sometimes, they do a good job. Other times, they do a bad job. If a bad cultural trait emerges, it should be destroyed and replaced – no different than bad theories about physics or mathematics.” This is a belief many hold today, and will not understand unless explained to, the main problem is the willingness to
Cultural exchange is the foundation of cultural appropriation. Cultural exchange entails ‘the swapping of language, ideas, customs and social behavior’ between two cultures. As McLuhan correctly predicts, the world has become more globally connected, making the process of cultural exchange - through the advancements of technology - to be extremely prevalent in today’s society. ‘Cultural appropriation is inescapable, but that is not to say all acts of appropriation are equal.’ (Richard A. Rogers, 2006). As noted by Rogers, not all acts of appropriation are equal, some acts are offensive and others have no
An object of oppression, a tool used for marginalization and the demonstration of exploitation; the term cultural appropriation has plagued many cultural groups for many generations. Culture appropriation occurs when one uses or borrows components from another culture. It can be both destructive and beneficial; it really just depends on the target group being affected. The agent group merely borrows the essence of the target group, than reproduces it in their own manner. Primarily, taking the credit, miss using cultural traditions, characteristics, items or practices. Culture appropriation is a social justice issue for many cultures, in particular groups identifying as non-white western society members. This paper will focus on the issue of
A museum gives us insight on the culture from an out standing point of view, and the things we are shown are supposed to be looked at from the outside. The people who decided what things to exhibit did not belong to that community saw it, and decided what they considered is different to what we are used to, and what we would be interested in learning from that. The display of things in a Museum are things that we look at as something that is outside from normal. In contrast to the movie or movies, where scenes substantially show how the person felt and dealt with situations and tools from their own perspective, with their own knowledge and experience and through different means such as real images, sounds, language and others produces a different knowledge on the racial discourse. When looking at exhibitions in museums the other culture is unknown, and almost uncomfortable to us, but in movies we can be standing in their
Albert Turner 27 March 2017 Fiction Essay: The Appropriation of Cultures In the short story, Appropriation of cultures, the protagonist used resistance against racial formalities to structure a new ideal, about symbols that many found offensive or viewed as negative. For instance, the protagonist, Daniel, was asked to sing a “racist” melody. When faced with something like this, a typical African American individual can feel some sort of tension, which he did feel at first. However, instead of acting on this feeling of anxiety and intimidation, he chose to overcome the internal conflict at hand. He created his own musical influence, by ignoring the negative connotation attached to the original musical production. These actions
“Today the charge of cultural appropriation has become the means to police people's taste,choice of clothe, the food they eat and even the way they dance and sing.” This quote the author examines says that people are not allowed to wear what you want to, sing what you want to, eat what you want to. For example you want to try a foreign dish but you are accused of cultural appropriation even though all you wanted was food. This example is important because if you weren't allowed to try new things then you might be more welcoming to people from other
Media in some cases can become positive to the cause of a social problem and in other aspects it can hurt the movement. Within the past serval years, cultural appropriation has become normalized in the media, whether it be fashion, music, dance etc. it has been looked past constantly. This topic of cultural appropriation has caused a significant problem through social medias such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr Most trends have changed drastically recently, whether it be beauty to
from all walks of life. Brendan O’Neil’s, editor of Spiked and a columnist for The Australian and The Big Issue, wrote in his article, “The idea of ‘cultural appropriation’ sums up everything rotten in today’s intensifying politics of identity. It’s fuelled by the borderline racist idea that to mix cultures is bad.” The stance against culture appropriation is not about halting the mixture of culture, it is to try to explain the importance of learning about, appreciating, and then applying it the correct way. Cultures should but not for fashion or profit, but for educational purposes. It is important to learn about the many cultures and unique styles in the