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Cultural appropriation effect in society
Cultural appropriation effect in society
Cultural appropriation pros and cons
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The purpose of this study is determine why and how African American music that’s is so deeply rooted into the community is being culturally appropriated. This is a topic that has been the on the foreground of race for years. Activists and celebrities like Adrienne Keene, DeRay McKesson, Azealia Banks, and Jesse Williams helped bring the issue into the national attention. Most of the world or better yet the appropriators have very little knowledge of what the word actually means. In order to understand the problem we must first understand the word Culture and Appropriation. Culture being defined as the beliefs, ideas, traditions, speech, and material objects associated with a particular group of people. Appropriation the action of taking something …show more content…
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 …show more content…
Being that African Americans were if not just getting their foot in the door as being looked at as human and beginning to be accepted in U.S. society at that time. Executives in the recording industry encouraged white artists attempt to replicate the sound of popular black musicians for profit. This resulted in music like rock-n-roll that is largely associated with whites and the African American pioneers who laid down the foundation for the music are forgotten or better yet not even heard of. Cultural appropriation is still remains a concern even
The Effects of African American Culture Appropriations on the Minority Black Culture The black culture is the minority culture in this instance and in most cases, it is dominated by the white culture which has imposed its ideas on them (Stuckey, 2013). When two different cultures come together, different types of cultural appropriations occur. These include transculturation, cultural dominance, and cultural exploitation. The appropriation between the white and black cultures, resulting in the African American culture, is defined by cultural dominance and exploitation.
During the Civil Rights era, African Americans changed the way people looked at music by ending the segregation in the music world and by making a well-known “soundtrack” and influence during the Civil Rights Movement.
Music nurtured the African American tradition and their struggle towards equality in the same century.... ... middle of paper ... ... Greensboro, N.C.: Morgan Reynolds Pub. Carter, D. (2009).
After many of World War II’s harmful effects, the 1950s served as a period of time of musical change that reflected the dynamic of society as well as the traditional norms and values. Many factors contributed to this transformation. For example, the civil rights movement heightened many racial tensions, and the music produced consequently manifested this tension in itself. Rock-n-roll and R&B music universalized music typically associated with African-Americans, and many African-American musicians gained fame; however, as with any relatively-widespread success, there were many musicians as well who missed their opportunities due to the same racial segregation. While “radical” genres such as R&B and rock-n-roll laid the foundation for music future forms of music, the standard pop, jazz, and country music adhered to traditional values, and thus continued to maintain popularity amidst phenomena such as the Elvis craze.
In this paper I’m going to show how African Americans have used hip hop and black hair are two ways in which African Americans embrace their culture and fight oppression. However, as we have reviewed in many classes, oppression is not easily escaped. So in this paper, I’m going to show how cultural appropriation is used as a way of oppressing black culture. So this paper is an expansion of what we have learned in the class.
The author’s thesis for this article is to establish that the copyright laws during this time influenced the African-American music industry, copyright laws were designed to help spread cultural production but ultimately the African-American community was faced with inequality. The author introduces this topic by exploring the successful musical life of James Brown. James Brown is considered to be the inventor of soul music, bringing back African-American music to the forefront of the music industry in the United States during the 1900’s, James Brown’s music contributed to the civil rights movement in the 1960’s, often performing for African-American communities and their political parties. James Brown’s music was such an influence that it stopped riots and calmed angry citizens.
The development of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the late 1940s and early 1950s by young African Americans coincided with a sensitive time in America. Civil rights movements were under way around the country as African Americans struggles to gain equal treatment and the same access to resources as their white neighbors. As courts began to vote in favor of integration, tensions between whites and blacks escalated. As the catchy rhythm of Rock ‘n’ Roll began to cross racial boundaries many whites began to feel threatened by the music, claiming its role in promoting integration. This became especially problematic as their youth became especially drawn to ...
One crucial aspect to have a full analysis in my paper is to understand how the sound and use of sampling, has changed over the years. In her book “Sampling the 1970s in Hip-hop” Joanna Demers writes about how sampling has been a way to preserve black identity in hip-hop. By using samples from past African American music, producers can make a lineage between hip-hop and its predecessors. This book details sampling before things such as strict copyright law became commonplace, so there will be a unique perspective to the music industry then. By using this book my paper can better understand where we were, and how the music changed to get to today.
It became less about the outwardly racist and degrading stereotypes and became more about black artists being pushed to the side with their work covered by white artists. The most obvious example is the Rock N Roll revolution. Rock N Roll was marketed to teenagers as a way to command attention and was seen as a way of rebellion: Elvis Presley’s gyrating hips and abundance of sex appeal at the forefront. There is no doubt that Elvis Presley was a great performer and arguably the first real rock star. He was able to command a stage and have a room full of women scream at the top of their lungs with just one note. Doesn’t mean that he all those notes were his. For instance, Hound Dog, one of Elvis’s most recognizable songs was also a cover. The original artist, Big Mama Thornton, wrote the song in… and never got to see her version reach a fraction of the fame Elvis’s did. In fact “as to her royalties she says, “I got one check for $500 and I never seen another. (235)” Elvis’s version of Hound Dog sold roughly 2 million
Early in this essay, Omi expresses his perspective using objective reasoning as he writes, “Decades after the passage of civil rights legislation and the affirmation of the principle of ‘equal opportunity,’ patterns of racial segregation and exclusion, it seems, continue to characterize the production of popular music.” (Omi 539). With this quote, Omi introduces the idea that racial segregation and/or racial exclusion still exists within modern popular music. Although #BlackLivesMatter has a focus on police brutality, it still aims to fend off any form of racism to ultimately further the idea that the lives of African American individuals matter as much as everyone else’s. Omi goes on to list a few examples of people who justify discrimination against African American individuals on the basis of biological differences. After this, Omi writes, “These examples highlight the overt manifestations of racism in popular culture — institutional forms of discrimination which keep racial minorities out of the production and organization of popular culture, and the crude racial caricatures by which these groups are portrayed.” (Omi 540). With this quote, Omi is introducing the idea that racism can come in more
One instant in which African American culture wasn’t used with vain intentions was that of the hip-hop group, The Beastie Boys. Hip-hop has become a forefront place of discussion for racial inequality. Although there are those who argue that this genre now represents a variety of backgrounds, in a sort of melting pot, why is it that the more successful of artist related and connected to hip-hop are white? Eminem’s rapping, and Miley Cyrus’s twerking, are fine with audiences, but when a black artist does the same thing they are a bad influence although they developed the trend in the first place, and that robs them of their freedom of expression, fans, and damages racial identities. The Beastie Boys had the first platinum hip-hop album creating controversy due to whites capitalizing more than blacks on borrowed material. Although, The Beastie Boys were from a very privileged background, they have been praised by many for being influenced heavily by African American hip-hop music, bringing their own talents, and creating an entity staying true to who they were, and not harness African American culture away from it’s rightful owners for fame, but to be innovators to the shared
A great deal of people in America see America as a melting pot, meaning all cultures come in and melt into one culture. Others like me, view America as more of a salad bowl. Cultures come in and mix together, but they do not merge, everyone keeps their own culture. In reality, If we all are living together we are bound to influence each other's way of life. Things like our way of speaking and religious traditions are definitely going to rub off on each other. Although that wouldn't be cultural appropriation cultural appropriation has nothing to do with how familiar you are with another culture. So when does it become cultural appropriation? It becomes cultural appropriation when the culture is exploited for money, fame, praise for creativity, or self-expression. When you take other cultures dances, style of dress, music, way of speaking, food, religious symbols and use it for your personal game that is appropriation. In her article, “To the new culture cops, everything is appropriation” from The Washington Post author Cathy Young talks about the new culture cops and how they're limiting the ways in which people can express themselves artistically. In her world you can
The Cambridge Dictionary defines cultural appropriation as “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture. This is evident through the taking of objects such as Native headdresses, dreamcatchers, costumes, etc. Often times when people take from cultures, they give the object its own meaning or disregard the true significance which is considered appropriation. This essay discusses two articles from authors, Donaldson and Nabhan-Warren that tackle the subject of cultural symbols and proper cultural interpretation versus cultural appropriation.
Powell, A. (2007). The Music of African Americans and its Impact on the American Culture in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Miller African Centered Academy, 1. Retrieved from http://www.chatham.edu/pti/curriculum/units/2007/Powell.pdf
If the appreciation for different cultures is not done correctly, it can seem to be cultural appropriation. Any piece of a culture can be stolen, mocked, and disrespected, from music, clothing, food, etc. As a society with such a vast amount of cultures, it is important to know the difference between multiculturalism and cultural appropriation. We can unknowingly steal or disrespect another culture all while thinking we are appreciating the culture.