The line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation is difficult to draw. Drawing such a line becomes even more important when you are the one accused of committing such an act. People often find themselves saying, “Isn’t imitation the highest form of flattery?” Pointing the finger at someone for appropriating one’s culture is almost as easy as it is to be accused of doing so.
Racerelations.about.com defines cultural appropriation as “members of a dominant group exploiting the culture of less privileged groups — often with little understanding of the latter’s history, experience and traditions.” As an African-American, seeing someone dressed in blackface causes rational outrage. But what happens when other minority groups “appropriate” other cultures? Is such an act possible? The definition implies that the group appropriating the culture be in a position of dominance over the other group; this is a tricky situation when there are two minority groups involved.
By definition, a member of a rational minority cannot be racist. An anonymous post in response to an article on datalounge.com states, “Anyone can be hateful but not everyone has power. So, to the degree that ‘racism’ incorporates a power stance (at least in the US), only whites can be racist.”
Yet, there seems to be something just as wrong with an Asian-American dressed in a ‘sexy Indian’ costume as there is with an African-American wearing a sombrero and mustaches.
Coldplay recently released a video for their song Hymn for the Weekend (HFTW). The song features Beyonce dressed in full Indian garb, literally head to toe. I first learned about the video when a friend of mine asked me if I had heard about Beyonce allegedly appropriating someone’s culture. Let’s just say my heart sank.
While I am not Indian, I certainly knew that there was something seriously wrong with the video. Priya-Alika Elias of Teen Vogue points out why she, as an Indian woman, finds the video troubling. “Imagine somebody taking a few pieces out of a jigsaw puzzle and walking away, confidently insisting they don’t need the rest to make up the whole picture. That’s exactly what this video is.” She goes on to say, “One common defense of appropriation is that it is appreciation. However, appreciation respects the complexity of the original culture. ‘HFTW’ doesn’t feel appreciative or respectful.”
This is not the first time that Coldplay has been accused of using someone’s culture as a ‘prop’ in their music video. The video for their song ‘Princess of China,’ featuring singer Rihanna, was also controversial.
Hymn for the Weekend could have easily gotten an Indian actress to play Beyonce’s role. Clearly Beyonce was to be the star of the video but there are other ways to do so. Yes, there are numerous examples of ‘appropriating’ people’s culture in the music industry — Major Lazer, Iggy Azalea and others. But just because something is common practice, does not make it okay.
I do not think that any of these artists intended to hurt or oppress anyone, yet people were offended. Representing a culture means that you should represent it in its entirety, not just the glamorous aspects of it. A culture is not something that you pick up and put down as you please. And if you are truly interested in shedding light on a culture, why not get someone from that group to represent it?
