Cultural Appropriation — advanced seminar for extra credit.

[catsidhe]

Definition: It is Cultural Appropriation when one culture takes characters and stories from another culture and

1. use them ignorantly and insultingly in different contexts, or
2. retell those stories, in such a way as to ignore, negate, or even reverse the understanding of their meaning

This is made even more insulting when the appropriating culture (or representative; i.e., the author) turns around and lectures the original culture that that culture had it wrong all along, and the reinterpretation is, in fact, the correct and authoritative version. Or that the appropriation was done without knowledge of any any adverse interpretation, and therefore as an act without deliberate insult, it is therefore not insulting, just shut up and stop whingeing about it, if it's not important to me then it shouldn't be important to you, can't you see your accusations of insensitivity are hurtful to me?

Thesis: most classic Western movies are examples of Cultural Appropriation, in that they take the very concept of the Native American and contextualise them as The Other, barbarians and natural forces to be survived, conquered or annihilated; individually interchangeable.

Thesis: the Disney film Pocahontas is an example of Cultural Appropriation. (White Anglo America telling Native Americans about the history of early English/Native American Interaction, and the Native American rôle in it.)

Thesis: the Disney film The Little Mermaid is an example of Cultural Appropriation. (Taking a Danish fairy story, removing it from context, and then giving it a happy ending and sequels, which negating the point and moral of the original story.)

Thesis: the Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame is an example of Cultural Appropriation. (Taking a classic French novel of romance and tragedy, and giving it not only comic relief, but a happy ending (!) and sequels (!!), implicitly telling lovers of the Hugo original, ‘it's OK, but it could be better if we just change the ending completely and undo most of the tragedy, and add talking gargoyles clowns.’)



Discuss.

Comments

[lindsay40k.livejournal.com]

A little over a year ago I spoke at an African-Caribbean society meeting about the history of the slave trade, civil rights movement and the situation facing less developed countries in Africa. Everyone seemed very happy to hear what I had to say, and many wanted to hear a little more afterwards. I think the most important thing is to be respectful to both the subject matter and the audience.

I'm put in mind of when the (white) satirists John Bird and John Fortune recently performed a sketch in which Bird, in general's uniform but not in any way blacked-up, played the part of a corrupt president of an unnamed African republic, delivering his lines with a strong Afrikaans accent that didn't appear to be an exaggerated charcature. It struck me as quite a bold move, considering how white people making jokes about horrible assholes who happen to have dark skin is something of a taboo in left-wing British comedy, which has to contend with the history of racist "entertainment" like Bernard Manning and the Black and White Minstrel Show.

[catsidhe.livejournal.com]

There is a big difference between “This is not my story, but I am telling as best I know”, and “This may as well be my story, and I can change what I like.”

The whole White people poking fun at Black dictators was probably seen (with some truth) as less satirising Idi Amin (say), than using him to make a point about how all black black African leaders are ridiculous figures, aping their white betters badly.

Now, on the other hand, we can contrast Mugabe against Mandela.