Cultural appropriation is bad right? We shouldn’t do it, right? It’s a borderline crime to appropriate someone else’s culture, we all agree. We’ll who is we? A seemingly dumb question that somehow got lost in translation. Capitalism strikes again.
American culture has become so entranced with capitalistic values that even the most progressive people can’t tell when the strings of their brain are being pulled. Let’s engage in a conversation, person 1 is American and believes cultural appropriation is bad, person 2 is from a non western culture and thinks cultural appropriation is a good thing packaged as a bad thing. The scene – they are discussing their thoughts about a white Artist who used indigenous beats to make a new EDM album:
Person 1: “Did you see that new album that came out, he turned indigenous music into EDM he is making a mockery of indigenous culture!”
Person 2: “How is he making a mockery of indigenous culture?”
Person 1: “Well he clearly doesn’t understand the complexities of indigenous culture, their music is sacred to them and they would not want it being mixed into EDM and played at raves”
Person 2: “You keep referencing indigenous culture as if there were only one, each tribe has their own culture, what makes you think you know how they would feel about the music being used in this way?”
Person 1: “We’ll you don’t know either”
Person 2: “We’ll people within the tribe may not even all agree on whether this music is a good thing or a bad thing. So if we can’t ever get a definitive answer on if one’s culture as a whole is okay with it being used in any way do you really believe the answer is to just avoid any creative use of other cultures?”
Person 1: “When I really think about it, the main problem is that they are making millions off a culture that isn’t their own, they are basically stealing it.”
Person 2: “Millions of what? Dollars? What if I were to tell you that the tribal music in the song comes from a small tribe in Brazil that doesn’t even have a currency and they have publicly said they are so happy to see their culture go international.”
Person 1: “So what really happened is that a creative artist within the tribe who doesn’t give a crap about Dollars made music and was happy that other people were listening to it?”
Person 2: “Exactly, and your values surrounding cultural appropriation have made it so no big companies are willing to stream the song anymore because of fear they will be doing something wrong, effectively impeding the indigenous artist from sharing his music even within his own country because spotify is also used there”
Person 1: “Wait, so my values that are inexorable from the capitalist culture I was born into are affecting how another culture can express itself?”
Person 2: “Yes, we have come full circle. Forcing other cultures to adhere to the American ideal that cultural appropriation is a bad thing is a form of cultural colonialism by the dominant culture.”
Capitalism impedes the natural flow of cultures being shared. Used and misused. Consent is disregarded as a factor and the question harmful to whom is answered not by the whom but the Dollar.
Related posts:
Feminism, The Cause of Andy Warhol’s Death?
It’s only cultural appropriation… if American media thinks it is.
“Snowflakes” Stand Up for the American Flag
“You Are Welcome Here”
How Businesses Continued to Profit Off of John Oliver
Capitalism and the so-called art of seduction
Anti-Capitalist Louvre Art
Powered by YARPP.
This article attacks cultural appropriation as a symptom of the very capitalist/colonialist mindset it seeks to prevent, which, while correct, doesn’t even begin to untangle the web of backlash and counter-backlash that makes up the cultural appropriation label. The Person 1/Person 2 conversation does a good job of presenting two sides of the argument, but I feel lacks the full nuance necessary to make both sides feel represented in this debate. You draw several correct conclusions: a blanket label of “cultural appropriation” can censor well-meaning artists and the capitalist interests of avoiding the wrath of cancel culture can provoke self censorship among artists and the companies that distribute their work. However, you fall a step short of the real crux of the issue that has prevented a lasting solution. From my observations of the debate it seems that by combating cultural appropriation the hope is to enable diverse viewpoints by allowing cultures a “monopoly” over their art, meaning that if audiences want access to the music, dance, or costume of their culture they must go through the originating culture. This significantly restricts the spread and evolution of art–perhaps too much to be worth it, as you argue–but might be the action needed to ensure we can empower diverse artists, not just diverse art.