http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/beyonc-criticised-for-cultural-appropriation-in-new-music-video/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation
Though I
personally pay very little attention to the music industry, a recent happening,
revealed by a quick "News" search for "culture in news," seems
as if it would open this blog rather well. Titled "Beyoncé criticized for
'cultural appropriation' in new music video with Coldplay and Sonam Kapoor"
(the video is available further down the page), the article tells of controversy
around the Indian (or, more precisely, Desi, according to the article) imagery invoked
by the video and especially Beyoncé, specifically referencing numerous tweets
about the video supporting both sides of the argument. After supplementing my
general knowledge of the concept of cultural appropriation with the somewhat
dubious source of Wikipedia, I watched the video for myself to form my own
opinion.
Before I state said
opinion, I would like to analyze the Wiki article on cultural appropriation, as
it shares several fallacies with the more "informal" uses of the word
"culture." Specifically, it uses phrases like "a culture"
and "different cultures," which, really, is not how culture works. I
would not go so far as to say that culture does not exist or that it cannot be
studied; instead, to put it as simply as possible, I assert that it exists as a
gradient through time and space, with each temporal-spatial location having its
own influences on local culture. For example, in Nairobi, Kenya, 2007, there
are undoubtedly heavy influences from its recent colonial history, the numerous
ethnic groups (though I have read several rather convincing articles elsewhere
that argue that even they were a product of colonialism), contact with the
Middle East from the north and across the Red Sea (I would assume), and,
naturally, the influence of local individuals. The colonial aspects were
undoubtedly not present a few centuries ago, while contact with the Middle
East probably fluctuated regularly. The popular conception of
"cultures" does not account for the fluidity of what falls in the
realm of "culture," implying a certain rigidity both spatially and
temporally. In other words, it holds groups of people artificially separate,
which can only intensify debates like this one. All of that said, the Wiki page
does go on to mention that "cultural appropriation" can cause the
appropriated's meaning to be "lost or distorted." Furthermore, the allegedly
appropriated material seems to have been used entirely for the purpose of
looking good, as I cannot remember anything in the music itself that referenced
it (though I was not listening particularly hard). In this sense, despite the
other problematic implications of the phrase "cultural
appropriation," I think that, in this sense, that there was some
"cultural appropriation" occurring (however, see below).
With that
addressed, I move to briefly discuss the other things I think make this a good
opening article. While I honestly have absolutely no idea who "Coldplay"
or "Sonam Kapoor" are and only a minimum amount of knowledge on
Beyoncé, the article name implied some sort of frivolous application of something
("culture"), so I already expected frivolous sexualization would be
present. However, the title also had me assuming that Beyoncé played a more
important role in the video than "occasionally audible background
singer" and "purposefully visible dancer." While I do not profess
any knowledge of how much control a celebrity has over their jobs, I would
assume that, in this case, they have to follow the whims of the producer-types
in charge of these videos. If these assumptions are true, then Beyoncé is being
blamed for something she had little, if any, control over.
Do you think this
video engaged in "'cultural' appropriation"? If so, who do you think
made the decision that resulted in it? Did you understand my attempted summary
of my idea of culture? If any of you listened to the lyrics of the song, know
more about the music industry, or have knowledge on celebrity life that I do
not, could you tell me if I messed up in my assumptions?
--Forest Copeland
Forest,
ReplyDeleteI as well saw plenty of buzz regarding whether “Hymn for The Weekend” (by Coldplay ft. Beyoncé) along with shots of Sonam Kapoor (an Indian actress) was a mater of cultural appropriation or not. Personally, I believe in this case, this video would be best taken with a grain of salt. The reason I chose to say this is because Sonam Kapoor herself, addressed the public on what this video meant to her. In an interview with Gulfnews she stated,
“First of all, I am in a Chris Martin video and I am a huge fan of Coldplay…. And if somebody told me at 16 that I was going to be in a [Coldplay] video, I would go: “shut up”. So when Chris Martin’s agent told my agent that they really like [me] and they want [me] to do a cameo, my agent was like: “it’s just three shots.” But I was like “it’s f*cking Coldplay, dude.” I get VIP access to them forever. So on my birthday, I get to take all my friends for a concert. I get VIP access to their concerts forever and I am going to make them sing Yellow to me. This is good. When I was in high school, I listened to “Yellow” from Coldplay and “Wonderwall” from Oasis and I used to cry and wondered if anyone would sing me these songs to me. And there I am, doing this video. Everybody is going on about these three shots alone,”.
With that being said, it seems like a lot of people took it upon themselves to speak for Sonam Kapoor, assuming that she should and would feel culturally appropriated as well. When in fact, it seems like the exact opposite; to me she seems completely liberated and fond of her part in the Coldplay video. I cannot speak for Sonam Kapoor either, but I cannot imagine that she would choose to play a part in a video that would make her fans upset or feel oppressed in anyway. As for the lyrics of the song, they don’t seem to have any relation to Desi or Indian “culture” whatsoever. From what I have read, the lyrics describe the mending of a broken heart with life (drinking) and love (a drug). Therefore, I believe the term “culture” is a very delicate word, and is often used misused or misunderstood.
Lastly, I wanted to mention that I also understand how people of Desi or Indian “culture” could be offended. This controversy reminds me of the campaign “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume”. This campaign was created by Ohio University students, fighting for their movement to show that Halloween costumes are culturally appropriating. But again, this brings us back to the definition of “culture”, what it truly means, and the confusion around it’s meaning. All in all, I believe we, as a whole, need to make an effort to better understand the definition of “culture”. You’re analysis was well thought out and you brought up some great points!
*Links to Buzzfeed article (Sonam Kapoor) and "We're a Culture, Not a Costume" campaign
http://www.buzzfeed.com/srishtidixit/dont-rain-on-her-parade#.bf5aA44Kp
http://www.colorlines.com/articles/ohio-univ-students-classmates-were-culture-not-costume
Gabrielle,
DeleteYour comment was certainly informative and filled several gaps in my knowledge (specifically, the article I spent three seconds finding focused on Beyoncé and not Sonam Kapoor). I certainly agree that people should not try to speak for others or that she "should" feel one way or another; if Kapoor wanted to be in the video and liked her part, then I agree with her decision to do it. However, I would hesitate to use her statement as an argument against the video's "cultural appropriation," a term which I continue to use mostly because I do not have a better one for what I needed it for (for more information, see the original post). In Kapoor's case, she, as a self-designated fan of Coldplay, had working alongside them and lifetime tickets as a rather major factor in satisfying her.
--Forest Copeland
Forest--
ReplyDeleteYour reference to temporal and spatial locations in regards to culture is reminiscent of Renato Rosaldo’s essay, “Ideology, Place, and People without Culture.” In this essay, Rosaldo writes on the predominant academic practice of anthropologists “[…] map[ping] zones of cultural visibility and invisibility onto the spatial organization within and between nations” (78). However, I interpret his underlying message as being one centered around perspective. Individuals are essentially rooted in individual bias and this bias influences the manner in which one perceives the world. Operating under the assumption that one has managed to fully eliminate such bias can make said bias all the more insidious. Cultivating a certain amount of awareness of one’s own self as opposed to focusing solely on the differences found in others can be a positive step forward in managing subtle biases in perspective.
That being said, I believe that this video practices a certain amount of cultural appropriation. Regardless of cultural labels, humans communicate with one another through both language and symbolic imagery. As it pertains to the latter, certain symbols may take on more meaning for different people or groups of people. Maybe it has something to do with geographical location but I certainly do not have the educational background to speak on this subject with any certainty.
Moving forward, I believe that rendering such symbolic imagery insignificant so as to enhance aesthetic value is presumptuous and insensitive. I do not know who calls the shots in regards to the creation and development of music videos but I am sure that hiring an actual Bollywood actress to feature in the video would not have been that difficult of a feat.
Great post! Thank you for sharing.
Sierra,
DeleteWhen I described culture the way I did, I meant to emphasize that it does not have distinct lines drawn between different "cultures," whether you are looking at, say, Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo today or Tuscaloosa 2016 CE and the area that would become Tuscaloosa, 2016 BCE; heck, some sort of "revolutionary technology" could sweep through in a month and permanently alter all of our lives forever. It would not be hard to point out differences between any of these points, but there is not specific line.
Individual perspectives are important, but what makes those perspectives? We watch, listen, are taught, purposefully defy those teachings in bursts of anger or teenage angst, and otherwise continue to learn and adapt throughout our lives. So, if a human sees many people around them doing the same thing, that child would probably accept that as normal and do that too.
--Forest Copeland
Forest,
ReplyDeleteYour post brings me to several news and public information regarding the cultural appropriation. The core of this topic is always about the real meaning of culture. Too many people would define others culture related behavior without basic knowledge of culture, thus, they do not have the right to speak for a specific culture other than their own culture, which they usually have a common sense of it. I myself as a Chinese always come cross similar issues. For example, we have a spring festival to celebrate the new year of lunar calender. Some of my foreign friends would dress the Tang suit(traditional Chinese garment) to attend the party at my house, which I am totally fine with, as a matter of fact, I actually quite enjoy it. Because I feel like they are trying to respect and communicate with my culture by doing so as my friends, I am truly impressed. But my neighbors did ask me if I am okay with that, and I was like, yeah, sure, I mean, why not? He then would look at me like I am a weirdo or what, he actually said last year, " I just don't get it. They are not your people, so why they dress like that? It's not Halloween!" I mean, seriously? I get that he does not understand my culture, but if someone tries to understand by attempting a few custom, and I am okay with it, what's the harm to him? Or, in what way, he thinks he is able to speak for me?
In fact, by reviewing the history of cultural appropriation issues, I found out that it's always the media who takes control over the whole thing, people just take whatever the newspaper told them. If the media tell them this celebrity or just people used a culture in a wrong way, which should be punished, then, people would go with it, without double-check on the background story. It is actually kind of bias, if you think of it. There is no rule said that people from America cannot apply Chinese culture, or Chinese people cannot try to blend in American society.
I really enjoyed your post, it reminds me of a few important issues regarding the culture and its relationship with human beings, which is always a potential problem among the modern society. Thank you! I think we all will have a better sense of culture after this discussion.
Kexin,
DeleteCalling anything "cultural appropriation" is difficult in a time when the long-standing practice of groups of people sharing ideas with each other has been hyper-accelerated by things like travel technology and the internet. I agree that some things people might try to call "cultural appropriation" really are just people trying, as you said, to understand. However, the goal of the music industry is to make money and Gabrielle noted that nothing in the lyrics seemed to connect to the source of the controversy in the video, making the use of Desi/Indian imagery seem as if it is used merely to increase profits. While I would not know much about the media's role in exacerbating this kind of controversy (most of my important news comes from overhearing people talking before class), media does seem to like drama in general.
--Forest Copeland
I have mixed feelings regarding this video. It seems that the creative force behind this video was actually someone who belonged to the culture and personally wanted to put Beyonce in this role. However, I'm aware of the common trope and appropriation of Indian culture and their people as a place where one comes to rid themselves of their "cultured" worries and become a new person with these people who are so carefree and simple despite their poverty. Coldplay and Beyonce did have a creative force behind this video, but you have to stop and think. Why did they decide not to potray their culture? What are they trying insinuate by pairing themselves and their music with this culture? What assumptions will their audience make because of this video?
ReplyDeleteI also understood your idea of culture very well; culture is a very difficult thing to understand. I think that it is important to understand and share culute, but most people choose to "share" culture by mocking people's cultures and taking what they think is cool without understanding the significance and the history. They still look down upon the people who originated the practices, clothing, etc. and condemn them for practice their culture first. I think it's silly and harmful and just upsetting in genreal.
The word culture, in my opinion always creates a huge controversy when trying to be discussed. I feel your definition was a great way to justify the term culture. As far as the video itself goes I too agree with the question brought up by Krystal, asking exactly why do you think Cold Play or Beyoncé choice to not portray their own culture in the video itself. Culture is too not to be expressed but lived in my opinion, it's just something that is acquired over time, if that is by choice or by force. I also agreed with Sierra when stating the video shows some culture appropriation was expressed during the video an actual image of a Bollywood actress would have been a powerful visual image that would have given the video much more of a realistic view. All in all the blog post was a great read Forest!
ReplyDelete