Spotlight on Students: A Discussion on Cultural Appropriation (Part 2)

 This post highlights the work required of my SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology students. Students were given the opportunity to research and identify an example of cultural appropriation and explain how the cultural elements could be appreciated instead. Several students were given the opportunity to have their exemplary work featured on the blog, and the students who provided permission have their work featured here in this and the following blog posts. Please show your appreciation for their work through the comments.

 

Banh Mi sandwich, a Vietnamese dish

 

By: Annabelle Bonnot

After doing some research on cultural appropriation I found an article on the appropriation of food. The Cornell Daily Sun published an article written by Meridien Mach who talks about her experience with food appropriation.  Food appropriation is when a culture’s food is made and sold by someone or a business who has no ties to that culture or is not from that culture. In the article she mentions that her dad bought her bánh mì for her first day of first grade. Bánh mì is a Vietnamese baguette sandwich with different meats and pickled vegetables, along with condiments. Other classmates around her showed disgust for her food and at that moment she decided to stop bringing lunches and buy the ones from school. Other non Vietnamese restaurants had begun selling bánh mì but modifying it to fit american’s tastes better, like swapping out the meats for more “american” meats. This is an example of cultural appropriation because when someone changes cultural foods they are disrespecting the culture. When restaurants make and sell cultural foods and make a profit off of it they are disrespecting the culture and those who come from that culture. Chinese food is the biggest victim of food appropriation because most Chinese restaurants have changed their menus and food items to appeal more towards the fried foods that Americans prefer. Another example of food appropriation is Orange Chicken being sold as a Chinese food but it was invented by an American. A way to avoid cultural appropriation of food and instead to appreciate it, there are multiple things that you can do, like following recipes from that culture, and using authentic ingredients when cooking said food. Another way to appreciate food is learning about the backstory and history of the food. By doing this you can gain a true appreciation of the food that you are eating or trying to cook. In no way should you change any ingredients or assume that you did better or that what you cooked tasted better.

 

Mach, Meridien, and Murali Saravanan. “Food Cultural Appropriation: It’s Personal.” The Cornell Daily Sun, 25 Mar. 2021, cornellsun.com/2021/03/25/food-cultural-appropriation-its-personal/.

 

Screenshot from Coldplay's video titled, "Hymn of the Week".

 

By: Maxwell Black

Cultural appropriation is “the unilateral decision of one social group to take control over the symbols, practices, or objects of another” (Welsch et al. 45). This can be a problem because it is often used to misrepresent or profit from marginalized social groups. One example is when Beyoncé dressed in Indian clothes in the music video for “Hymn for the Week” by Coldplay. In the video, Beyoncé wore a sari, which is a garment worn by women in India, and had henna painted on her hands. Beyoncé inappropriately portrays Indian clothes and jewelry as costumes, which they are not. The music video has multiple problems with how it handles Indian culture. ‘“Hymn for the Week” stereotypes India by depicting it as “a lush, exotic land filled with dingy slums inhabited by pious, levitating holy men and lanky brown-skinned children who are always throwing colored powders at each other” (Reed. 1). The music video furthers misunderstandings regarding India by generalizing what life is like there and portraying it as an exotic and strange place.

Although Hymn for the Week was successful, it is important to acknowledge cultural appropriation where it appears. Failure to do so will result in greater distrust among the cultures being stolen from. Beyoncé could have handled the situation better if she researched Indian culture and got permission and advice from Native Indians who might get offended otherwise. Hymn for the Week could have been culturally appreciative if it had a better understanding of Indian culture and had Indians help with the music video. I find it wrong when people profit from marginalized groups. The first time I ever noticed cultural appropriation, it seemed minor until I saw the effects myself. Beyoncé and Coldplay may not have intentionally committed cultural appropriation, but it should still be acknowledged to prevent further issues. Outsiders should always credit the original culture, without presenting it as new when it is not.

Works Cited

Reed, Betsy.  “Coldplay: only the latest pop stars to misrepresent India as an exotic playground.”  The Guardian, 1 February 2016, 1-2.

Welsch, Robert L, et al. Anthropology: Asking Questions About Human Origins, Diversity, and Culture. Oxford University Press, 2016.

 

Ariana Grande's original tattoo

 

By: Tionna Wesley

Cultural appropriation is nothing new, and has been happening for many years. One example of this is when Ariana Grande was promoting her album “Thank U, Next”. During this promotion she sold merchandise that had Japanese phrases on them, and she also got a tattoo in Japanese that was supposed to say “7 Rings” but instead translated to “BBQ grill”. The reason this is cultural appropriation is because Japanese is not her own language or culture. It seems like she was just hopping on a trend and hoping that this would get her more sales and listeners for her new music and merchandise to profit from. She did not even do the proper research for a Japanese tattoo that will be on her body for the rest of her life. She did attempt to get it fixed, but even this was still wrong and read as “”BBQ grill finger”. Ariana Grande definitely could have approached the situation differently and appreciated the culture. Instead of using their language on merchandise without consulting anyone she could have possibly partnered with a Japanese clothing manufacturer. That way she would be speaking with someone who actually is a part of the culture and some of the profit would be going there as well. She could have also done the proper research on what “7 Rings” in Japanese would have actually been so she could have gotten it right. These things would have shown a lot more appreciation for the culture than what actually happened.

11 Celebrity Examples of Cultural Appropriation - Seventeen, www.seventeen.com/celebrity/g22363821/cultural-appropriation-examples-celebrities/. Feb. 4th 2019.