Media Culture - Why Cultural Appropriation Is A Problem?

Cultural Appropriation - Why some communities cautious of, or against this practice?

The reason why the communities are cautious of or against this practice are because, cultural appropriation remains a concern for a variety of reasons. For one, this sort of "borrowing" is exploitative because it robs minority groups of the credit they deserve. Art and music forms that originated with minority groups come to be associated with members of the dominant group. As a result, the dominant group is deemed innovative and edgy, while the disadvantaged groups they "borrow" from continue to face negative stereotypes that imply they are lacking in intelligence and creativity. In addition, when members of a dominant group appropriate the cultures of others, they often reinforce stereotypes about minority groups.

Katy Perry performed as Geisha at American Music Awards

When singer Katy Perry performed as a geisha at the American Music Awards in November 2013, she described it as an homage to Asian culture. Asian Americans disagreed with this assessment, declaring her performance "yellowface." The Wall Street Journal's, Jeff Yang said that her performance did not celebrate Asian culture but misrepresented it entirely. He found it particularly problematic that Perry dressed as a geisha to perform the song "Unconditionally", which describes a woman who pledges to love her man no matter what.

The King - Elvis Presley

A large aspect of cultural appropriation, as explained by the prior definitions, is borrowing is particularly problematic in the music industry because of the lack of attribution to black artist's contributions. 

In the 1950's, when black music began to gain traction and recognition among white musicians, record labels chose to record and market black music in the form of white musicians. As a result, musical forms like rock 'n' roll, jazz and the blues were associated with white musicians even though black musicians were pioneers of those genres. Consequently, black musicians were not financially compensated. We have seen the results of this commoditization of black music when Elvis was crowned as "The King Of Rock 'n' Roll." 

It is my profound view that upon exploring through the above examples which depicts exploitative cultural appropriation where it affects the soul of black musicians/artists, a sense of their inherent values and it also affects their pockets, their capacity to rise above their circumstances through the fair rewarding of their creativity.

Bibiliography:

1.blog.sonicbids.com/appropriation-vs-appreciation-in-music-where-should-we-draw-the-line
2.Kareem Nittle, N. (2017) What Is Cultural Appropriation And Why Is It Wrong? [Online]. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/cultural-appropriation-and-why-is-it-wrong-2834561 (Accessed on 12 June 2017)
3.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzItHH-r2yw

Media Culture - Cultural Appropriation Of Beauty

Definition Of Beauty In Relation To Cultural Appropriation 

An example can be seen from one popular cultural appropriation movement known as The Japanese Be-Style sub-culture. It is a subgroup of Japanese kids who want to be African American, mostly like African Americans within the rap culture. They dress like rappers, listen/dance to hip hop/rap music and share their absolute love for that aspect of black culture. It is absolute love and fascination they have for it. They truly admire it, an admiration seen through their effort to re-enact it. They see such beauty in that aspect of culture, even pleased they want to borrow it. They may not do it 100 percent perfectly, in fact tanning their naturally pale skin to look more black is borderline and their portrayal is stereotypical (they live in Japan, real examples of African American culture are most likely scarce) but they do it from a place of love and admiration, not disrespect.

Japanese B-style culture

In a similar vein, the 12th episode of Refresh Man, the Black Man or in this case the Asian Man played by actor Roy Zhang says, "Wash Mei Mei White White." This is implying black people are not beautiful. This is suggesting that lighter skin , the more beautiful one's skin is. Beauty is not absolute, it is standard changes with time and place. In some communities in Africa like Ghana, a heavier set body is considered beautiful as compared to the American idea of aesthetics, where aesthetics holds skinnier women as a standard. Since the period of colonization, the physical features of black women including their hair, lips, thighs, breasts and behind as well as their chocolate skin is considered distasteful. Due to this, the black community today, faces a struggle to achieve the white standard of beauty. This is not just prevalent within the black community but also other non-Western societies and communities. 

It is noted that appropriation of cultural appropriation is an admiration of beauty. When someone borrows something from your culture because they find it appealing, unique, fun, they are applauding you, they see beauty in you. As humans sharing what we love brings growth and open-mindedness, cultural appropriation reflects that. 

Bibliography:

1.Abajorga,M.(2016) Beauty And Cultural Appropriation [Online]. Available at:https://www.theodysseyonline.com/beauty-cultural-appropriation (Accessed on 14 June 2017) 
2. Aburam, A. (2017) 4 Reasons Why Cultural Appropriation Should Be Celebrated [Online]. Availabble at: http://thoughtcatalog.com/amma-aburam/2017/03/4-reasons-why-cultural-appropriation-should-be-celebrated/ (Accessed on 14 June 2017) 

Media Culture - Cultural Appropriation in Music

                                           Cultural Appropriation - Music Industry

With culture appropriation it is being re-purposed to something else demeaning the original symbolism and culture to make it something usually of less value and for nothing more than a trend. This is popular in the music industry because of the striving desire to stay current. A lot of artist takes things from other cultures for the purposes of trends to make their music and style current and interesting.

Due to cultural appropriation, Elvis Presley is widely regarded as being the "King of Rock and Roll," despite the fact that his music was heavily influenced by black artists who never received credit for their contributions to the art form. In the early 1990's, white rapper Vanilla Ice topped the Billboard music charts when rappers as a whole remained on the fringes of popular culture. This piece explores how musicians with wide appeal today, such as Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Miley Cyrus and Kreayshawn have been accused of cultural appropriation, borrowing heavily from black, Native American and Asian traditions. 

A very recent example of this is the Miley Cyrus's new found career and style. Cyrus has stripped herself from this culture and embraced a new career in a style she has coined as "Dirty Southern Hip-Hop". People are upset because of Cyrus's use of "twerking" and other aspects of African American Culture. By re-purposing these things for her own use she is taking away from another culture that isn't hers and using it for a profitable gain. That is the source of most cultural appropriation in the music industry, the profit. "Twerking" has become a trend and instead of appreciating its African American origins Cyrus is only focused on the profit aspect of it. I t has become a trend and by latching on to it, it will make her career more relevant and current and more appealing to an audience.

Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop Music Video

Miley Cyrus's new found career and style

The above examples clearly show cultural appropriation is profitable. Objects and traditions of marginalized cultures are seen by the dominant cultures as exotic, edgy and desirable which translates to profits.

Bibliography:

1.Hunter,T.(2013) Cultural Appropriation In The Music Industry [Online]. Available at:https://wgSS2230.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/cultural-appropriation-in-the-music-industry/ (Accessed on 12 June 2017) 
2.Kareem Nittle, N. (2014) Cultural Appropriation In The Music: From Madonna to Miley [Online]. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/cultural-appropriation-in-music-2834650 (Accessed on 12 June 2017)
3.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWcohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco

Media Culture - Music Industry

Cultural Appropriation - The Role Of Cultural Appropriation In The Music Industry

Cultural appropriation in music exists in many forms. It exists in while performers donning cornrows, henna or Bindis in their music videos, or singing the blues without understanding the context and evolution of the genre. While cultural appropriation in music is not limited to one race, ethnicity, or culture, it is most prevalent in black music in the United States.

Selena Gomez debut performance for her top hit "Come and Get It" Gomez sported a bindi, which is highly regarded traditional omen in Hindu religion

Coldplay and Beyonce's "Hymn For The Weekend"- when she was wearing Bindi in the music video

"Hymn For The Weekend" Music Video

Beyonce applied henna on her both hands in the "Hymn For The Weekend" music video

Cultural Appropriation is nothing new. For years prominent whites have been accused of borrowing the fashions, music, and art forms of various cultural groups popularizing them as their own. The music industry has been particularly hard hit by this practice. The 1991 film "The Five Heartbeats," for example, which was based on the experiences of real African-American bands, depicts how music executives took the works of black musicians and repackaged them as the product of white artists. 

Culture today is the reflection of the people in it. One of the biggest aspects of culture in society today is music. The music industry is a perfect example of the effects of culture appropriation.


Bibliography:

1.blog.sonicbids.com/appropriation-vs-appreciation-in-music-where-should-we-draw-the-line
2.Hunter,T.(2013) Cultural Appropriation In The Music Industry [Online]. Available at:https://wgSS2230.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/cultural-appropriation-in-the-music-industry/ (Accessed on 12 June 2017)
3.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YykjpeuMNEk
4.Kareem Nittle, N. (2014) Cultural Appropriation In The Music: From Madonna to Miley [Online]. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/cultural-appropriation-in-music-2834650 (Accessed on 12 June 2017)

Media Cultures - Why Cultural Appropriation Is An Issue?

Why Cultural Appropriation Is An Issue in Fashion And Beauty Industry?

The beauty industry is a big business set with never-ending precedent of what mainstream hair, make-up, and body standards are supposed to look like as well as what generates the most money.

Black women have not always fit into drastically Europeanized standards but have had to endure centuries of mainstream designers, celebrities, make-up artist and hairstylist replicating their "swag" without receiving a hint of cultural edit. The appropriation of black culture has always been a controversial topic amongst beauty enthusiasts, wondering when the adaptation of African American culture will no longer be an in-and out fad, but a collaborative celebration.

Thanks to social media, commercial designers and celebrities are being exposed more than ever for borrowing traditional beauty attributes from the African American community and labelling them "fad" or "trends".

If we are into fashion and beauty, we have probably heard the term cultural appropriation being used in the news, particularly in relation to certain 'trends' in the industry. But what exactly is cultural appropriation and why is it something that causes offense to so many communities? According to MTV Fashion, they have interviewed a model by the name of Leomie Anderson to get her thoughts and find out how it affected her.

In my concluding note, culture is meant to be shared and everyone should strive to be constantly learning their whole lives. With that in mind, I don't think it is wise or ethically enforceable to draw lines of what people should or should not wear or experience. It leads to constant struggle with lots of emotions, both somewhat understandable.

Bibliography:

1. Foley, L.(2016) What Is Cultural Appropriation And Why Is It An Issue In Fashion And Beauty? [Online]. Available at: http://www.mtv.co.uk/fashion/news/what-is-cultural-appropriation (Accessed on 12 June 2017)
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLPuOQPCAks
3. Webb, A. (2016) 5 Times The Mainstream Tried To Steal Our Black Girl Magic And Failed In 2016. [Online]. Available at: http://www.essence.com/hair/biggest-cultural-appropriation-fails-2016 (Accessed on 12 June 2017)

Media Culture - Introduction on "Cultural Appropriation"

Introduction

3. Examine the issue of cultural appropriation within a domain of beauty, fashion or music industry. Why are some communities cautious of, or against this practice?

Before embarking further on the chosen topic, allow me to explain the importance to have a good comprehension and understanding of the chosen topic which is "Cultural Appropriation". What is Cultural Appropriation? According to Wikipedia:-

Cultural Appropriation is the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture... According to authors in the field, cultural (mis)appropriation differs from acculturation or assimilation in that the "appropriation" or "misappropriation" refers to the adoption of these cultural elements in a colonial manner: elements are copied from a minority culture by members of the dominant culture., and these elements are used outside of their original culture context - sometimes even against the expressed, stated wishes of representatives of the originating culture. 

Often the original meaning of these cultural elements is lost or distorted, which means that these uses may be viewed as disrespectful by members of the originating culture, or even as a form desecration. Cultural elements which may have deep meaning to the original culture can be reduced to 'exotic' fashion by those from the dominant culture. When this is done, the imitator, "who does not experience that oppression is able to play, temporarily an 'exotic' other, without experiencing any of the daily discriminations faced by other cultures." 

In short, cultural appropriation is when you take bits of someone else's culture, typically that of an oppressed group, and adopt it for your own purposes, stripping the object of its significance in the process. For example: Wearing a Native American headdress or even hijab as a Halloween costume. Or crediting a white celebrity with adopting cornrows as an "edgy new hairstyle."


Bibliography:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation
2. https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/danielholdenmusic314/the-issue-cultural-
    appropriation

Media Cultures - Research + Understandings

Research & Understandings

3. Examine the issue of cultural appropriation within a domain of beauty, fashion or
music industry. Why are some communities cautious of, or against this practice?

Regarding the issue: Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation is, understandably, a sensitive topic. It is also a concept that cannot be construed into one sentence or a convenient tagline. In my opinion, cultural appropriation is not ethical. While it is true that one may exploit another's society, it is all too common that stereotypes and inaccuracies are applied to the marginalized culture. Because the one mimicking the standpoint does so as an outsider, they tend to lack the empathy for the culture they are representing. One instance of this lies in politics when the wealthy make decisions for the less fortunate. For instance, if a new budget was passed that took away money from food stamps, it is quite possible that many would suffer because of someone misappropriating their condition. 

Therefore, it is important that people learn their boundaries within one's culture. Channeling a culture as your own is impertinent. Hopefully, there comes a time where people can learn to embrace their own identities, rather than adopting someone else's.

4. What are some issues and best practices for design in multilingual communities?Write from the perspective of either a graphic designer or interactive designer.

I am not aware of any heuristics or best practices since there are different use cases depending upon the countries you are designing for. However, this excellent article Global by Design: Creating a world-ready web design gives some valuable inputs:

For an example - Look at the scope of designing a global template: An availability of a global template with sufficient customization options to change the color and font specifications will help in keeping a uniform look across all your sites and also ensure that users don't have to look around to find the same information. 

However though global templates should work for most languages you might reconsider your design for languages and might read from left to right as your entire design would be flipped in the case. Take a example here of how Facebook structures its Arabic page:

Therefore, to safely design for any target language, a goal of 35% expansion is a good guideline.

Finalized/Chosen Topic:

3. Examine the issue of cultural appropriation within a domain of beauty, fashion or

music industry. Why are some communities cautious of, or against this practice?

In my final analysis, it is my considered view upon pondering on which topic I shall chose but question no.3 seems to be my favorite topic as I feel that it encompasses a lots of contemporary issues that needs to be addressed and to explore further on it although I feel that question no.4 is also interesting and straight forward but I have decided to choose question no.3 which I felt challenging throughout this task. Therefore, from my ongoing  post I will be exploring in depth on my finalized topic.

Media Cultures - Exploring Topic Choices

Exploring Topic Choices

We were briefed by our tutor on 25th May being our first class of the fifth semester about our first assignment regarding the research blog. So, I started off exploring from the topics which are appended below to accomplish this task to enable me to finalize the topic which I shall embark in due course.

Topic choices:

1. Critically review a local art/design exhibition in-depth. Discuss it in terms of its curatorial  goals and exhibition design with related research. 

2. Compare and contrast the relationship of celebrities with their fans in two different creative communities. Which one is relatively more healthy in their connections?

3. Examine the issue of cultural appropriation within a domain of beauty, fashion or music industry. Why are some communities cautious of, or against this practice.

4. What are some issues and best practices for design in multilingual communities? Write from the perspective of either a graphic designer or an interactive designer.

5. Explore a variety of media is used within the context of branding or transmedia storytelling. Does variety dilute the effectiveness of an advertising campaign or story?

After a session of mind boggling and soul searching, I have developed my desire to explore on these two topics as enumerated in items 3 and 4 above because it had captured my interest where I verily believe a plethora of issues could be advanced pertaining to the chosen topics for this uphill task. 

Based on my knowledge and understanding of topic 3 which emphasizes on:

-  The issues of cultural appropriation within a domain of beauty, fashion or music industry. 

-  And why are some communities cautious of, or against this practice.

Topic 4 emphasizes on: 

- What are the issues and best practices for design in multilingual communities? 

- And explain from the perspective of either a graphic designer or an interactive designer.

Therefore, for the next post I will be conducting my research on both these topics before finalizing on which topic essay I shall embark in due course.