Cultural Appropriation 'And Colonialism In Wildest Dreams'

Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of elements in one culture by members of another culture. There has been a lot of cultural appropriation throughout the years. Lately, many people have been noticing it more often. One of the largest issues in the cultural appropriation that has hit the media lately is hair. There have been many white celebrities who have been culturally appropriating Black hairstyles. The most recent have been the Jenner/Kardashian sisters. On the other hand, some believe the same goes for vice versa; African-Americans have been appropriating White culture. One example can be Malcolm X. He even wrote a speech about how he realized that wearing a conk made him look more “White” and he felt he was trying to be exactly that. Recently, that idea has changed. Many people believe that it is only cultural appropriation when a White person does it. This social issue has been a large debate on whether White people are culturally appropriating Black culture by wearing traditionally Black hairstyles.

Cultural appropriation is shown in many ways among the public. When a member of the majority takes an element of a minority culture and attempts to make it their own, they are appropriating the minority’s culture. Appropriating a culture is disrespectful and can lead to loss of valuable meaning of cultural practices. This is shown in many ways, such as the use of blackface or wearing a significant piece of Native American history as a fashion accessory. Each of these elements is an example of appropriation of a minority culture and is never acceptable and needs to be stopped.

In America, cultural appropriation has been a prominent topic in the media. From the afro in the 70’s and perms in the 80’s, some ethnic groups see some ethnic groups culture fashionable and “aesthetic.” Though not intended, those specific groups (mostly African American and Native American cultures) see this as a form of mockery and feel discredited when someone with power in the media takes a certain style and profits. I believe that if you take a specific item out of it’s original context it is cultural appropriation by using certain items in the media as everyday

It has become one of the leading issues especially in the United States in the past few years. In the world today, many people are witless as to what is cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation defines as when one culture adopts an element of another culture. (Uwujaren 9/30/13) When it comes to Cultural appropriation a lot of the South Asian culture get appropriated. Being a South Asian myself I feel obligated to let people know.

The term appropriationism reflects the overproduction of reproductions by copying, imitating, repeating, quoting, and adapting pre-existing names, concepts and forms. Often this becomes unavoidable when multiple cultures come together, cultural appropriation can include using other cultures traditions, fashion, symbols, language, and cultural images without permission. For example - a well-known appropriation artist Richard Prince, altered and incorporated a number of Carious photographs into a series of paintings and collages titled Canal Zone, which Prince exhibited in 2008 at New Yorks Gagosian

Even though it is tough to give a clear definition, the article states that cultural appropriation is, “Taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else 's culture without permission.” This includes unauthorized use of another culture’s dance, dress, music, language, folklore, cuisine, traditional medicine, religious symbols, etc. When these things are used it is most likely to be harmful when the source community is minority group that has been oppressed or exploited in other ways or when the object of appropriation is particularly sensitive, especially sacred objects.

For centuries, powerhouses of the world have been dividing and conquering the lands of “the other.” These imperialistic powers unearth the roots of the conquered lands and utilize the resources for their own capitalistic benefit; however, the effects of imperialism extend deeper than just taking advantage of the soil. There is the physical subjugation of the land and the indigenous bodies that inhabit it, but there is also a much more sinister method of conquering: cultural imperialism. Through the systematic replacement of the original culture, the people of the conquered land lose their sense of place in the world, thus imprisoning them in a cycle that seeps into the coming generations like slow poison. This is exactly what Tayeb Salih is

Relevancy for target audiences is a large aspect of marketing to maintain interest within the target market. However, ethical and moral considerations need to be understood when using aspects of other cultures, especially when re-selling and mass marketing ideas that emerge organically within society (mainly minorities). Ethics can mean many different things, so in this essay there will be a general focus on cultural appropriation including basic information on why it is wrong and a comparison of cultural appreciation. Conversations about cultural appropriation can be brought about in so many different ways that it can be hard to separate information. Therefore this essay will argue that cultural appropriation is not inevitable and not ethical, and will mainly contain information about; companies that use cultural appropriation for profit, cultural appropriation in media, and the general ethics of cultural appropriation. Please note that the topics discussed will be done so in a very brief form, compared to the information that can be found on this topic.

In America, and throughout the world, there are numerous conversations being had about race and its role in society today. Everywhere you look, in every news story and Facebook status, there is an ongoing debate regarding race and inequality. One of these major discussions regards cultural appropriation, which is an infamous problem around Halloween. Many individuals are confused by this concept of appropriating culture simply because they cannot distinguish the line between appreciation and appropriation. Thus, these blurred lines lead to offending cultures as well as perpetuating privileges and disadvantages within society.

“You can go about it as cultural appreciation or cultural appropriation” (Zendaya Coleman) cultural appropriation has been a very controversial topic throughout the years as many artists have started appreciating other or borrowing from other cultures. In fact, many people think it is wrong to steal the traditional appearances of other cultures, on the other hand, other people are more appreciative about the subject, therefore, making this out of control argument on the topic of cultural appreciation. Artists should be allowed to appropriate from other cultures.

Coming back to Cultural Imperialism. We would like to start with the most rudimentary questions. What is culture. Why do we need to talk about it. What does Imperialism have to do with culture. And what is Cultural Imperialism. When Steger talks about the cultural dimension of globalization, he uses the words “symbolic construction, articulation, and dissemination of meaning” (90). Culture can define an individual, a group, a society, a nation or even the globe. Humans are social beings and since pre-historic times humans have been inquisitive and have embarked upon journeys to find new civilization. Today we are looking for life on other planets. When a person interacts with another, the first judgment he makes is about his nature. Similarly when we find ourselves in a new atmosphere, a new culture, the first few things we pick up are the culture not the economic status or the political scenario. It could be as simple as a greeting in the native language, or knowledge about the local cuisine, clothes or traditions. We all know that Vasco Da Gama brought along spices from his visit to India. What intrigues us so much, must be of huge importance. Culture exists in the form of ideas, language, identity, images and everything the human mind can perceive. Cultural is the inherent reactions, the way we behave socially, what we believe in and what makes us stand apart or defines us as a group. An interesting term at the heart of our discussion is ‘cultural products’. According to

Cultural is where a group of people develop common ideas, common ways of doing things and common interpretation of certain things. Culture has great influence on foreign countries. People often from other countries get attracted to cultural aspects of other countries. Culture has great influence on media, politics and people’s everyday life. I experienced a pop culture moment where a group of white women was wearing sari (a cloth that is draped around the woman 's body; it mostly seen in South Asia). I saw how culture could be imported instead of being exported. However, those women didn 't wear the sari correctly, which arose a question in my mind. Do people wear, ethnic cloth because they respect it or they mock the cultural by not wearing correctly? This question is about appreciation and appropriation of culture. This topic is very imporatant to me because I was being bullied in middle school because of my cultural coth and food. Adopting another culture is natural because of interaction between a group of people and it 's also because everyone is so diverse now. However when does appropriation or offending other culture comes up? Appropriation can be viewed positively and negatively. Culture appropriation can be view positively if it 's being portrayed correctly and it also can be viewed negatively if it 's being portrayed wrong. We often see cultural appropriation is being discussed in the media such as the sound, image, ideas. it considered as

Colonialism is broadly defined and universally acknowledged as the process of occupying and gaining control over foreign lands. This process has been associated with the political expansion of countries as well as the immense oppression of indigenous peoples. The main question that guided the research for this literature review is how were European settlers successful in colonizing indigenous lands? This question is instructive as to which methods western colonizers utilized were most effective in invading foreign lands and decimating the existence of the host culture. Responses to this question allow for the analysis of imperialist systems as well as their enduring effects, in order to indicate and dismantle the presence of these oppressive practices in todayʻs society. The literature that examines the process of colonization discuss these methods in three major categories; coercion through violence and decline in population, trade and economic development, and cultural decimation. The first argument discusses the coercion of the native people to accommodate the desires of the western settlers through violence and the reduction of their population. The second theory asserts that colonialism was achieved through capitalist efforts to develop native economies and establishing trade relations. The final theory argues that the elimination of the native identity, culture, religion, and language through religious conversion and western instruction is the most integral component

America has been labeled as a “melting pot” because people from all over the world migrate here and with them they bring their own culture. After some time, these cultures began to blend and influence others, but some may see this as a bad thing. “The term cultural appropriation is typically used to describe cultural borrowing that is in some way inappropriate, unauthorized, or undesirable.” (Arewa) Recently there has been much controversy over this topic. Should white people be able to wear dreads or box braids and listen to Whitney Houston? Should black people dye their hair blonde and listen to reggaeton? Who is to say that people from different cultures cannot share and adopt elements from others? The word appropriation means to take something for one’s own use, usually without permission. If we want to experience something from a culture besides our own are we supposed to ask, and if so who? You see there is no way to regulate who is representing which culture because culture is not something that you can just give and take, it is adopted. Individuals taking offense towards cultural appropriation is wrong because certain things cannot belong to one culture, cultures should be shared and adopted, and while many people believe taking and using another’s culture is seen as racist or wrong, it is not because submersing in a culture is educational and expanding.

Culture Appropriation is a relative topic throughout the world and has brought upon many debates for years. One specific ongoing debate is if writers have the right to write about other cultures without being classified as culturally appropriated their culture. In “Who gets to Write What?” by Kaityln Greenidge and “Dangerous Ideas” by Kenzie Allen, both authors discuss how writers should have the ability to freely write about what they want but with resposnbility and without using stereotypes. Greenidge writes about how she witnessed someone’s work being accused of culture appropriation and her own struggles while Allen gives many examples of how pop culture is being appropriated. Greenidge does this through a personal narrative while Allen does this through the use of exemplification. Even though both authors represent their argument on culture appropriation, Kaitlyn Greenidge is more likely than Kenzie Allen to succeed in getting people to change their minds because her argument is clearer due to her organization, she uses reliable sources which adds credibility, and uses personal narrative in order to make it more believable and appeal to the readers emotions.