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The Cultural Theorists Karl Marx, Looking Into His Idea Of Commodity Fetishism

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The Bindi, which is loosely known as the ‘Tika’, 'Pottu ', 'Sindoor ', 'Tilak ', 'Tilakam ', and 'Kumkum ' (Das, 2014) is a decorative dot that was traditionally worn by Hindu women in the middle of the forehead (Antony, 2010). Bindi is a word that was obtained from the Sanskrit (a sacred language of Hinduism) word bindu meaning “drop” or “dot”. Bindi has been interpreted throughout India in ways of having spiritual devotions in relation to the Hindu religion and is also an indication of one being married. Although it maintains a traditional meaning to those from India and the Hindu religion, it has since then become that of a fashion accessory. The aim of this assignment will discuss the cultural theorist Karl Marx, looking into his Idea of commodity fetishism. The second concept that will be used in this essay is that of Stuart Hall and his idea of Encoding and Decoding and thirdly, this paper will discuss cultural appropriation in relation to the use of bindi in society today.
The traditional bindi has religious and social significance to the people of India and those of the Hindu religion. In a religious context there are three common meanings behind the bindi, one of these is the area in which the bindi is placed (between the eyebrows). This is known as the “third eye” or the sixth chakra, it is believed to possess energy which then controls concentration levels whilst meditating (Das, 2014). Secondly, it is also seen as being a protective symbol in a way that is
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