Cultural Appropriation: Are We Blowing It Out of Proportion?
The other day, a couple friends and I were talking about movies and TV shows from the early 2000s. And although we all seemed to recognize the subtle, underlying xenophobia in many of the comedy scenes in said movies and TV shows, there was widespread agreement that the 00s was a short-lived golden age for cinema. There was just something so comforting about the witty, sarcastic dialogue, the insane pop-culture references, the not-so-put-together-as-they-are-today teenagers, the hearty relationships, the ever-so-idiosyncratic characters, the twists on traditional archetypes. It was a different era, and a beautiful one, and just like how old men recount their first loves, we discussed 2000s cinema with a bittersweet blend of nostalgia and poignancy. Mean Girls, Gilmore Girls, anything that ended in “girls” was crowned an undeniable masterpiece.
Then someone brought a film that I hadn’t seen (I can’t remember, but I think it was ‘27 Dresses’?) and they said, “oh, but this one is like REALLY politically incorrect.” I, being the inquisitive person that I am, immediately asked why. She–deeply ashamed of her un-woke tastes–said, “Katherine Heigl wears a sari in one of the scenes.” Oh, the sacrilege.
I obviously cannot speak for the entire Indian population, but I really can’t imagine being offended that Katherine Heigl wore a sari. Saris aren’t sacred, they are articles of clothing (although, in my opinion, the most beautiful kind there is), and anyone is welcome to wear them. This was when I realized that maybe…just maybe, we have blown the cultural appropriation argument WAY out of proportion, so much so that it is actually endangering the immigrant population.
Picture this. You have made a series of paintings, and you are very proud of them. But you haven’t told anyone about them because you’re afraid that if you tell people, you’ll be thought of as weird or strange. So, you don’t tell anyone about it. You practice your craft in private, in silence, waiting for the day that someone understands your artistry. Is this favorable? No.
Hypothetical scenario #2. You finally tell people about your artwork, and people instantly criticize it. They tell you all the things that are wrong with the paintings, without even trying to recognize the beauty in them. Everyday, people scoff at you in disgust, and you’ve been cast out from your friend group. Suddenly, one of your white friends–we’ll call her Sasha–replicates your painting, and the whole school celebrates her. They tell her that she is an artistic genius, an original thinker, the next Van Gogh. Is this favorable? Also no.
Hypothetical scenario #3 (last one, I promise). Upon receiving criticism for your artwork, you return to your previous state of mind, where everything you did was in silence. Suddenly, there is a group of people–a blend of all races–-who come up to you and tell you that they appreciate your work. There are now countless people in school who interpret and celebrate your artwork. There are also countless people who finally have the courage to show their own artwork. And together, you all form a community–composed of distinct individuals–who now have the power to fight off the haters. Is this favorable? I think a little bit more.
Hypothetically, it’s easy to tell between scenarios 2 and 3. However, in real life, when we crucify the Sashas from scenario 2, sometimes, we’re villainizing the supporters from scenario 3.
For the longest time, people who immigrated to this country lived in the first scenario. They expressed their cultures in the privacy of their homes, or within their close-knit communities. For them, culture was inconvenient, a painful reminder of their homeland. Because of this, they would try their very best to shed such beautiful aspects of their identities. I’ve been in this bucket. It’s not fun.
That’s why, if I saw Katherine Heigl wearing the sari when I was three years old, I would have actually been elated.
As much as I needed to see brown representation in cinema, I also needed to see the acceptance of brown cultures by other ethnicities. I needed to know that my culture was something I could wear proudly, something I would be celebrated for, and not something weird or disgusting.
The problem isn’t when you wear our clothes or cook our food. The problem is when you do stupid things like plastering pictures of Hindu gods on footwear (American Eagle actually did this–I couldn’t make this up if I tried), or when you correct my pronunciation of “Kshatriya” and tell me that “it’s actually pronounced ‘KashAA-tree-yuh.”
But there’s another problem, one that is surprisingly being furthered by the left wing. And it occurs when we needlessly call people out for misappropriating culture. It’s slowing down the process of integration–where immigrants contribute elements of their culture, and gain elements of the majority culture. Integration is the healthiest form of assimilation, and when we make it a crime to interact with other cultures, we make life really really difficult for immigrants. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t call people out for disrespecting and misappropriating culture. I’m saying that we should celebrate interacting with other cultures, and clearly see the difference between respectful interaction and disrespectful misappropriation.
Besides, I think Katherine Heigl’s been through enough.
This post was written by Shreya Arukil
