Cultural Appropriation

I recently watched a YouTube video that a high school student recorded of their math teacher dressed in feathers and performing a mock Native American dance (see the video here). This has been labeled cultural appropriation. Another example was of a Native American comedian taking issue with a circle of old white hippy-type people banging on an ceremonial drum and chanting (video). Even more profound was a video I saw several years ago of a black college student berating a white "surfer/skater dude" for having dreadlocks (see here). Cultural appropriation has become a big deal the last decade. So, I thought I'd briefly give my perspective on the matter.   

First, the video of the teacher doing a rain dance in math class was -- in my opinion -- not cultural appropriation, because she wasn't adopting an element of the culture she was mimicking. She was using the culture illustratively to make some odd point. In the end, her stereotyped-infused performance was simply mockery, insulting, and insensitive. While I don't know her motives, her behavior could be deemed racist if observed without context. It was simply foolish.

Second, the video of white people drumming also included stereotyped mimicry, but I don't think there was a desire to disrespect the culture, despite achieving that end. This was perhaps a misuse of an appropriated cultural theme, but it was likely meant for positive. In this light, I might consider it a misguided attempt at homage. What's the old saying, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"? Was this really cultural appropriation? It was mimicry. It was less than sensitive mimicry at that, but the motives were likely innocuous. I doubt these people have adopted ceremonial drumming as an active part of their daily lives. 

Lastly, the case of dreadlocks guy... 

I grew up in SoCal and knew plenty of white guys with dreads. It was endemic to stoner/surfer/skater culture, which was largely coastal-centric. If you were to ever take a trip to Venice Beach in Los Angeles, one of the iconic figures imaged in the area is Bob Marley and his dreads, who epitomized smoking weed and an island ethos. This was influential to the laid-back SoCal beach culture. In this way, real cultural appropriation took place, but it was completely honoring of its Jamaican roots and merely expanded the Rastafarian culture. It was not crude mimicry, nor was it mockery. I think this poor college student was simply being a Cal-native.

The question is whether permission is necessary to adopt cultural elements? Surely, as with the drum, there can be a disregarded socio-religous element, which the white folks banging on the drum did. This was done in a de-contextualized manner and made it look foolish. This doesn't mean that such drumming couldn't be re-contextualized in an expanded way. That's what Cal-surfer culture has done with dreads. And frankly, as a historian, I can say that this is how culture spreads, evolves, and maintains vibrancy. 

Barry Cunliffe is a Celtic historian/anthropologist who has demonstrated a new thinking about how the Celtic culture/language spread through Europe. It was originally thought that Celtic culture started in central Europe and spread outward, eventually reaching the British Isles. Yet, Cunliffe has established that recent linguistic and DNA evidence suggests that the Celtic language and culture began in western Europe -- Iberia and the British Isles -- and through trade expanded to central Europe. It then cycled back with new forms of artistry, revitalizing western linguistic Celtic areas, thus cross-fertilizing the region and then the continent into a synthesis that we call the Celtic culture. In other words, through trade and migration, culture spread and was adopted beyond root areas, west or central. Culture is more cyclic and expansive than static.

Look at Japan. Japanese culture has incorporated heavily from the West -- especially America. Japan has re-cast or re-contextualized American elements through a Japanese lens, which eventually cross-fertilized back to the West. For example, if Americans pioneered animation, the Japanese then adapted it and created anime, which has since sparked fandom in America. So, in this light, cultural appropriation is a positive. It's a respectful transference of human diversity and a unifier across continents. 

To conclude, I would posit that mimicry and mockery are not true examples of cultural appropriation, because they are often temporary and inconsiderate. Motives can be good or bad here, but the behavior lacks lasting substance. Dreadlocks and cartoons on the other hand, have a sincere and respectful history of a shared humanity, and this sort of appropriation is how culture spreads and grows historically. Let's all remember to be considerate and respectful of our diversity, but let's not get our panties in a bunch when someone respectfully adopts a foreign component in their lives, because that is normal for humanity. At the end of the day, we are all humans and share the same ball of rock. Peace!