Cultural appropriation has been subject to debate in the American music industry for several years. While it remains debatable as to whether there is a need for serious actions to be taken to provide justice to the members of the original cultures when it is evident there is an incident of misappropriation, how such cultural appropriation occurs still elicits debate. It is critical to understand that certain actions of the singers can be considered culturally offensive while others can be accommodated despite the cultural debate it brings. It is thus important that artists show appreciation to another culture by incorporating acceptable codes of the depicted culture to warrant appreciation.
The new video is a culmination of content appropriation. As defined by Young, content appropriation occurs when the singer decides to use the products of another culture for production purposes of the artwork or music. Numerous issues surround the production of the new video by Beyoncé. The song has come under criticism for several reasons regarding its use of Indian culture through unacceptable characters without offering any chance for the Indians themselves to showcase or take part in the depiction of the culture. It is important that whenever an outsider portrays another culture, the musical parts perceiving the outside culture could be played by the insiders to show appreciation of the culture (Ray 23-37). In many cases, musicians often use the appreciation as their defense for cultural appropriation. However, they have continued to use these contents of the outside cultures without involving the people from those cultures directly. It is important that certain roles considered to be the epic of the songs could be done by the insiders of those cultures. In the song Hymn of the Weekend, Beyoncé is dressed in traditional Indian attire. As a result, it creates the cultural appropriation. The typical form of appropriation is content appropriation. While it remains to be seen if the Indians have a particular issue with the song, it is important that reservations are always made for the cultural values of the Indians. There are several aspects of content appropriations about this particular video. In the contextual analogy of the video on culture, the donning of the Indian regalia by the singer presents an array of appropriation which is considered tasteless as it has no particular bearing with the cultural association of the singer. It is critical to understand the dynamics of the culture to be able to develop particular tastes about the culture (Ray 23-37).
However, Beyoncé uses the religious iconography as the background for the rock music which is in disrespect to the religious aspect of the Indians. It equally concerns how the certain elements of the Indian culture are used in the video to depict Western views and imagination of what Indian should look like. The value of appreciating a culture is to showcase every element of the culture without taking a reservation to particular parts of interest while leaving other parts (Vickers 35-53). It is important that these parts are created wholesomely to depict the actual events of a particular culture. Besides the traditional attire that the singers use in the video, there is also the use of tuk-tuk, a typical Indian mode of transport that many people use across Indian to traverse the streets to various places. The video commences with Chris Martin in a tuk-tuk moving across the Indian streets and seeing the children play and dance. Indians are equally known for dancing in the streets. However, it remains hypothetical to think that everything about India might stop at the street dances. The situation is understandably the cornerstone of the misrepresentation of the culture as thought by the West. While many Indians languish in abject impoverishment, it is critical to understand that there is very little excitement for the Indians who are all depicted as happy and colorful people. Indian culture is great and uses colors to bring to the attention of many the value of color for the Indians. The colorful nature of the video is a manifestation of the Indian culture that seems colorful before the Westerners. Additionally, the use of peacocks which is typical of Indian is not a handsome idea for many Indians. The peacocks are a portrayal of the Indian culture as mainly about them.
The Indian traditional sites are seen to be colorful as well as being a haven for poverty stricken people. The streets are often crowded as Chris Martin travels across in a tuk-tuk. The scenes portrayed in the video in all mannerism gives the blueprint of the image of India through percepts of Western understanding. It is important that certain facts about the cultural elements do not tamper with. In the most desirable way, it is important to understand that certain elements are necessary for publicity or to borrow from. The underlying fact is that Beyonce wearing a traditional dress is content, cultural appropriation. In the near elementary analogy, it is essential to acknowledge that the traditional sites and regalia are considered to be a depiction of a different culture for personal convenience. It is paramount to create a depiction that offers the culture in its rightful context. Contests over misrepresentation a culture has been deliberated in several occasions with many people thought to offer misguided or selfish view another culture. Many artists have been accused of using culture in its inappropriate context to help escalate the misgivings of the anther culture. There are numerous consequences of the cultural appropriation of the song to the Indian people.
The song corrodes the social value of Indian culture. Every person finds solace and pride in the social values of their cultures. However, it is important that such values are kept and understood in their right context. The problem with cultural appropriation is that if offers a disjointed view of a particular culture (Young 136-45). Equally, it provides the anecdote for the glamor that might not be found in the culture. The value of one’s culture is enshrined in the originality of which the context is sold to other cultures. However, the portrayal of the Indian culture as a colorful country is far-fetched an inaccurate. The inaccuracy is particularly a course for concern since it has so much bearing on the perception formed by that particular culture. The representation of culture is very essential to the value it adds to its people. It can be a source of spirituality or form of attraction. It is critical to understand that certain aesthetics are part of the broader spectrum of culture that should be offered to other cultures. However, the music singles out certain parts of the Indian culture in isolation while leaving out other parts of the culture. It is critical that the culture is depicted wholly. The use of peacocks in the video is a demonstration of the spirituality of the Indian culture. However, the religious connotation of the video provides a deem view of the Indian religious culture. It is essential that religion and secular cultures are not mixed in any way (Young 136-45). However, the song depicts religious leaders along with religious sites plus the robes. The religion image shown in the pop music is a drawback to the Indian culture.
Also, the video shows blatant misuse of the culture. It is often no debatable to take pride in different cultures. It is because every culture is unique in its making and way of expression. However, cultures can only feel appreciated through the active involvement of its people who understand the contextual value of the content. In the video, it is evident that Beyonce is dressed in the traditional attire of the Indian people. While some consider it as a form of appreciation, the taste itself is considered senseless as it has no meaningful bearing on the Indian people. The understanding of the culture, in this case, seems to deem as Kathakali dancers are offered similar dancing frame as the Northern dancers. Anybody with an understanding of the Indian culture would find this act inappropriate and a misrepresentation of the cultures. Indian is a diverse country with several cultures that are not related in any way. The North and the South are often involved in different cultural appreciation as opposed to what is portrayed in the video. The deeper meaning of the culture only requires its original people. Therefore, it would be just to include the famous characters in central roles rather than use them in the backdrop (Young 136-45). It is important that such cultures are offered the values to a view that is different from what other outsiders think. Indian is in many cases portrayed in certain ways for the convenience of the West. Using the natives will give a portrayal that is far much informed and insightful than using the people whose understanding is choreographed with global politics aimed at offering a favorable view to befit certain people or cultures. It is thus important to acknowledge that there is little appreciation of the Indian culture when it comes to the video.
Work Cited
Ray, P. "Cultural appropriation: Halloween’s post-modern problem." The society pages (2013): 23-37. Print
Vickers, Edward. History education and national identity in East Asia. Routledge, (2013): 35-53. Print.
Young, James O. "Profound Offense and Cultural Appropriation." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (2001): 136-45. Web.
