LogFAQs > #939358712

Zeus posted...

She used Japanese pop culture to produce entertainment for Japan.

adjl posted...

There's an argument to be made that the video was produced for Japan more so than for a Western audience, which would make that statement untrue

Oh hey look at that.

Zeus posted...

The only objection seems to be that she's white, which is racist at best.

More accurately, it relies on the assumption that all of her music is produced for a Western audience. If this was produced for Japanese more so than Western audiences, that assumption is incorrect and the position falls apart.

Zeus posted...

More importantly, the definition concerns the "inappropriate adoption" of culture. The core objection in culturally appropriation has generally concerned the misuse of traditional concepts. rather than pop culture.

Personally, I think assigning such connotations to it is a bad idea, compared to letting the term itself be more vague and relying on context, intent, and other nuances to determine whether the example in question is actually objectionable. One of the primary issues with the term is that it's so often used without elaborating on why it's a bad thing, which renders it largely meaningless to anyone that doesn't already agree with the sentiment.

Simply, "Is this cultural appropriation?" is a question that will have different answers depending on how people interpret the concept. "Is it bad to appropriate this piece of culture like this?", by comparison, is a question that fosters discussion and sharing of opinions based on the nuance of the scenario at hand (see: the parts of your conversation with me that aren't focusing on the term "cultural appropriation"), relying only on the simple dictionary definition of "appropriation" to limit misinterpretation. Much more sensible.

Yellow posted...

I can sit here and talk about how tourism has destroyed Hawaii's culture and no one would object, because it's a real topic I've heard firsthand from a Hawaiian native, but if I started talking about how we culturally appropriated a grass skirt then everyone's going to treat me like a PETA member... probably for good reason, because I'm watering down the concept of racism to apply to fashion sense. There are very few people who actually believe in cultural appropriation and very few that would find it convincing.

As much as it affects people's response to what you're saying, what you call it doesn't actually change what it is. You can say that you don't want to throw on a grass skirt and go to a luau because you don't like what tourism has done to Hawaii's culture and don't want to participate in that, and while you won't get nearly the same reaction from angry anti-SJW types, you are saying you don't want to appropriate their culture for your own entertainment.

deoxxys posted...

Discouraging people from participating in a culture just because they have the wrong skin color is the very embodiment of GATEKEEPING.

I personally treat it less like discouraging people from participating in a culture and more making an effort to be aware and considerate of how that culture is treated by myself and others. As long as you're being considerate and making a genuine effort to understand where the material is coming from, I don't see a problem with it.

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