What Is Ratatouille Cultural Appropriation

Ratatouille, a film directed by Brad Bird, tells the story of a rat who realizes his dream of becoming a chef when he stumbles into an opportunity to cook in a prestigious French restaurant. On its face, Ratatouille may appear to be a shallow film that does not advance any complex themes. However, the film adds to the dialogue about who possess culture and who should receive the opportunity to create art within a culture. Ratatouille establishes that it is desirable for individuals to be given the opportunity to express themselves artistically outside of the cultural group that social constructs place them in as long as they take care to preserve the values and character of the cultural property they are appropriating; Ratatouille establishes

Generally, people use the term “cultural appropriation” to describe a person or group taking elements of a distinct cultural group’s identity and implementing them into their own cultural identity. The use of the term “Cultural appropriation” often comes with negative connotations; it is often associated with cultural groups implementing elements of another groups cultural identity without regard for those elements broader cultural significance. However, the term is not inherently negative. In this essay, unless explicitly stated, the term cultural appropriation will be used without the application of any positive or negative

The two extreme ends on the spectrum of positions adopted when arguing who should have the right to participate in culture. The first of these positions is that cultural appropriation is morally wrong, and a cultural group has the right and obligation to oppose any attempt to appropriate or participate in any element of their culture by individuals who do not possess the appropriate cultural heritage. The opposite of this position is that a culture opposing the participation and appropriation of their cultural identity excludes other cultural groups from positively contributing and growing the original cultural groups cultural identity by imprinting their own talents and experiences onto the original groups cultural heritage. A common position held by many people lies in the middle of these two extremes; they believe that individuals should not be excluded from participating in and appropriating another groups cultural identity; given that they preserve the original cultures value and intent while producing in that