Coldplay, Beyonce & Cultural Appropriation Debate

507 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Perspectives of cultural appropriation

The source that my articles comes from is the Huffington Post. It was originally posted on a blog but then published on their website on February 4th. The title of the article is “Dear Coldplay & Beyonce: India is Not an Orientalist Fantasy by Reva Bhatt. The controversy is around a music video that Coldplay, a British alternative rock band, released for one of their newer songs named Hymn for the Weekend featuring Beyonce. The music video takes place in India and Bhatt was not happy about how Indian is portrayed by Coldplay in their video. She claims that the video takes the complexity and vastness of Indian culture and squeezes it into the long-romanticized Western narrative. Cultural appropriation is when a dominant group cherrypicks what they like about a minority group. Bhatt accuses Coldplay of doing that with Indian culture. I choose this article because it relates to the topic of culture in chapter two by Kodak. Kodak says national culture refers to those beliefs, learned behavior patterns, values,and institutions that are shared by citizens of the same nation. The article addresses aspects of culture in a country (India) in Asia. One of the problems Bhatt had with the Coldplay music video was that it reduced what Indian culture means as a whole just by …show more content…

What I found interesting was that people will find anything to complain about. I do not agree with Bhatt but I can see where she is coming from. I thought the Coldplay music video represented a large part of the beauty in Indian culture and it was celebrating that, showing appreciation. I don't know why Bhatt thought this was a cultural fantasy. Coldplay did something similar for their Princess of China music video. The music video itself was appealing to look at. They found a good looking Indian actor to play Beyonce's part in the video but it ended up offending

Show More
Related

  • The Portrayal Analysis Of ZZ Top's Video

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    If, in issues of cultural appropriation, esteem is given to the original performers, and if the work is performed in a respectable manner, perhaps some of the issues would dissipate. For the most part, the cultural appropriation argument is a cultural problem argument, and as long as recognition is given to the original performers, then the argument rather develops into a non-issue. Music, like all art, builds on art that happened before. With just a few general guidelines, and a distinction between ideas, moral dilemmas can be

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation Essay

    1651 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the article “What is Cultural Appropriation and Why is it Wrong? By Nadra Kareem Nittle and article “The Difference between Cultural Exchange and Cultural Appropriation” by Jarune Uwujaren. It talks about how cultural appropriation and about people wearing and using other cultural things such as the style of the clothes. It is usually known as borrowing but now it is not just borrowing since people who wear things/ objects with meaning and significance from other cultures do not even know the meaning. However, in cultural exchange it is much different when someone uses or does something that other cultures do for example, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the U.S, but it is the Latinos that live in the U.S who are celebrating and they are proud

    Read More

  • Beyoncé Feminism

    2056 Words  | 5 Pages

    On December 13, 2013 Beyoncé - who was named by the Time magazine as the most influential person of the year 2014 - unexpectedly released a self-titled visual album that went viral on the Internet, that is, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and sold 828,773 electronic copies in three days becoming the fastest-selling album in iTunes Store history. After the release of the album the artist posted coupe of videos where she was walking her fans through her songs and music videos in the album explaining what was intention and the idea behind each song. In one of those videos she speaks about how she was looking for some videos on feminism on YouTube, and when she saw a TEDx video from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talking about feminism, Beyoncé decided to use it for her new single – Flawless - as in her opinion the music and the Adichie’s video suited very well with each other. By the end of the explanatory video she talks about ‘imperfection’ and embracing one’s imperfections, which she links to her another single Pretty Hurts. This song features the issues of sexual objectification of female bodies and the culture of perfection where women are valued only for their beauty. In another explanatory video she talks about owning her sexuality and body, especially after her pregnancy. As she explains it was her joy and her confidence that allowed her to show her body to the public. In the video she mentions that she is very well aware of the fact that she is showing her body, and that she is doing this partly for other women as well to empower them, and give them an example that you can own your body and your sexuality, even after body goes into a lot of transformations during pregnancy.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Beyonce A Feminism

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beyonce is known for glamour, makeup, and for dancing around in nearly nothing. She is an extremely prominent pop star, but she’s also known for being a coveted victim of the male ogle. Feminist is not a word normally used to describe Beyonce. Her recent declaration of her feminism has left many wondering if Beyonce really is a feminist. From booty shorts to hair weaves, most argue that Beyonce doesn’t look the part; therefore, she is not a feminist. She may not look the part of a feminist, but Beyonce is a feminist.

    Read More

  • Miley Cyrus Cultural Appropriation

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    Miley Cyrus ' 2013 VMA performance at the VMA’s created immediate controversy. The once wholesome star of Disney 's Hannah Montana came onto the stage scantily dressed, singing a song that celebrated drug use, as she twerked all over her full figured, black female backup dancers. A multitude of articles were written about her performance; some were outraged, and some defended her right as a liberated young woman to express her sexuality. Two writers who expressed their outrage were Tressie Cottom and Hadley Freeman. Their complaint was that the sexualization of the heavier black dancers by a slim white woman was cultural appropriation, Although the two writers were on the same side of the argument, they looked at the situation from different places.

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation: Oppression or Appreciation?

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    Its shows why things are cultural appropriation by showing the response of different public figures who have been accused of cultural appropriation. It gives examples of actions that’s are cultural appropriation. Its show how things that seem to be stereotypes are more than that it’s a form of racial oppression put upon only the African American community.

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation Essay

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    One is bound to influence the other. Take New York’s music scene for example, it is a melting pot for all types of cultures and all thrive off of on another. But for one culture to take something from that culture and put it off as their own that is wrong. This is why cultural appropriation is a different problem all within itself. Cultural appropriation has next to nothing to do with someone’s exposure to different cultures. Cultural appropriation has more to do with the fact that someone from a privilege background or lifestyle exploiting someone’s culture from a less than privileged background hence Iggy Azalea, Katy Perry, Elvis Presley, and Miley Cyrus. This is more than often done through ethnic and racial means all while having little to no understanding of the history, experience, or

    Read More

  • Commodification In Django Unchained

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Omi’s essay "In Living Color: Race and American Culture.", popular culture production is, somehow, contributing to the dissemination of a racist ideology since it poorly deals with the representation and the roles that different races play in the music industry (Omi 112). hooks and Omi agree in terms of considering the sales of products related to one culture as commodification, and they also agree that this commodification is racist. A good example of it is found in Omi’s essay: black artists have a special category, separated of white artists, which confirms the racism present in the sales of albums and the commodification of race-related products. This also relates to the movie scene since physical aspects of people are used to make them fit in different consumption categories and to determine different sales

    Read More

  • Cultural Appropriation Analysis

    2349 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...l appropriation is the British pop singer Lily Allen, who decided to compose a song to protest, regarding pop music’s sexy standards in music video. “Don’t need to shake my a*s for you cause I’ve got a brain” Allen’s idea of how the pop music industry is today (Manders, 2013), which led to heated and debated controversies regarding racism and cultural appropriation. Evidently, music videos are stereotyping the portrayal of black women. And relating this back to the Miley Cyrus incident, using black women dancer, acting improper shows a tool of objection (Lang, 2013). Even though Allen denied any intension of using black women as an accessory in her music video, and only trying to show how the music industry treats black women (Allen, 2013).

    Read More

  • John Mayer Stereotypes

    433 Words  | 1 Pages

    John Mayer was recently under fire for his representation of Japanese culture in his music video “Still feel like your man”. The video contains many stereotypical japanese ideas including dancing panda bears, bamboo trees, women dressed in geishas, some being caucasian, and samurai fights. The video also has a lighting similar to the famous red-light district in Tokyo. The portrayal of asian culture in his music video is very stereotypical, not to mention culture appropriating, but Mayer believes otherwise. When discussing the controversy about his music video culture Mayer said “Part of cultural appropriation is blindness. I'm on the right side of the line because it's an idea for the video that has a very multiethnic casting, and nobody who is white or non-Asian is playing an Asian person”. Mayer has failed to recognize that there is a big issue with the way he portrays this culture. By having these stereotypes, he further creates a misunderstanding and misrepresentation for the japanese culture.

    Read More

  • Beyonce's Infidelity: Article Analysis

    466 Words  | 1 Pages

    It seemed as Beyonce and Jay-Z were the most perfect couple to ever be alive. Yet, like the majority of celebrity couples, infidelity is involved. On the contrary, Beyonce is not to blame, it is Jay-Z.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Culture In Kenya

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mahatma Gandhi said, “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” While this may not be a direct definition out of Merriam Webster, it is a close description of the word culture. Many factors determine and form a society. By society, I mean a group of people who share similar traits. Culture is the language, religion, traditions, everyday lives, and more of a nation.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of National Culture

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    The term “national culture” is too expansive to describe because it absorbs and crosses many dimensions that cannot be specifically tagged to it. In a broad sense, “national culture” can be defined as a sense of attachment to things, lands, buildings (architecture) and landscaping that can construct a sense of belonging to a country commonly known as national identity or nationhood. In his article, Zubrzycki (2010) feels that nationalist scholars often referred the term “national culture” to signify language, ethnicity and traditions of a population of a nation. Just as how he puts it, “national culture” is used to build nationhood and this term today, is constantly being fiercely cared for and protected by social actors to preserve what is

    Read More

  • A Culturally Defined Nation

    1480 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nothing defines a nation greater than it’s culture. The culture is the unifying force that brings the people, the economy, and the politics into one. For the people it’s a sense of belonging. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the souls of its people.” The culture ultimately establishes a traditional set of morals that lives on through the people to be passed on through generations. It becomes a part of life that even the most different of people can relate back to. The film Tsotsi emphasizes the power of culture, and how culture defines a nation, the people within a nation, and how the people behave.

    Read More

  • Culture Is Ordinary, by Raymond Williams

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the end, what we learn from this article is very realistic and logical. Furthermore, it is supported with real-life examples. Culture is ordinary, each individual has it, and it is both individual and common. It’s a result of both traditional values and an individual effort. Therefore, trying to fit it into certain sharp-edged models would be wrong.

    Read More

More about Coldplay, Beyonce & Cultural Appropriation Debate

Open Document