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The importance of culture appropriation
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Its official fall is finally here. Which is by far the best season for many reasons the leaves are changing colors, bugs are returning to the hell in which they belong, it is finally cold enough that I can wear my flannels and sweaters without melting, and of course the main reason fall is the best season… Halloween. Halloween is by far the best holiday. It is the time for horror movie marathons, being able to buy candy in bulk without getting weird looks, and dressing up as something you would never be able to pull off on any normal day. It is the holiday in which you get to release your inner child and be as creative as you want. It brings happiness and creativity to our boring everyday lives and everyone gets a free pass to be whatever they want for night whether it be a dragon or a ketchup bottle. It's a time when you can escape the stressfulness of everyday life and return to the silly playful side of life. …show more content…
One thing that people don't think about when they choose their costume is whether or not what they are choosing is going to be offensive or appropriating someone's culture. Cultural appropriation is a sociological concept that views the use, borrowing, or adoption of elements from a culture that is not yours as a negative and offensive phenomenon. Now more than ever people are more aware of this concept. Most people, including, myself have fallen prey to choosing a costume that was not “sensitive” to other cultures. I firmly believe that most people, when they choose their costumes, do not think about how their costume may affect other people. They think it is all in good fun and don't intend to offend any groups of people. Which is why I firmly believe that people should educate themselves about cultural appropriation and think about how their intended costume could be potentially offensive to
Late autumn has arrived and with it comes the dark magic of Halloween--and, of course, the
Day of the Dead is a holiday for people to honor their ancestors and loved ones who have passed away and invite those spirits back into their homes to be part of the family once more. Halloween and Day of the Dead have similarities which are that both holidays have costumes, skeletons, and treats as well as graveyards, and decorations. Halloween is a time that you can be anything you want, so people dress up in costumes to continue the tradition that was started in Ireland. On the Day of the Dead, people wear shells on their clothes, so when they dance, it will wake the dead. A difference between Day of the Dead and Halloween is that they have different symbols. The symbol for Halloween is a pumpkin or a ghost. The Day of the Dead symbol is
The costumes of the Halloween have intensely portrayed the black community in an upsetting manner. The costumes have often depicted the black community as superstitious and often compared them to zombies, vampires, and animals. The concepts appropriated are the superstitious nature of the blacks their depiction as less intelligent creatures. In contrast, the costumes depict the whites as knowledgeable, intelligent and upright. According to Savan, the media has greatly exploited the back culture with a mass advertisement from the corporations who get huge profits from the celebrations in the sale of costumes. Although an effort is made in connecting with the blacks, the idea behind it is not in understanding the backs and their culture but rather is an exploitative one. It had an adverse impact on the black community by degrading their esteem and status in the community. For many years, the political process also had been influenced by the same ideas and had ignored the black population in the political process (Belk,
Different cultures have different holiday traditions. At this time of year different cultures are preparing to celebrate Halloween or the Día de los Muertos.These two holidays occur around the same time of year. October 31st is Halloween and the Day of the Dead begins on November 1st and ends on November 2nd. Halloween is an American tradition and the Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico, and other Latin American countries. Both holidays share some similarities but also have some differences.Some common themes between the two holidays are food and religion. For example, Pumpkin is associated with both holidays. And Christianity is the religion associated with both holidays. The symbols for these holidays share some similarities , for example skulls. While Halloween also is associated with ghosts and witches. A big
This effort to stand out on Halloween comes at the expense of minorities, resulting in real harm and not just “offense”. As discussing appropriation of all minority cultures would be quite difficult, for my research paper, I am going to focus on culturally appropriative Native American themed Halloween costumes and the impact that it has indigenous people. A tentative thesis statement might be something similar to the following: The appropriation of Native American culture and identity in Halloween costumes trivializes the significance of cultural symbols and elements, perpetuates racist stereotypes, and contributes to the systemic oppression of indigenous people. With my paper, I intend to educate my audience about the harmful effects of cultural appropriation and why it is not the same as cultural appreciation. I want to persuade my audience to practice cultural sensitivity and take the time to properly learn about the culture they wish to
Cultural appropriation is a sociological concept which views the adoption or of elements of one culture by members of a different culture as a largely negative phenomenon. It has a negative connotation because cultural appropriation also refers to a particular power dynamic in which members of a dominant culture take elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by that dominant group. In Sunita Puri’s article “Cultural Identity vs. Ethnic Fashions”, she divulges in the topic of cultural appropriation, and uses ethnic and pathetic appeals to establish her credibility as an Indian American who can speak on behalf of her people to convince non-Indians to stop using the Bindi as a fashion statement. She brings forth personal experiences and examples from pop-culture and explains why appropriation is offensive.
It’s fall everyone and Halloween is coming.I would like to tell you that fall is the best season of all.
When I learned that I would have to do my ethnographic report on what I did during Halloween, I was worried because I live in Turnpike and the most excitement that happens in turnpike is the sound of the garbage truck when it comes to pick up the Wednesday trash. Fortunately something did happen to me and I realized I would not have to write a boring paper of how I woke up and just stayed in my room the whole day. Well the day started off with me waking up and walking to the bathroom to take a shower, as soon as the turned the water on I realized I had left my shower and rather than turning off my shower I stayed in because the warmth of the hot water was too seductive for me to get out and get my towel. In the shower I had my usual thoughts about life, death, and comebacks to old arguments. Afterword I got out of my shower and reached for my toothbrush, which was located in a cupboard behind the toilet, but I grabbed at it too quickly and it fell in the toilet. I stood over my toilet for about five minutes just staring at my toothbrush in the toilet not believing what just happened, after that I started blaming myself for being too impatient. When I was done feeling sorry for myself I went into my room in search of another toothbrush but unluckily I couldn’t find one, so I had to go walk to the local store at around 7:30 in search of a toothbrush. While searching for a replacement toothbrush I realized that not that many people were in the store, I had always thought that stores were busiest in the morning and evening but apparently that’s not true. Once I got my new toothbrush I finished brushing, got dressed and went to catch the 11 to the Transit Center.
I've always liked Fall. I like the falling leaves and warm spice drinks and chilly air and nice sweaters and the generally spooky vibes. Fall is a good time for me. Nothing beats it, not even the summer. The most important part, though, is Halloween. Halloween cotumes, loads of spooky-themed candy, costume parties, scary movies, everthing about it was something I looked forward to all year.
Halloween costumes usually spark controversy in many societal aspects, and the trend is constantly facing diversification. Racial and other forms of discrimination continue to affect targeted members of the society in positive and negative ways. Affected races and the mentally ill are typical targets in the matter, and their plight needs consideration. People should avoid spotting offensive costumes in order to remain ethical in the society. Ethical concerns are the largest contributors in the issue, and they need ultimate involvement.
Have you ever taken offense when you saw someone dressed in traditional garments from your culture? In America, this happens quite often. Some people may not recognize it and some refuse to acknowledge that it even exists. Cultural appropriation is a situation in which a dominant culture steals aspects of a minority culture’s, such as hair, clothing styles, and music.
When I was 12 years old I dressed up as a gypsy; traditional dress, dark eyeshadow, rosy pink cheeks, black eyeliner, and gold jewelry everywhere. Naively my intention was to dress up in a costume that was fun to wear and also made me feel as free as a “wanderlust gypsy”. It was only years later that I came to realize how little I knew about the actual hardships my costume represented. Gypsies were not filled with a great desire to travel, rather they had no choice but to move in constant attempts to flee for their lives. I was representing nothing but a bedazzled form of disregard to the appropriating culture. People think that cultural appropriation is harmless but in fact it is deeply disrespectful. The difference between the appreciation
When Halloween approaches, I feel the air becoming cooler and the nights becoming longer. Clouds over lap the moon creating an eerie look in the sky. Children grow more and more excited to put on their costumes, and they spend one night out of the whole year going door to door getting free candy. As I have grown up over the years, Halloween is celebrated differently for me. I always notice that even though it is celebrated differetly the people haven’t changed and that’s what makes it memorable.
...o contextual influences and past experiences. Therefore it is almost impossible to pre-empt the ways in which others will perceive you. Over time ideas will change and therefore alter the ways in which we look back on past clothing choices. Whilst symbolism in fashion may no longer be subject to laws as it was in the 14th century or defined by strict social rules in the 17th century, the clothes we wear are still today subject to imposed social ideals. Apart from distinguishing one status group from another, a style of dress may also aid group cohesiveness, provide the individual with an identity and a feeling of belonging, and communicate the wearer’s attitudes and interests. The ways in which we interpret others and present ourselves for interpretation is the only true way that we can be individual. Symbolism in clothing may not seem as obvious or important nowadays as it was in times of extreme social bigotry, but it is still highly prevalent and has remained one of the most effective ways to project our desired image to those around us. ‘The state of a person’s clothes is synonymous with self respect and is a sign of responsibility’ (www. Pemberley.com/janeinfo/vebleis7.html)
Fashion designer, Perrie Samotin once said “Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s about something else that comes from within you” (Samotin). Fashion is one of the many things people use to express themselves. With this, you would think that people would not get offended by what others wear.