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RE: Weekend Rant: There is No Such Thing as Cultural Appropriation
I love this post.
I agree that culture isn't something that can be owned. I used to get pissy about Koreans profiting off of black culture until I realized that they were smart as fuck for doing it!
One thing that got me out of the whole "cultural appropriation" bullshit was seeing a response Jermey Lin had for a NBA player he looked up. Jermey now has dreads and the NBA player told him to stop that. Lin responded by saying "I'll stop if you remove the Chinese characters tattooed on you".
People who don't live interesting lives have nothing better to do than to hound others for living their lives.
Oh believe me, I still grind my teeth anytime rich Gangnam kids come out on rap reality shows. But that's the messiness that leads to some truly unique cultural moments.
The Lin thing is hilarious and I'm glad he handled it without becoming inflammatory. That's one of the main weaknesses with the appropriation argument - it is potentially infinite in how you identify 'oppressive' uses of culture from one person to another.
I fully agree with you last sentence. A motto that live by.
Thanks for the great comment @shaunonsite!
I lived in Sinchon and some former contestants from Unpretty Rapstar were shooting some kind of funky looking dance video in front of my goshiwon. They were uncoordinated as fuck and I wanted them to get the fuck away so I could get some sleep (hence why i'll NEVER live in Seoul again).
I'm in Pyeongtaek now and it's SO much more peaceful here than in Seoul.
I don't have a problem with Koreans or other cultures appropriating black American culture. They'll have to bear the responsibility of the so-called backlash from others. The way I see it, if an American wants to be a K-pop star, so be it.