Appreciation or Appropriation?

In what we read of Edward Said's Orientalism, the myth-turned-to-"fact" view that westerners have on eastern culture is analyzed and brought to light. The idea of an "other" is both harmful and silly. People tend to view any culture different than their own as wrong or dirty. They fail to take the time to understand the culture or learn about the customs they have. Another side of orientalism is found in the incredibly plentiful world of cultural appropriation in pop music culture. The artists may defend themselves saying that is a matter of admiration, but they are still perpetuating racist and harmful stereotypes. Just because they are not openly discriminating against a culture doe not mean they are not being equally orientalist.

One of the most prominent examples is the appropriation of Japanese Kawaii culture. Gwen Stefani's "Harajuku girls" phase is one of the more controversial occurrences. Stefani, after having visited Japan once in the 90's, put four dancers on contract and had them follow her to events and be in her music videos and performances. The characters also inspired fragrances and themes in her clothing line. They were contractually obligated to speak only Japanese and were renamed "music" "baby" "love" and "angel". It was as if they were her pets. In a video of her performing the song "Harajuku Girls", she proclaims her love for the culture and individuality and yet she is the only one that stands out from the dancers. In a similar style, Avril Lavigne's video for "Hello Kitty" features four robotic, straight faced asian women who follow her around.

Beyond Kawaii culture, pop stars appropriate Japanese culture with the sexualization of the Geisha character. Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Coldplay, Katy Perry, and Madonna are just a few guilty participants. It may not seem like as much of a problem by some, but they are profiting from a culture that is not their own and sexualizing and trivializing traditions.

Another appropriation tactic that is commonly utilized by western pop stars is the use of Indian culture- bindis, images of deities. Gwen Stefani, Selena Gomez, Grimes(who has apologized), Vanessa Hudgens, and many more have repeatedly worn bindis while having no connection to the actual significance. Selena Gomez and Shakira have used Indian costume and dance in live performances. The problem with cultural appropriation is that it's using cultures as props and not acknowledging something's religious or cultural significance. There is a difference between appreciation and appropriation. I am not saying that all of these stars and anyone using eastern culture in their videos or performances are inherently racist- I enjoy many of these artist's work myself- just that it is something to consider. It is interesting how orientalist the west can be while simultaneously attempting to recreate eastern culture solely for aesthetics. I also recognize that as a white american I don't have any authority on the subject but merely want to bring attention to it.