Monday 28 March 2016

'Pick and Choose' what we like and don't like

This, I think, is similar to things other people have posted but I would like to mention certain things in particular. There is a common growing theme, especially in American culture, that it is o.k. to 'pick and choose' parts of other racial cultures to what white people like and don't like, those apparently making it 'appropriate' and 'good'. Similar to Kylie Jenner's multiple instagram posts. I am looking at how it has become common to use a culture as a costume. This idea is something that I found though watch buzzfeed videos such as -

These videos highlight something that I had personally never witnessed before, an acceptance and normalisation of such blatant racism that many people wouldn't necessarily understand that it was racist. It's like people are saying 'we will tolerate you but only if we can pick when we like you' which is a terrifying thing to normalise in society. 

Another example of this lies in the film 'Dear White People', Which for me was a big eye opener into racist American culture. The party scene at the end of the film shows people 'blacking up' for a 'blackness' theme party. Which you can see part of in the trailer -
Which in itself segregates racial culture within America. But also interestingly brings me back to my original point, that it is almost scene as white people right to take aspects of cultures that like and ignore the bad parts, or ignore the origins and meanings behind them. White culture in this context is almost like a leach on anything 'other', it takes what it likes and condemns the rest because it's different. This is a huge problem when trying to work for equality, when people can't see past their own actions and accept that they might be making the situation worse not better. I think is brilliantly summed up in one quote from this trailer. 
"They pay millions of dollars on their lips, their tans, JZ tickets because they want to be like us

1 comment:

  1. I definitely think that it's part of the white, dominant, colonialist ideal that perpetuate Western society. I feel this kind of relates to the idea of Whiteness, and how white people feel that they don't have a culture. It makes sense that if you think you are 'above' culture then other peoples cultures are there for the taking. Like you said picking and choosing is totally something white people do. 'We'll appropiate your culture but you should all be deported because you don't help society.' Shocking mentality to have right?!

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