Cultural Appreciation

Cultural Appropriation is when a person uses elements of another culture that is not their own. Cultural appropriation is seen as a bad thing because people feel as if aspects of their culture are being taken out of context or that others have no right to partake in them. For example, when the Kardashian's posted pictures of their hair in cornrows, many African American's felt that they were guilty of appropriating their culture, or borrowing parts of African American culture without consent.








In the new TV show "Atlanta" starring Childish Gambino, the main character Earn finds himself at a party with wealthy white people. He and his girlfriend are two of the three black people present, the third being the wife of the rich white host. Throughout the episode, Earn spends time with the host and learns that he is extremely interested in African American culture. He talks about how he's been to Africa and about the people he's met, all while Earn becomes increasingly annoyed. At the end of the episode when Earn tells him "You're not Black", we see that the problem Earn has with the man is his appropriation of his culture. The dude responds with the apology and then Earn tells him to stop being so "damn likable".

This brings us back to the way cultural appropriation is seen as a bad thing. Why is it a bad thing to have a genuine interest or admiration for another's culture? Isn't appropriation a form of appreciation? I think so. I don't think it's reasonable for us all to stick to our own aspects of our own individual culture. Because we all borrow each other's culture. If the Kardashians are appropriating black culture when they wear cornrows, would that mean that Black women are appropriating European or Indian culture when they wear weaves? What is you're mixed? That would mean you have to choose what culture you're "allowed" to partake in. Everyone partakes in elements of other people's culture and it's unavoidable.

Insecure

Insecure is a new HBO comedy TV show that follows characters Issa and Molly as they struggle with everyday issues like work, friendship, relationships, and self-esteem. Both characters are the opposite of the strong black woman archetype, instead they are both confused and unhappy at the way their lives have turned out. Issa, the main character, seems unhappy with both of her jobs and with her long-term boyfriend. Meanwhile Molly, Issa's best friend, has a successful career but can't seem to find love. Their personalities and insecurities mirror each other, giving the audience both sides of the coin to look at. In the first episode Issa breaks up with her boyfriend. Later when she is out with Molly, she meets up with an old "friend" who gives her all the sweet-talking her heart desires. This gives her confidence to complete her real accomplishment of the night, which is to go on stage and rap about her friend Molly. Her rap, "Broken Pussy", is a hit with the audience and seems to give Issa the confidence she needs in herself. However, as a consequence, Molly's date leaves her and Molly is left distraught and alone. Molly and Isa get into a argument and Molly leaves, leaving Issa to continue where she left off with her date. After a long night of flirting, Issa and her date are about to go to his place when she tells him she isn't ready for a relationship, and so the night ends with her alone as well. At the end of the episode though, Issa goes to her friend Molly's house and apologizes to her. Molly forgives her and the episode ends with them laughing among each other. Overall, the show is about two young women and the bond they share. It's current and relateable to the younger generation, and despite being a show about black women, caters to a bigger audience than that. Because everyone is insecure about something.

The Black Justin Beiber

There's this new FX comedy show called Atlanta that stars rapper Childish Gambino as the character Earn, who is the manager of his cousin and upcoming rapper Paper Boi. Atlanta is a show about a couple of  young, black men who are trying to make it into the music business. It also addresses stereotypes about black people and gives a perspective on everyday life that is relate able today. One of the main characters Paper Boi, is a rapper who despite his negative image in the media, struggles to show that he's a good person with ethical values and not the "gangster" he's made out to be. For the most part, Atlanta stays true to the reality of the world around us. However, in this episode they switched things up a bit and made Justin Beiber black. Paper Boi and Justin Beiber both make a appearance at a local basketball game.

When Paper Boi first sees Justin Beiber, he is openly urinating on a plant in the building. Paper Boi is disgusted but no one else seems to notice. The crowd is screaming and excited for Justin Beiber, regardless of what they just saw. Throughout the episode, Beiber continues to make rude comments and be a major asshole without any consequences. His fans could care less. That's what made the performance so funny, that Justin Beiber actually does get away with doing these things in real life. He has been known to urinate publicly, spit on fans,use racial slurs, and most recently been caught driving under the influence on several occasions. However, he remains at the top of the charts and doesn't seem to suffer much in popularity. In a way, seeing Justin Beiber as black highlighted his appropiation of hip hop culture and his attitude. This is where the show is making a statement about white privilege. In this episode, we see how quick Justin Beiber is forgiven for all his behaviors, while Paper Boi remains judged as a bad guy despite who he really is. This suggests that African Americans are held to a different standard in the media. Justin Beiber gets to act out in anyway he wants while maintaining his pop/hip hop persona without any real life consequences. It makes you ask: Is it because he's young? Or is it because he's white? Would he get away with this if he was black? Maybe or maybe not. I think one of the reasons they made Justin Beiber black was because it was a cool idea and also as a comment on frequent whitewahing of minority roles. Like Stephen Glover, one of the directors of Atlanta said, "No black kid is ever gonna get the job to portray Justin Beiber. This was a chance for this to happen".