If you crack open an Oxford dictionary and find the term ‘cultural appropriation’ its definition will read, “the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, or ideas, of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.” Cultural appropriation has been a big controversy for many years. The topic can date back to the 18th century when white women were wearing bustles to reemphasize their leaner figures while black women with naturally large butts were being held in freak shows for entertainment and are still showing up recently as the Rachel Dolezal scandal and Kylie Jenner lip kits.
The fact that America is a melting pot of all types of different customs and cultures blurs the lines between appropriation and appreciation allowing for the argument that cultural appropriation is essentially a nonissue and that those offended should be flattered. The line can be defined simply by taking into consideration respect and context. For example, it would be inappropriate to wear a bindi as a part of a costume or a casual accessory while going to get groceries or something but if you were to attend an Indian wedding then it would not be unacceptable. People getting cornrows, a very black hairstyle, and calling them ‘Kim Kardashian braids’, a very nonblack woman, as if she was the one who created them and they have not been around for centuries is another form of cultural appropriation.
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It is obvious that time after time, black or minority culture has been stolen and claimed to be taken advantage of, now more than ever, as seen a lot in today's media. The exploitation of marginalized cultures is living, breathing proof that post-racialism is a myth.
“Get Out” goes a step further than any regular horror flick by using its plot as an allegory and satirizing what is essentially cultural appropriation and ‘post-racialism’. Good horror films are typically full of suspense leaving watchers on the edge of their seats. Viewers are used to the jump scares and all of the moments where you just want to scream “Do not go in there!” at the characters on the screen in the middle of the theater. Director Jordan Peele depicts a world where black bodies are being used by white people as outer shells that they will carry out the rest of their lives inside of. This concept addresses the thought that white people are intellectually superior while black people are physically superior which plays a key role in cultural appropriation itself and is the main story behind the plot. Grandfather Armitage was competing in the 1936 Olympic Games against black Jesse Owens who beat him, which led to his belief that the only reason that he lost was because his being white was an unfair disadvantage against the physical seniority of black people. As the story continues, the main character, Chris Washington, soon “learns that the white people around him are coveting his body” and that Roses's family will sell him to the highest bidder so that they can “try it on as a kind of second skin”, gaining access to the prowess and excellence that black people possess (Staples 433). In this movie, Peele also ridicules the idea of post-racial America through Chris’ interactions with the rest of the characters of the movie. All the white people Chris comes into contact with seem almost too eager to show their acceptance of black people. For instance, Roses's dad tries to reassure, a seemingly uneasy and uncomfortable Chris, that he does not care that he is black by saying “I would have voted for Obama a third time if I could” and using other slang terms and liking Tiger Woods to somewhat relate to Chris and make him feel more at ease and comfortable inevitably doing just the opposite. Another example is when another white woman approached Chris and blatantly asked how ‘well-endowed’ he was and he just shook it off and continued about his business. As proven by the forced small talk, Chris represents the image of an unassuming, nonconfrontational black person giving the benefit of the doubt to white people unknowingly overstepping their boundaries while trying too hard to be inclusive which can be a parallel to a situation where a white woman touches a black girls hair in admiration and she just subtly moves away. At the end of the movie, Rose is pictured “appraising the sculpted torsos of black athletes” which can be seen as “the 21st-century equivalent of the plantation owner who studies the teeth and muscles of the human beings he is about to buy in a slave market” (Staples 431). This analogy can be determined as the reason why Missy Armitage, Rose’s mother who hypnotizes Chris, was so adamant and persistent in trying to get Chris to nip his bad cigarette habit: she wanted to keep his body in perfect shape for the person who was about to buy it and the cigarettes were damaging his body, making it less valuable. The Jordan Peele movie “Get Out” is filled with veiled racialism, giving into stereotypes and showing correspondence with major black history and norms of today.
“Blackness is a bright and shiny diamond, and here in America, everyone wants to wear it like a Roc A Fella chain around their neck” (Millner). Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who passed herself off as black for years, raised questions surrounding transracialism. It created an argument of self-identity versus actual, genetic identity. This idea of being able to identify as a race you were not a part of was the perfect logic against the existence of cultural appropriation. Dolezal truly felt that she was “mentally, emotionally, physically and culturally black” so there was no way that she had appropriated any culture because in her mind she was already black (Millner).
In addition to her claiming a culture that was never hers, Dolezal felt entitled to it because she was so active in the black community being an NAACP leader and an African American Art professor. She seemed taken aback, almost betrayed, by the disapproval and negative public reaction.
Transracialism would make it difficult to have genuine black ‘safe spaces’ for lack of better words. There is no way to celebrate or talk about or simply be black if anyone could just include themself because they feel like it. Rachel Dolezal infiltrated the black community like a trojan horse and showcased her privilege when she played victim after being outed by her parents and then shamed. In the case of Rachel Dolezal, the lines between cultural appropriation and appreciation were crossed. Her behavior and ideology can be seen as disrespectful because she was so fascinated with black people and anti-white supremacy that she was identifying herself as black without actually being faced with the whole, true black experience. Whilst trying to appraise blackness, Dolezal in turn offended the very people she was trying to connect with and imposed herself on something that was not meant for her. Within the black community, she found the safe space she wanted for herself but could not find it elsewhere (Glover 445).
Cultural appropriation is a form of oppression. People of color have been alienated since the beginning of time and culture is one of the things these groups are trying to preserve. Black American culture has been described as menacing, trashy, ghetto, and many other negatively connotated adjectives. It is called degrading until a nonblack person decides to make it popular or takes credit for it then it is no longer considered black culture.
Some believe cultural appropriation is just a part of life. It is inevitable and modern. It goes hand in hand with globalization. Adopting elements of another culture is not always inappropriate and sometimes is beneficial and necessary. In a sense, all of this is true. However, the problem arises when the exchange is done in a way that is offensive and derogatory to the original one.
Years of history and building international relationships, it has been learned that some gestures have the potential to cause conflicts. Though most times it comes from a good place, cultural appropriation is harmful and indefensible.
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