I think an additional cool point would be reversing the actor-becomes-politician path.
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And I’m talking about the slippery slope from believing you have moral rights to believing you have the right to impose them involuntarily on other people. Everyone from the Taliban to West Bank Settlers believe they have “moral rights”. “Moral rights” has probably historically led to more death and suffering than pure greed and megalomania. I’m pretty sure you have no intentions of taking up weapons in your cause, but this kind of justification often leads others in that direction.
Oh for gods’ sake, please spare us the histrionics. There’s no need to exaggerate your opposition’s point, let alone that much, to make your own point.
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Your ignorance of history and current events must be staggering to equate the numerous current and past of wars of religious and cultural domination with marrying housepets.
Please consult you favorite dictionary on “analogy.”
Then please back up – @pacifica said nothing about imposing morality involuntarily on other people.
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When you advocate “moral rights” rather than free speech, that’s what we’re talking about: getting your way without necessarily convincing everyone you’re correct. Plus, the narrative of having your nation stolen has a very long and bloody history as the basis of armed insurrection. FWIW there’s very few inhabited spots on earth that don’t qualify for this, so there’s always a “war of justice” somewhere.
Um
I think braddah is talking about how bizarre it is to cast a blue-eyed European in the role of a well-known Hawaiian, especially in the age of movie-goers being more and more sensitive to cultural appropriation. Comparing his statements to that of the Taliban is doing you no favors.
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I agree it’s bizarre,and not the greatest idea, but the below statement goes beyond that. @pacifica has asserted more than the right to complain and protest about these issues, which I support wholeheartedly.
[quote=“pacifica, post:66, topic:100784”]
Native Hawaiians, as well as First Nations peoples on the North American continent, are in broad agreement that it is their right to retain control of their own culture and of how they and it are portrayed in the media.
(Another post)
I’m talking about moral rights, not legal rights.[/quote]
You’re not doing anyone favors by grading on a curve.
Thank you for whitesplaining to me what I mean.
But no, I am not talking about imposing my morals on other people. When I contrast “moral rights” with “legal rights” I am simply saying “the producers of this film and owners of the Washington Redskins should know better, and would if they looked deeply enough into their hearts”, rather than saying “there should be a law”. I am advocating for what European tradition calls “conscience”. I am not advocating for imposition of my views by force. Only a fool expects hearts can be changed by force.
Do you get that yet? That I am not talking about compulsion, but suggesting that people raise their level of awareness?
I don’t think that campaigning for somebody to stop being a jerk makes me the freakin’ Taliban.
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So I take it you are concerned by Lakota people decrying the use of their ceremonial headdresses as fashion? They don’t have the right to “control” the use of something that is sacred to them?
Do you have a right to appropriate First Nations and Hawaiian culture for your own use? That seems to follow from your objection to my statement. If that is indeed how you feel, please explain the origin of that right.
And since the word “moral” bothers you, how about substituting “ethical”? I do not associate the word moral with religion, so ethics works just as well for me.
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Neither do I. As I explained I was responding to the kind of language that has been used to inflame conflict. You may not intend it, but words have been hijacked before for violence.
Yes, I do, culture is public domain. But because of being enlightened by people such as yourself, I choose not to.
What do you think of Talking Heads appropriating African music for Remain In Light, and Angélique Kidjo recently touring playing the entire album “re-africanized”? Without cultural exchange we’d have neither of these artworks.
Africa rapturously reclaimed rock when Angélique Kidjo, from Benin, performed all the songs from Talking Heads’ album “Remain in Light” on Friday night at Carnegie Hall, along with a few of her own. She plans to tour with “Remain in Light,” and is recording the songs as a studio album with a top pop producer, Jeff Bhasker. From the stage, she declared, “I always as an artist want to try to find a way to create bridges between cultures.”
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Thanks for making the choice to not misappropriate native culture.
But as for culture being public domain… really? You don’t recognize copyright laws? You don’t believe that musicians, for instance, own their work? You walk up to a concert venue and demand to be let in for free because the band’s music is “public domain”?
Edited to add:
What do you think of Talking Heads appropriating African music for Remain In Light, and Angélique Kidjo recently touring playing the entire album “re-africanized”? Without cultural exchange we’d have neither of these artworks.
Cultural exchange is not misappropriation. Hawaiian music has absorbed and reshaped every American sound that has come its way, as one example. David Byrne is a sensitive artist who drew inspiration from African music. That is far different from some raver on Ibiza wearing a Lakota headdress.
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Ah, but that’s simply your value judgment. What about Elvis Presley and Pat Boone appropriating black american’s R&B and making it safe for white people to listen to? There’s no essential difference.
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We each just edited while the other was editing, crossposting, reediting… I feel for anybody trying to figure out the sequence of this.
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Totally. How hard is it to hold a casting call?
This could go on forever. I think I’ve said pretty much all that I needed to a while ago. I don’t enjoy debate for its own sake. I’m just trying to fulfill my responsibilities to my ancestors, and continuing this seems futile.
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If you don’t understand why those questions are silly, that explains a lot about your viewpoint. Copywritten work IS protected. Art being public domain does not mean every aspect of it is free. A Mozart concert of PD music can certainly be charged for, you’re paying performers, not the creator.
Ah, carp, too late to remove my like… that’ll teach me to await clarification I guess.
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