If you don’t understand that questions from someone whom you consider “silly” could instead be reductio ad absurdum, that explains a lot about your viewpoint.
Damn, and I wasn’t going to answer you again.
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Reminds me of Rachid Taha’s cover of Rock the Casbah.
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Good Lord, you really escalate “your questions are silly” to a personal “you’re silly”? Those questions if genuine, demonstrate a lack of understanding of the differences between owned and public domain art, which does explain why you believe what you believe about culture and whether anyone can own it.
Don’t continue if you don’t want dialog, but you went out on that limb.
Thanks, that’s way cool. I googled, didn’t know the story that he believes he inspired the Clash after they met in 81 and gave them a tape.
Didn’t know that either. What I do know is that at least one member of the Clash stated that he finds Taha’s version better.
Due to context, this sort of thing goes beyond strange and stupid. Non-whites, and in particular native peoples, have seen their cultures and lives trivialized, mocked, misrepresented and crudely othered in various forms of media from the time of contact and conquest by Europeans up to the present day. Often, when an attempt is made to tell their stories, it is done though the lens of a white observer. Whites are routinely cast in roles written by, and for particular peoples. Bruce Lee developed the fantastic idea of the Kung Fu tv show, but was judged too ethnic to successfully play the lead in his show, as an example.
One would think, that by now, enough awareness and sophistication had accrued to move content creators to allow for the viewpoint and spirit of native and ethnic peoples to more fully inform and authenticate enterprises such as this. In isolation, art about any subject may be successfully performed by anyone. And native peoples are perfectly capable of writing, producing and performing their own stories. However, the money people, who have the power and the platform to produce the most widely promoted, and thus, most widely viewed. content continue to regard ethnic and native viewpoints as picturesque and quaint, rather than profound and compelling in their own right. This absurd and insulting casting decision grows out of that impoverished viewpoint. It’s as outrageous as casting Matt Damon in blackface to play Malcolm X. This decision is not about artistic choices. It’s about keeping people in their place. Enough.
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That’s Hong Kong (or based on it, at least).
It saddens me that your efforts are meeting such a blinkered, obstinate response here. Some members have stepped up to stand with you, which I find heartening. Thank you again for sharing your perspective, and may the white moneygods some day hear and understand such insights.
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I agree with everything you said. As I’ve said repeatedly, my objection is to the notion of “cultural rights” rather than campaigning for more enlightened media. But I also support the ability of an artist to cast Matt Damon in blackface to play Malcolm X, if the art is good. Doubtful, but who am I to say. Presumably the lack of box office would be sufficient feedback, rather than someone asserting it violates their “rights”.
It’s funny and sad how some liberals find limits to free speech so easy to defend. They find some causes so sexy they ditch their ideals.
I find that aspect pretty neutral, in that it may be good or bad. When it’s well done, it’s a useful intermediate to get the intended audience to progressively understand better the foreign culture involved.
Looking over the totality of the posts here, not just interactions with me, I think the sentiment is overwhelmingly positive. And while certainly there are some who don’t seem to “get it”, I don’t take that as a sign of maliciousness, just ingrained and immovable Eurocentricity.
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To discourage is not to censor.
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Free market solutions for cultural identity.
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Ya, in a market saturated with white supremacy. Much sense, so fair. Wow.
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Way to completely miss the point to make an ill advised apologist statement.
I mean… right? He’s gorgeous and he’s got great acting chops!
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Which Luau? I’ve only been to the “old lahaina Luau” which doe the dances in a historically accurate aspect (no fire spinning because that is not Hawaiian) but they change outfits to show how things changed when the missionaries arrived. They also didn’t go into the way the US took over the country.
Oh, there is a history of people of color being cast in roles for white people? I didn’t know that! Good think you checked in to let us know what a serious problem this sort of appropriation and historical erasure is… I mean, it goes all the way back to… a couple of years ago. /s
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I mean, if that’s what @g_wat was trying to express, it really didn’t come across as that. maybe they can clarify?
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