I chanced to see a bit of the Wendy Williams show this morning in which Wendy seemed upset with people who appropriate the culture of others. The context was Justin Timberlake's performance at the Super Bowl last Sunday. I think she meant Justin was acting black.
I think of Western culture as being a cultural potluck. It's a cultural melting pot too. But the concepts are a little different. In the melting pot we all bring something to the feast and cook it all down to a single stew in which the distinctiveness of the diverse contributions is lost. But in the potluck, we value the distinctiveness of the diverse contributions, though we still combine them in a single presentation for everyone to enjoy and celebrate.
What would you think of a family that brings their dish to the potluck, but objects to anyone else "appropriating" anything from their dish? This is what in the Baptist church of my youth we would have called "being out of fellowship". It's especially bothersome if the same family feels perfectly free to take what they want from what other families have brought to the table.
But to be fair, maybe I have the analogy wrong. I know people who "own" certain dishes at an annual potluck event. Someone always brings a particular casserole or dessert, for example, and they get upset if anyone else brings their version of that same dish. But ego issues aside, is it really bad to have two versions of broccoli and rice casserole? Or of pineapple and coconut cake?
Remember that when we speak of "culture" we are talking about practically everything--language, cuisine, music, painting, sculpture, dance, literature, clothing styles and so on. It's only natural and healthy that we adopt (and adapt) elements from the cultural expressions of other groups than our own. It's something to be proud of if an element of your group's culture becomes generally appreciated and adopted or imitated.
So what is the basis of this objection to Justin Timberlake acting black? Well maybe Justin's hiphop moves were not very genuine I suppose (if that's what he was trying to do--I don't know). Eminem, on the other hand, hits the rap nail right on the head in my opnion. Do we also object to his "appropriation" of black culture? I wonder what this is all about.
