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Tuesday, March 13, 2018
The Bruno Mars Controversy Proves People Don’t Understand Cultural Appropriation
thegrapevine.theroot.com: The furious debate about Bruno Mars and whether or not he is a cultural appropriator has bubbled beneath the surface of his career for a while. It existed before he remade Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Uptown Funk” or Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Finesse.”
The article is entirely right in concluding that he is not a cultural appropriater. Is he derivative? Yes. But ultimately, he gives credit where credit is due, to the black people who created the songs he now repackages into something we want to hear on our radios again. When he released his newly remastered version of Finnesse, he was only making a cultural reference. He made it very clear that the song was not his. But the little white kids who made him popular don't know the legacy behind the old school funk and R and B that black children grew up hearing at family functions. We can not blame Bruno Mars for the fact that white people do not understand black culture. He isn't white and that's not his problem. If someone like Future were to capitalize off of the fact that white people don't understand our cultural references, the black community would call that "a hustle" because he has a body that is undeniably black. Now we get to the point that everyone is making that makes me furious. Bruno Mars is undeniably black. It's that simple. He has a black body. He has an afro. Puerto Rico was affected by the African Diaspora and we can not just forget that. If Cardi B, who is Dominican, is black to us, so is Bruno Mars. I will give the author the fact that he is not a black American. He does not share the undeniably American parts of black culture. However saying he is not black is unfair to him. A lot of black people are "ethnically ambiguous". Bruno Mars doesn't even pass the paper bag test. If he was seen in the front of the bus in Jim Crow south, he'd be told to go to the back too. In fighting about this will not stop actually white artists like Justin Timberlake from stealing our culture. We should focus on the actually white people who cop our culture when it's fun but are praised by white supremacists without batting an eye.
I find the topic of culture appropriation very grey. I can identify when things are a very obvious example of culture appropriation but, when it comes down to something that needs to be explained through exact wording and definition, I cannot tell whether it is right to accuse appropriation. In this case, I do not think Bruno Mars is a cultural appropriator at all. He acknowledges his influences and, because he grew up when hiphop and R&B were on the rise, it is inevitable that his music will be similar. If we maintain a strict rule against even the slightest cultural influences, how will any musician continue? Almost all of the music we listen to today - rock and roll, hiphop, rap - originated from black culture. How is any musician of any other race able to create music if they are to be banned from these genres? I will be the first to call out cultural appropriation when I see it but I think that, if the intentions are positive and good, then we do not have to overanalyze every single detail that may seem offensive. As a side note, I don't understand why we blame people for being "culturally ambiguous." I get that, in a white dominated society, they are given an advantage. But, to me, that doesn't seem to be their fault. That is a larger issue that should be dealt with in regards to society, not the individual. Also, isn't that individual a true example of unity and diversity?
2 comments:
The article is entirely right in concluding that he is not a cultural appropriater. Is he derivative? Yes. But ultimately, he gives credit where credit is due, to the black people who created the songs he now repackages into something we want to hear on our radios again. When he released his newly remastered version of Finnesse, he was only making a cultural reference. He made it very clear that the song was not his. But the little white kids who made him popular don't know the legacy behind the old school funk and R and B that black children grew up hearing at family functions. We can not blame Bruno Mars for the fact that white people do not understand black culture. He isn't white and that's not his problem. If someone like Future were to capitalize off of the fact that white people don't understand our cultural references, the black community would call that "a hustle" because he has a body that is undeniably black.
Now we get to the point that everyone is making that makes me furious. Bruno Mars is undeniably black. It's that simple. He has a black body. He has an afro. Puerto Rico was affected by the African Diaspora and we can not just forget that. If Cardi B, who is Dominican, is black to us, so is Bruno Mars. I will give the author the fact that he is not a black American. He does not share the undeniably American parts of black culture. However saying he is not black is unfair to him. A lot of black people are "ethnically ambiguous". Bruno Mars doesn't even pass the paper bag test. If he was seen in the front of the bus in Jim Crow south, he'd be told to go to the back too. In fighting about this will not stop actually white artists like Justin Timberlake from stealing our culture. We should focus on the actually white people who cop our culture when it's fun but are praised by white supremacists without batting an eye.
I find the topic of culture appropriation very grey. I can identify when things are a very obvious example of culture appropriation but, when it comes down to something that needs to be explained through exact wording and definition, I cannot tell whether it is right to accuse appropriation. In this case, I do not think Bruno Mars is a cultural appropriator at all. He acknowledges his influences and, because he grew up when hiphop and R&B were on the rise, it is inevitable that his music will be similar. If we maintain a strict rule against even the slightest cultural influences, how will any musician continue? Almost all of the music we listen to today - rock and roll, hiphop, rap - originated from black culture. How is any musician of any other race able to create music if they are to be banned from these genres? I will be the first to call out cultural appropriation when I see it but I think that, if the intentions are positive and good, then we do not have to overanalyze every single detail that may seem offensive.
As a side note, I don't understand why we blame people for being "culturally ambiguous." I get that, in a white dominated society, they are given an advantage. But, to me, that doesn't seem to be their fault. That is a larger issue that should be dealt with in regards to society, not the individual. Also, isn't that individual a true example of unity and diversity?
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