Cultural appropriation and the unequal distribution of power are widely discussed in the context of social sciences. In her article devoted to the role of appropriation in exacerbating inequality, Jackson exemplifies the concept by mentioning Joe Scanlan’s participation in the 2014 Whitney Biennial. Those organizing the event claimed that the exhibition would promote cultural diversity (Jackson). However, Scanlan, a white man, was allowed to present his works as a black woman Donelle Woolford, his artistic identity.
This example reveals strong links between appropriating the minorities’ identities or cultural traits and the issues peculiar to power. Jackson demonstrates how social power granted by being a white male is reserved by means of appropriating others’ cultures even when society claims to be oriented toward the equality of opportunity and representation. Due to the museum’s inability to make the artist use his actual name, “11% of all black artists chosen for the Biennial” were represented by white people (Jackson). In other words, as this example shows, for more powerful groups, cultural appropriation could actually be a tool for preventing changes to the current balance of power.
The case above can be compared to the example of Apu, an immigrant from India from The Simpsons. Apu, as Kondabolu reports, is voiced by Hank Azaria, a white man who changes his natural voice to create a fake accent (TruTV 0:59-1:05). With that in mind, regarding the similarities, despite being positioned as the representations of racial minorities, both Donelle Woolford and Apu were created by white people and are based on their own stereotypes.
Although both Apu and Donelle harm non-white communities, their influences and goals are quite dissimilar. Apu’s behaviors, way of speaking, and preferences feature a set of stereotypes about Indians, and this character’s existence only strengthens the stereotypical perceptions of immigrants from this country. In his video, Kondabolu demonstrates that many Asian Americans originating from India “had to deal with being called Apu” (TruTV 0:25-0:30). In contrast, Donelle Woolford’s “existence” does not aim to portray Black womanhood as anything miserable or negative. Instead, this project enables a white artist to adapt to the narratives of racial equality and personal identity to avoid losing influence.
Works Cited
Jackson, Lauren Michelle. “When We Talk About Cultural Appropriation, We Should Be Talking About Power.” In These Times, 2019, Web.
“The Problem with Apu – Official Trailer.” YouTube, uploaded by TruTV, 2017, Web.