News article post- Find a contemporary article somehow related to topics from class; share link, summarize, give your opinion, ask two questions
Cultural Appropriation vs. Cultural Appreciation: Where is the line?
The article “Cultural Appropriation vs. Cultural Appreciation” explains the fine line between appreciating a culture, and dishonoring it/plagiarizing it. There are examples of how cultural ideas were stolen in history, and a guide on how to be respectful and appreciative in today’s world. My opinion on this topic is that it is the duty of people to understand the culture they’d like to represent, and to share this knowledge with people who may not know. I think that in most cases people don’t intend to be appropriating a culture, yet there is always more room to appreciate and understand the details that a deeply rooted culture has pride in sharing. Some questions I have are “How many cultures have been depicted poorly, or incorrectly to Americans, and what can we do to correct these misunderstandings?” “Can children fall victim to cultural appropriation–such as in halloween costumes–because they don’t understand it; is it harmless, or is there more value in children knowing cultural backgrounds?”
To answer your first question, I think that some cultures that have been poorly represented are Native Americans and many South/Central American cultures (such as Mexicans). As americans we can fix these misconceptions by researching/learning about cultures from reliable source and not always trusting the media.