I am confused as to why it is good or bad or neither. Genuinely confused. Please and thank you.
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before the term cultural appropriation was commonly used, there were examples that i thought were worth thinking about. like when paul simon made graceland, he got flak for not putting ladysmith black mambazo’s name on the album even though they were an integral part of the music and style and arrangements. but he toured with them all over the world and made them household names and did a lot of good for the music and people of south africa. same happened with his next album using brazilian music and musicians. there’s a lot of gray areas in reaching into other cultures but it really only feels problematic to me when the intention is to profit from it while claiming it as your own discovery. it’s definitely cringe to see tattoos of chinese characters or specific hairstyles on someone who doesn’t have a connection to the culture but at least it’s an honest attempt to express something meaningful or form an identity.
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