Coldplay’s newest music video for their song “Hymn for the Weekend” was released just a couple of days ago and with it came a lot of buzz, but not necessarily for the right reasons. The music video, which was filmed in the streets of India, features Beyoncé as a Bollywood star, only one of the reasons as to why it has been criticized by many online communities as displaying cultural appropriation and misrepresentation (The Hindu).
This criticism has further raised the question concerning how we, as a society, choose to define the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. What are the constitutional differences between these two concepts?
Just as a refresher, cultural appropriation is “a term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes or practices by one cultural group from another… used to describe Western appropriations of non-Western or non-white forms, and carries connotation of exploitation and dominance (Oxford Reference).”
As for those who are outraged by the music video, they have been labeling “Beyoncé’s guise as [cultural appropriation] due to her performative use of cultural elements as a kind of costume.” Others support this argument by saying “if Beyoncé and Coldplay are profiting from a culture that isn’t theirs and gaining praise, its appropriation (Independent).” In addition, the video has been getting backlash due to its representation of India itself, saying that “there is more to India than Holi and that [there are] malls and skyscrapers and not just slums and villages (The Hindu).” The general view is that the music video was a very stereotypical representation of India, and that Beyoncé’s role as a Bollywood actress should have been fulfilled by an actual Bollywood actress, such as Sonam Kapoor who was actually featured in a brief part of the video (Independent).
In contrast to the negative response of some online communities, others view the music video as a positive and beautiful representation of India and its culture. Fans of the video compliment it for its authentic showcase of India’s “bright colors, the enterprising nature of street artists and vendors, right down to people peering out of windows when there’s commotion outside (The Hindu).” Supporters also argue that there is nothing wrong with Beyoncé’s attire, mentioning that “young Indian boys are shown [in the video] breakdancing which is clearly adapted from African-American culture,” and that both cases exhibit imitation, but in the form of flattery (The Hindu). For the fans of the video, it represents a lot of what makes India such an incredible and unique country by capturing these qualities and celebrating them as complimentary to Coldplay’s new song.
Of course, Coldplay’s music video isn’t completely uncontroversial, but if it does one thing, it opens the discussion about how we as a society currently view things and possibly how we should view them with an open mind rather than a quick conclusion.
Images obtained from:
http://images.hngn.com/data/images/full/193278/beyonc.jpg?w=650
http://media4.popsugar-assets.com/files/2016/01/29/872/n/1922398/edb074c…
http://nme.assets.ipccdn.co.uk/images/2015Coldplay_JuliaKennedy_Press_10…
Sources:
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095652789