Cultural Appropriation in Drum Corps

[Vidal28Rdg]

1 minute ago, scheherazadesghost said:

Responsible creative freedom means not taking what isn't yours as @KVG_DC said. That's not restriction, it's respect.

Lack of malicious intent doesn't mean it isn't also disrespectful.

Also how does authenticity not equate to artistry? I think it’d be much more so in that case!! Something memorable and impactful for spectators and fans if it hasn’t been seen or explored😮

[Mello Dude]

sorry..mistypred

Edited July 26, 2022 by Mello Dude

[Tony Flores]

1 minute ago, scheherazadesghost said:

I would never take your opinion from you. As another latine, I think the discussion is important.

No it's not. It made up outrage. If some non latino can make great mexican food, its not "appropriation". I cook asian really well, am I guilty of some made up "appropriation" outrage. No. This thread is hot garbage. Should corps now do only music of white Americans? I am sick and tired of all of the "cultural appropriation" wanna be outrage. 

[scheherazadesghost]

1 minute ago, Vidal28Rdg said:

Also how does authenticity not equate to artistry? I think it’d be much more so in that case!! Something memorable and impactful for spectators and fans if it hasn’t been seen or explored😮

Imagine a world where SCV had contacted, say, an alum that I marched with (whose career is built on her expertise in choreography, zen meditation and yoga) had been consulted.

They're just fine without her, obviously, but just imagine..............

[Vidal28Rdg]

3 minutes ago, Mello Dude said:

Seriously?  How in the possible world could you make everyone happy all the time?  Who would speak for everyone?  What, you going to consult with the President (or whatever leader) of the country to get a rubber stamp?  First, no one is "taking" anything.  They may be trying to "depict" something but that isn't "taking" or "appropriating".  HOW is this threatening or even questioning basic humanity...I mean really?

I would say to you, that I think it can be done, I’m not really in the camp of “don’t do this” myself, but yeah, consultation and research in any case, contributes to authenticity of what you’re trying to depict, and hey if someone still ain’t happy, you can be like “here’s what we did to make this happen, here’s our research” on their show announcement reveal page and further “the making of” style videos as the season progesses. People do and will appreciate effort being put in!

[IllianaLancerContra]

54 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said:

Dang, DCP got me firing on all cylinders today. 🤯

 

Don't burst a blood vessel - your input is a welcome breath of fresh air here

[scheherazadesghost]

Just now, Tony Flores said:

No it's not. It made up outrage. If some non latino can make great mexican food, its not "appropriation". I cook asian really well, am I guilty of some made up "appropriation" outrage. No. This thread is hot garbage. Should corps now do only music of white Americans? I am sick and tired of all of the "cultural appropriation" wanna be outrage. 

We clearly have a disconnect and that's ok.

My creative works in the last several years have pinpointed exactly what you've talked about. What is authentic and what isn't? I've investigated this topic to great lengths because I live with a liminal identity at the intersection of two cultures. I'm not just some rando mad person on the internet. I've spent my career working on it educational and professional settings.

It's not a matter of either doing shows based on music of white Americans OR appropriating culture. That's a false equivalence. There's lots of nuance and gray area in the middle that we're talking about.

[Vidal28Rdg]

3 minutes ago, scheherazadesghost said:

Imagine a world where SCV had contacted, say, an alum that I marched with (whose career is built on her expertise in choreography, zen meditation and yoga) had been consulted.

They're just fine without her, obviously, but just imagine..............

Would make things much easier on the bones of all members I would figure…😦 very good point very good point

[C.Holland]

47 minutes ago, Vidal28Rdg said:

I guess my question has to be, how can one approach a more culturally unfamiliar theme, design, story in drum corps to where for many, it won’t feel appropriating? Community consultation, research, and all that is great, but even then, people from minority communities(me being Hispanic/Mexican/Latino) vary on their experiences, everyone’s experience is different, and everyone feels a different amount of “territorial” as to how their culture is expressed by outsiders, some don’t care at all, and some would wish for it to be avoided at all costs, and some just wish for it to be done as authentic as possible. I don’t feel like Colts is being malicious, or trying to parody a culture by doing what they’re doing, but then again, it’s a culture and a history fairly unfamiliar to me. I honestly wouldn’t care at all if a corps did a whole deep dive on a Mexican themed show, with costuming to match, as long as the approach taken is as authentic as possible and done with an appreciative intent with all the details and consultation one would have to do to tackle the subject, music, theme they are wishing to bring onto the field.

I’m not really a “my culture is not your costume” kind of individual, but I of course don’t speak for anyone else that does indeed feel that way, I’m just saying that there are avenues to where costuming can lead to a more authentic experience and be true to the culture than it would be without, especially when talking about the tradition of DANCE, costuming can really play a role in a particular culture’s music and dance traditions👀

when you put something onstage in a theatre, you perform some due diligence on fabrics, patterns, drape, accents, symbols, architecture, hand props, layouts, materials, etc.  you go to museums, you dig in the ... LIBRARY... seriously.  There's so many history of clothing books out there, you can find it.  And there's no shortage of architectural books that you can find that as well.  You find some friends of friends of that background, and call them.  pick up the phone.  they still work. i promise you that phones work, as phones. 

It still may look odd, having a pasty white student from middle 'mericuh wearing it or standing on/under something of not even close representation to their background, and that's on you for casting the show and thinking that it's a good idea, but at least the rest of it will be paying homage in a reasonable manner. 

[Mello Dude]

1 minute ago, Vidal28Rdg said:

I would say to you, that I think it can be done, I’m not really in the camp of “don’t do this” myself, but yeah, consultation and research in any case, contributes to authenticity of what you’re trying to depict, and hey if someone still ain’t happy, you can be like “here’s what we did to make this happen, here’s our research” on their show announcement reveal page and further “the making of” style videos as the season progesses. People do and will appreciate effort being put in!

Perhaps, but all it takes in one person to claim "cultural appropriation" and all that research is for nothing.  I get doing your research but when nobody and nothing is being harmed by something....I'm sorry it's just becomes the outrage of the day which literally has zero point and a logical fallacy.