Piggybacking off of our last episode, in which Mike Cunningham The Packet Man jokingly stated that he was the leader of the Pittsburgh chapter of the NAACP, we (Big Money, Dr. Z, Michael Parr and The Packet Man) decided to do a podcast about cultural appropriation. This is definitely more of a circular discussion (with no real conclusion) than many of our other podcasts, but it’s an interesting discussion.
Some highlights:
-We discuss what made us finally decide to pull the trigger on this discussion, with a special shout out to “Black-ish”!
-What exacty _is_ cultural appropriation? Big Money and Michael Parr look up two separate definitions that all pretty much boil down to the same thing. We also take a quick second to express disgust at how casually this is treated in the fashion world.
-Why is a panel made up of three straight white guys (and one guy who happens to be black and gay) doing this podcast anyway?
-“Good appropriation” vs. “Bad appropriation”, or rather-being legitimately influenced by a culture that’s not yours vs. doing it strictly for commerce.
-The beginnings of cultural appropriation as it pertains to music: minstrelsy, vaudeville, Al Jolson, Elvis.
-A lengthy sidebar about The Rolling Stones and songs like “Brown Sugar”, which are fairly offensive. Is their manner of cultural appropriation offensive, even though various members have taken pains to credit their forebearers and influences? (this is clearly not an easy question to answer).
-Appropriation of other cultures: Latin culture, gay culture, Eastern culture…
-Most egregious offenders (Eminem, Madonna, Iggy Azalea, Gwen Stefani)
-Particular focus paid to Madonna’s somewhat shameless exploitation of multiple cultures, which seemed somewhat natural (or at least appeared to come from a good place) early in her career, but quickly progressed (or regressed) into something more sinister, and certainly less heartfelt.
-When it comes to artists who appropriate, how much responsibility do they have to expose their fans to their influences?
-We finally decide to put one of our longest running gags to rest.
-Finally, what will be the ultimate low point of cultural appropriation?
You can listen to the latest Blerd Radio podcast in the player below, download it directly from Liberated Syndication, or check us out on the new iTunes!
2 comments
John says:
Jul 6, 2015
NWACP…freakin’ brilliant.
Great podcast, and it’s a conversation that needs to happen a LOT more than it does. CBS Sunday Morning had a piece a couple of weeks ago on Pat Boone, and how his early hits were covers of R&B songs (just like Elvis). To his credit, he brought a number of black artists on his TV show, but he’s clearly the exception to the rule.
It hurt me to hear the Teena Marie portion of this, but it’s spot on that for some reason she gets a pass. Maybe that happened because her mainstream success was very limited, making it seem more…authentic? But yeah…Teena is not that far off from Rachel in terms of identification.
I wish I had folks in my own life who would sit down and have conversations like this, but that pool is pretty limited. Thanks for keeping the dialogue going.
MJ says:
Jul 6, 2015
Amazing how much greatness can come from a simple tripping over of words!!
Thanks for your kind comments, John. I’m a huge Teena fan, and felt bad for saying what I said, but it’s true.
I remember reading her comments in which she intimated that she saw herself as Black and feeling a little sick. There are plenty of things you can “feel like”, but things like race aren’t “feelings”. If you’re not “it”, you’re not it.
We have a great team here. I’m really happy with the way these podcasts (especially those of recent vintage) have turned out.