Cultural appropriation or appreciation?
Coldplay’s new video triggers controversy
Pop culture has a history of cultural appropriation, and this issue is just growing. Coldplay’s new video sparked controversy for this very reason. The media casts and inaccurate versions of countries and culture, and people tend to believe it.
In our modern day and time, much of our understanding for the outside world comes from the media, news outlets, and pop culture.
So what happens when we are generally only exposed to the glorified versions of countries and fail to see the rest?
This very dilemma resurfaced with the release of Coldplay’s new music video titled “A Hymn for the Weekend.” Shot in Mumbai, India, the video features the band during the Holi festival.
Some claim that the video simply portrays India in a very beautiful and colorful way that highlights the rich culture that it has to offer.
This may be true, but unfortunately, this is not the whole truth. Upon closer inspection it becomes clear that this video is just one of the hundreds of examples of cultural appropriation in the media.
Exposure to content of this nature amounts to our one-sided view of foreign countries. The colors and celebration are just the tip of the iceberg and not enough people are aware of the rest.
Impressions such as these amount to the stereotypical and ignorant views that people have associated with different countries. This is severely detrimental to the growth of a truly global and accepting community.
Elements of cultural significance that have deep traditional roots are used simply for entertainment by ignorant onlookers who unknowingly accept everything they see.
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