You may remember the outrage of the Maui costume last Halloween. The internet voices were so loud that Disney decided to pull the costume off of shelves. It seems that a year later Disney's Moana is still not safe from outcry's of cultural appropriation. To be honest the discussion around cultural appropriation is confusing to me. I've done my research, I've read the articles and the op-eds on both ends of the spectrum and I am still torn. I understand the problem in old Hollywood of having white actors wear face paint to portray people of different races. If you go even further back to the Elizabethan era you'll see that only males were allowed on stage so female roles were portrayed by young boys. Eventually the entertainment industry moved away from this practice and allowed women and minorities to appear on stage and on screen.
This doesn't mean they get it perfect every time but we can at least acknowledge that change is taking place. The speed of that change is a discussion for another time. Disney in particular has taken steps to make their princess lineup more diverse with the introduction of Tiana in 2009 and Moana in 2016. They join the ranks of other diverse princesses Pocahontas, Mulan, and Jasmine. Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Rapunzel, Merida & Anna (Elsa is a Queen) make up the list of "white" princesses. Each of these princesses represents a different culture. No two princess hail from from the same culture. Each of their movies is based on fairy tales & legends from their perspective homelands. To diminish any of these story-lines down to race alone really does a disservice to every culture represented. But I digress.
Is it ok for your child to dress up as Moana?
Some people are saying no citing a disrespect to the culture, this mom wrote about her decision on raceconscious.org which has since been featured in the New York Post among other news sites. I understand where she is coming from but I see a distinct difference in disrespecting a culture and celebrating it. So I took a look at the definition of cultural appropriation hoping it would give me some insight. Oxford dictionary describes it as this: " A term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another. " This still feels murky to me. I don't view dressing up as your favorite character as "taking over" someone else's culture. "Murky" is the exact word used by a commentator who also brings up the question whether or not it would be inappropriate to wear Anna's dress because based on this logic it would be appropriating Norwegian culture. When discussing the importance of representation in media another commentor stated: " I see wanting to dress up as those heroes is a natural extension of the normalization [of diversity]." This is how I view it as well, which is why I am left so puzzled by the idea that a white child should be prohibited from dressing up as Moana simply because she is of a different race. I am also just as troubled by the idea that an African American child would be prohibited from dressing up as Anna or Elsa. Children want to dress up as these characters because they love them and have identified with them in some way, not because they want to mock them. To assert that their desire to dress up as Moana is really a mockery you are projecting onto that child something that isn't there.
To take this out of the world of animation for a moment I pose the question: should an African American Woman be discouraged from dressing up as Rosie the Riveter because she is not white? My answer is no. Rosie has risen to be an icon of the feminist movement, and women regardless of race have found something to admire in her. (It seems her use of a feminist icon is somewhat controversial but the fact remains that is what she was branded in the 1980's.)
I am afraid the unintended consequence of depriving any child of dressing up as a character they love, admire or respect, who has a different skin color than their own will eventually lead to a rejection of anything outside of the culture they are born into. Isn't that the opposite of what we want to happen in our future? Don't we want all cultures to be valued and celebrated for their contribution to society?
Emmaline Matagi has written an article featured in The Spinoff talking about how you can dress up your child as Moana without disrespecting the culture and she makes several good points. The most compelling point to me is that you can use your child's desire to dress up as Moana (or any other character outside of your own culture) to teach them about the culture they are emulating. Maybe this stands out to me because I am a self-described history buff but it speaks to my belief that there is something new to learn in everyday.
Perhaps my inability to understand cultural appropriation stems from the fact that I do not identify strongly with one culture. I can clearly trace one piece of my ancestry back to 18th century Bavaria (present day Germany), but that is only one piece. I can follow the line person by person from Frederick Hambright (a Revolutionary War Colonel) all the way down to me. I also have roots in the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and Native American cultures. Those are just the ones I know of! Ironically I physically appear the closest to Irish but most of that connection is brought in through marriage. So I reached out to someone I know personally who has a very strong cultural identity to share some of her wisdom on the subject. What she shared really brought light to a murky subject for me.
It's all about Economics
She describes the general idea behind cultural appropriation, and the problem with it, like this: "America has a fascination with indigenous peoples culture & art but no interest in the actual people" being exploited because of it. Her perspective on the Moana outcry is that "America sees it as entertainment & appreciation while the people within the culture (or in the case of Moana, three different cultures) see it as a way of economic exploitation" in a way that doesn't benefit their culture economically. So profit is being made by a corporation but generally not the people who exist within the culture being profited from. I can understand this. The article from Emmaline Matagi speaks to this in a way and suggests supporting the actual musical artists the Moana's soundtrack is based on. If you have really taken a liking to the hybird Polynesian culture presented in Moana you can seek out true artists from these cultures and support them.
By reaching out to someone with this knowledge the emotional aspect was taken out of it and I can genuinely see why this can and has caused a problem. That's not to say that there isn't an emotional aspect, because for many there is, but when people are coming from two different view points it is sometimes easier to start with logic and facts before delving into the emotional side of things. When having difficult or uncomfortable discussions you must first strive to find a place of commonality and lead off from there. You must also come to the table willing to acknowledged that what you think might be wrong, but you will grow.
Have the conversation. Learn something new.
Information was gathered from the following sites:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-disney-moana-costume-controversy-20160922-snap-htmlstory.html
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-actors.htm
http://www.raceconscious.org/2017/09/moana-elsa-halloween/
https://thespinoff.co.nz/parenting/01-02-2017/how-to-dress-your-pakeha-child-up-as-maui-or-moana-without-appropriating-pasifika-culture/
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095652789
http://thefederalist.com/2017/06/01/rosie-riveter-tough-gal-not-feminist-icon/
https://graydayshop.com/
You will also find them hyperlinked in various places throughout my writing.
