D&D 5E African campaign setting, "Wagadu Chronicles" being developed by Twin Drums

[slipshot762]

If you’re arguing that cultural appropriation is a non problem, then you don’t know what it actually is, and have never opened a history book. In fact, the fact that you’d follow that up with “why do other cultures take European culture then?” proves you don’t know what cultural appropriation is, because it’s explicitly about appropriating minority cultures. I’d suggest you do some basic research on the topic because you’ve got a lot of factual errors in your assumptions.

Heard it all in college, it was faux outrage then and still is now, especially the part where it only applies to "minorities" who are only minorities within the west yet make up a larger portion of the worlds population outside of the west than westerners do. It is simply another "class warfare" attack angle, a made up problem invented by marxist intellectuals to subvert and cause strife where none previously existed. I suggest you research how exactly you've been duped into enabling such, especially given the unintended consequence of making someone like me less likely to utilize this product due to these contrived concerns. If it is "explicity about appropriating minority culture" then it simply by merit is not valid, one standard for all or I dismiss it.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Even if his parents came from Africa, it doesn't change that he has grown up in Europe and has been shaped by that.
That you even have to guess about his parents having been immigrants shows that your initial conclusion was only based on his skin color. Black skin -> allowed to write about Africa. Which is total nonsense as first there is one does not need the permission to write about it, second there would be no authority to grant such permission, third Africa not being a unified culture anyway and fourth, skin color has nothing to do with culture.

A white person born and raised in, say, South Africa, would know more about the culture there as a black italo-german. Sure he can do research about Africa, but so can any other European, even white ones.

So why should he be allowed to write about "Africa" and a white person isn't?

Yeah in logical terms you're technically correct, in practical terms you're not...

The director of Black Panther, Ryan Coogler, is an American from Oakland, who to my knowledge hasn't studied African cultures. He is however black (and obviously descended from Africa).

No one has accused him of cultural appropriation for Black Panther, and it would be ridiculous to. He's descended from Africans, he has some ownership over that culture. The same way that I, a white guy from Canada, has some ownership over the Scottish/Irish/English cultures I'm descended from. No one would be upset if I made a film about the English civil wars.

 

[Derren]

No one has accused him of cultural appropriation for Black Panther, and it would be ridiculous to.

Thats because cultural appropriation is a redicilous concept in the first place. Of course it can't be applied in any logical or rational way.

 

[generic]

Yeah in logical terms you're technically correct, in practical terms you're not...

The director of Black Panther, Ryan Coogler, is an American from Oakland, who to my knowledge hasn't studied African cultures. He is however black (and obviously descended from Africa).

No one has accused him of cultural appropriation for Black Panther, and it would be ridiculous to. He's descended from Africans, he has some ownership over that culture. The same way that I, a white guy from Canada, has some ownership over the Scottish/Irish/English cultures I'm descended from. No one would be upset if I made a film about the English civil wars.

You see, my position is a little different, in that I think it's fairly logical to say that no one owns anything in their culture. I don't own Celtic music, Russian dress, the French language, English foods, etc. I don't own anything in the cultures which I have ancestral ties to. The whole idea of owning a cultures seems odd to me, care to explain?

 

[happyhermit]

...
The director of Black Panther, Ryan Coogler, is an American from Oakland, who to my knowledge hasn't studied African cultures. He is however black (and obviously descended from Africa).
...

It's rather tangential to this discussion but many Africans took issue with the American perspectives of Africa in that movie.

 

[Azzy]

Heard it all in college, it was faux outrage then and still is now, especially the part where it only applies to "minorities" who are only minorities within the west yet make up a larger portion of the worlds population outside of the west than westerners do. It is simply another "class warfare" attack angle, a made up problem invented by marxist intellectuals to subvert and cause strife where none previously existed. I suggest you research how exactly you've been duped into enabling such, especially given the unintended consequence of making someone like me less likely to utilize this product due to these contrived concerns. If it is "explicity about appropriating minority culture" then it simply by merit is not valid, one standard for all or I dismiss it.

"marxist intellectuals"

Wow, just wow.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Well, it seems clear you both won't take my advice and do research into the topic. That's disappointing. Cultural appropriation is a real thing, that has had real very detrimental consequences. Anyone with even a basic knowledge of history knows this. It's not up for debate any more than arguing if racism is real or not is up for debate. Arguing it's nonsense is just displaying your ignorance to everyone else.

 

[Morrus]

I have loads of French and Scottish ancestry. Does that make me any more well equipped to discuss those cultures than someone who has studied them?

Just being black does not make someone an expert in all cultures that existed in Africa.

The concept of cultural appropriation is not about "being equipped" or "being an expert". It's not a discussion of expertise or competence, and a suggestion that it is indicates that the speaker doesn't understand the nature of the concept they are arguing against. You gotta know what it is before you start arguing against it.

 

[generic]

Well, it seems clear you both won't take my advice and do research into the topic. That's disappointing. Cultural appropriation is a real thing, that has had real very detrimental consequences. Anyone with even a basic knowledge of history knows this. It's not up for debate any more than arguing if racism is real or not is up for debate. Arguing it's nonsense is just displaying your ignorance to everyone else.

How so? One of these arguments is patently insane to make, and the other has not yet been demonstrated to me. Is cultural appropriation real? Yes, I think that, in extreme circumstances, it is. Is it such a problem that we must destroy all traditional, artistic methods of blending cultural influences? No, no it's not. Explain to me why it's bad to use something from another culture than your own in art. In fact, explain to me why anyone owns anything in their culture.

 

[generic]

The concept of cultural appropriation is not about "being equipped" or "being an expert". It's not a discussion of expertise or competence, and a suggestion that it is indicates that the speaker doesn't understand the nature of the concept they are arguing against. You gotta know what it is before you start arguing against it.

Yes, but an argument was made explicitly appealing to this strain of logic, which is why I responded along the same vein.