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

[generic]

Actually its exactly the point as when you go back to the initial post you see that he uses skin color alone to decide if someone is doing cultural appropriation or not.

In that case, such a distinction is fairly silly. Not every person must be of a certain ethnic background to respect an ideal or religion, but mocking it is unacceptable.

 

[Sacrosanct]

One correction if I may, ALLOWED is wrong; you can do whatever you wish, granted some will cross the line and give you grief for it, but you should not let that stop you if you really wish to wear the headdress; just be aware that you will be faced with having to vomit forth a forced apology they will reject, or point and laugh at them. I recommend the later, but people seem, in my experience, to be too fearful of being shamed, and the former is usually the actual outcome.

I don't know anything about you other than what you've written here, but right now with these kinds of responses, you're coming off as that guy. The guy who dresses up in blackface at Halloween with a slice of watermelon, and whenever someone looks at you in shock, you insult them.

I hope you're not actually like that, but that's how your responses are coming off as. And I'm sure I'm not the only one to feel this way.

 

[Derren]

In that case, such a distinction is fairly silly. Not every person must be of a certain ethnic background to respect an ideal or religion, but mocking it is unacceptable.

Which is why a white person could also write Wagadu Chronicles and be respectful while a black person could totally disrespect African culture.
But the assumption was that as the writer was black it was automatically ok while a white writer would do cultural appropriation, completely independent from the quality of their work or their actual cultural background.

 

[Minigiant]

1) The thing about cultural appropriation is that you have to see the final product to determine if it is or not. It's a concept of missue and therefore you have to see the use.

2) This looks like a compete and fully fantastical setting and adventure project so it would likely have little real world elements to culturally appropriate.

3) As a black person, I like and support having more African elements being incorporated into the fantasy community and thoughtspace.

4) I personally hate single "Earth continental" settings be they European, Asian, either American or even African. I find them either too overdone, too stereotypical, or borderline offensive. I need at least a feeling of a vast world. I despise Hat settings. I might have grown out of them.

5) I might by this book for reading material, monster use, and concepts. But I seriously doubt I'd play the setting proper.

 

[slipshot762]

I don't know anything about you other than what you've written here, but right now with these kinds of responses, you're coming off as that guy. The guy who dresses up in blackface at Halloween with a slice of watermelon, and whenever someone looks at you in shock, you insult them.

I hope you're not actually like that, but that's how your responses are coming off as. And I'm sure I'm not the only one to feel this way.

"That guy"
"Those kinds of responses"
veiled or implied accusation
appeal to consensus
Yeah, I had the same classes you did but I made my saving throw.

 

[HarbingerX]

Saw the thread headline; feared what I'd see in the thread. Fears realized.

I'm going to do my best to put the thread back on the rails. D&D has had a long tradition of having fantasy analogue tropes of real-world cultures. Getting a well-researched African mythos setting would be a very welcome addition to places I can have my players visit.

 

[Azzy]

On cultural appropriation:

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1193&context=gj_etds

 

[Urriak Uruk]

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?

Here's an article that explains some of the problems; it's from a site called Everyday Feminism, so if that makes your head explode, we're probably never going to agree. What's Wrong with Cultural Appropriation? These 9 Answers Reveal Its Harm

Anyway, I'll be clear that I don't think that all cultural appropriation is wrong; you can for example wear an outfit that takes elements from another culture, while still being respectful. However, there is certainly an element where people should be careful, when one is using ideas in a currently disadvantaged culture, and taking personal credit for the design or something.

But people definitely "own" their culture, or at least are "part" of their culture. To say their not is like saying their not part of their family or something.

Look at (and this is an extreme case) the Washington Redskins current excuse for their brand;

The team owner Dan Snyder sent an open letter to fans that was published in The Washington Post on October 9, 2013. In the letter Snyder states that the most important meaning of the name Redskins is the association that fans have to memories of their personal history with the team. Snyder also states that the name was chosen in 1933 to honor Native Americans in general and the coach and four players at that time who were Native American; and that in 1971 the then coach George Allen consulted with the Red Cloud Athletic Fund on the Pine Ridge reservation when designing the logo.

Which (I'll be frank) is a bunch of bulls**t that reveals the inherent power dynamics between these two cultures (American whites and Native Americans). Native Americans do not have the power to name an extremely popular football team the "White Whips," or something racist (there honestly aren't even very many terms that can insult whites easily). But white Americans have the power to name their teams after NA stereotypes, and get away with it (Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians, the Washington Redskins, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Atlanta Braves, the Kansas City Chiefs).

It's all about power dynamics.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Alright, I can understand those points. I still don't fully agree with the idea that CA is applicable in a wide range of circumstances, but this I can understand in the context of, well, people being stupid, as people are wont to do.

It’s not just people being stupid. It’s things like portraying native Americans all like uneducated savages, usually by white people in the roles of native Americans, which have an entire broad negative impact to native culture because that’s what the majority comes to believe

I can’t recall which episode exactly, but there’s an episode of Kung Fu (clear example of cultural appropriation right there, passing up an Asian guy (Bruce lee) for a white guy (David Carradine) because it would be easier to market) where a young Don Johnson plays a Native American. Yes, it’s as cringeworthy as it sounds. Cultural appropriation has many detrimental effects, including but not limited to disrespect for the culture, profiting over another’s culture, negative stereotypes, elimination of cultures, and preventing equal opportunities (not hiring people of a culture because you think it won’t sell as much by replacing them with a white person).

It’s much more than idiots in costume. It’s pervasive.

 

[Charlaquin]

Well, I think this product looks freaking rad. I’ve found that D&D’s takes on non-European fantasy have all generally been pretty dissatisfying, leaning heavily on tired tropes and stereotypes. The idea of a fantasy setting inspired by African mythology sounds really cool.