This paper was written by myself and Katherine Harrell for Dr. Mary Grace Antony's Intercultural Communications class at Schreiner University. It was presented at the Southern States Communication Association Theodore Clevenger Undergraduate Honors Conference in Austin, TX and at the Schreiner Academic Showcase, 2016.
Introduction
This research explores the celebrity cultural appropriation mishaps of years past, focusing on two specific incidents. First the researchers have explored the use of Nicki Minaj’s headdress worn in her “The Pinkprint Tour” publicity photo and Selena Gomez’s use of a Bindi first found in her MTV music performance of her song “Come and Get It.” The song debuted April 6, 2013 and Nicki’s photo was released December 8, 2014. These pop stars are taking part in an intercultural communication concept known as cultural appropriation. The researchers will apply this concept to their actions by use of sub-concepts known as cultural exchange and cultural exploitation.
Literature Review
We will focus on how cultural appropriation concepts apply to the celebrities wearing these cultural items.
Cultural Appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the use of another culture’s artifacts and traditions by another culture (Rogers, 2006).
This concept was chosen because of the commonly misrepresented artifacts celebrities wear from cultures other than their own. In this research, we focus on two cultural appropriation sub-concepts that apply to pop stars Nicki Minaj and Selena Gomez.
Cultural Exploitation
Cultural exploitation is the act of a dominant culture taking from another culture without permission or cultural knowledge to do so. (Rogers, 2006).
We chose this concept in accordance with Selena Gomez’s wearing of the Bindi. The Bindi is a spiritual symbol associated with the Hindu religion and worn in many South Asian countries as an ancient tradition. Pop star Selena Gomez recently wore a Bindi and Bollywood style clothing in her MTV performance of her song “Come and Get It” and received backlash for her exploitation of the Hindu culture.
Cultural Exchange
Cultural exchange is the borrowing of cultural objects between two cultures that have mostly equal power. These two cultures share a mutual respect and understanding of each other and use these traditions to further learn about one another. (Rogers, 2006).
This concept is relevant to the issue of Nicki Minaj’s headdress worn in her “Pinkprint Tour” publicity photo and “Pound the Alarm” music video. Many fans were originally upset at the pop star’s picture believing her to be committing an offensive act toward Native American heritage. But in fact, this was later found out to not be the case. The feathers found on her headdress were pheasant feathers, found commonly in Trinidad and Tobago festivals of her native country. Being a popular celebrity in America, Americans associate Nicki Minaj as one of their own. Because of this, they believed she was exploiting Native American artifacts, when in reality she was exchanging a piece of her own culture in the U.S.
Research Goal
Based on our findings, we will use the act of cultural appropriation through cultural exchange and cultural exploitation to analyze our research question:
How does cultural appropriation apply to celebrities Nicki Minaj and Selena Gomez in recent controversies about their use of cultural artifacts?
Data
The first data source the researchers will observe is Selena Gomez’s MTV Music Awards “Come and Get It” performance in which she wears a Bindi and Bollywood attire from the Indian culture. We were able to access photos of the performance on MTV.com. MTV is a reliable source because they were the hosts of the music awards, and the performance was uploaded onto their official website.
We also were able to access an article on Huffington Post which describes backlash from Hindu leaders who demanded an apology from the pop singer for her performance. Huffington Post covered the story along with a video speaking about the appropriation. The publication is reliable because it is an official news media source an extremely popular and well known source. Huffington has won many awards, such as the Pulitzer Prize in 2012.
Next we will watch Nicki Minaj’s video “Pound the Alarm” in which Nicki is wearing a headdress in Trinidad where the culture is clearly not Native American. We were able to watch this video on the site Vevo where it was posted upon release. Vevo is a credible data source for our research because it is a site that many artists use to promote their new music videos and intentionally release for the public to access. This video has over 144 million views and is completely controlled by the company itself in terms of access to posting videos (Vevo, 2013).
Nicki’s tour poster was released on her official website, mypinkfriday.com. This is where her publicity photo in the headdress announcing her 2015 tour can be seen by all who access the site. This site is very reliable because it Nicki’s website in which she owns and manages herself.
The website Indians.org was useful to us in confirming the misinterpretation of Nicki’s headdress by providing the correct information on Native American headdresses and culture. Since 1995 this website has been devoted to preserving the Native American culture and even provides a page to support and donate to existing tribes.
Analysis
Selena Gomez’s wearing of the Bindi is an example of cultural appropriation, specifically cultural exploitation, as shown from the photos on MTV in her “Come and Get It” live performance. Because she is not of the Indian culture, people were offended by the use of the artifact as a fashion statement instead of acknowledging its cultural and historical significance. This is because cultural exploitation involves a dominant culture using and exploiting another culture’s artifacts for its own needs with lack of the cultural background and sensitivity.
Results
We have used cultural appropriation, specifically the sub-concepts cultural exchange and cultural exploitation, to analyze celebrities Nicki Minaj and Selena Gomez in recent controversies about their use of cultural artifacts.
We will focus on how cultural appropriation concepts apply to the celebrities wearing these cultural items.
Cultural Appropriation
This concept was chosen because of the commonly misrepresented artifacts celebrities borrow and use from cultures other than their own. In this research, we focus on two cultural appropriation sub-concepts, cultural exploitation and cultural exchange, and apply them to pop stars Nicki Minaj and Selena Gomez.
Cultural Exploitation
We chose this concept in accordance with Selena Gomez’s wearing of the Bindi. The Bindi is a spiritual symbol associated with the Hindu religion and worn in many South Asian countries as an ancient tradition. Pop star Selena Gomez recently wore a Bindi in her MTV performance of her song “Come and Get It.” She also sported Bollywood style clothing while on stage during the same performance. After, she received backlash for her exploitation of the Hindu culture. Hindu leaders demanded an apology from the pop singer, for the lack of respect toward their culture, but ultimately did not receive one. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed stated:
"The bindi on the forehead is an ancient tradition in Hinduism … it is an auspicious religious and spiritual symbol... It is not meant to be thrown around loosely for seductive effects or as a fashion accessory aiming at mercantile greed. Selena should apologize and then she should get acquainted with the basics of world religions,” (Sieczkowski, 2013).
The most recent update of Selena shows a picture of her sporting yet another Bindi at the 2015 festival event named Coachella. The singer has shown no intention of changing her fashion trend, despite tension toward the wearing of these artifacts. Gomez’s wearing of such cultural artifacts only serves the purpose of style, and she lacks the cultural background and understanding of the significance of these Indian traditions. Therefore, she is taking an ancient tradition from another culture and exploiting it to her needs as an American celebrity. This proves cultural exploitation.
Cultural Exchange
This concept is relevant to the issue of Nicki Minaj’s headdress worn in her “Pinkprint Tour” publicity photo and “Pound the Alarm” music video. Many fans were originally upset at the pop star’s picture believing her to be committing an offensive act toward Native American heritage. The headdress appeared very similar to Native American culture showing brown, black, and white feathers as well as the structure of the Native American headdress (large on top while flowing down the back). But in fact, this was later found to not be the case. The feathers attached on her headdress were pheasant and peacock feathers, found commonly in Trinidad and Tobago festivals, i.e., her native country. Also fur can be found on the front and sides holding the headdress together which is not typical of Native American culture that uses eagle or rooster feathers and beading/hide of an animal for the headband (“Native American Headdress,” n.d.). Being a popular celebrity in America, Americans associate Nicki Minaj as one of their own. Because of this, they believed she was exploiting Native American artifacts, when in reality she was exchanging a piece of her own culture within the U.S. Trinidadian cultural headdresses are a symbol of strength and independence which pertains to Nicki Minaj, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago. By bringing a piece of her culture to the U.S. the singer has exchanged heritage between the two areas by introducing her native cultural artifact to U.S. audiences and thus creating cultural exchange.
Discussion
The goal of our research was applying cultural appropriation concepts to singers Nicki Minaj and Selena Gomez in recent controversies about their use of cultural artifacts. In conclusion, through the use of cultural appropriation we determined Selena Gomez is taking part in cultural exploitation and Nicki Minaj has taken to cultural exchange in their presence through the media as American celebrities.
The most interesting results our research uncovered were the overwhelming feedback from the media and other sources celebrities receive about their appropriation of different cultures. Appropriation happens every day but it is overdramatized when someone is in the public eye. Due to the behaviors of artists today, there is an overwhelming pressure to be “edgy” and different in order to stay relevant. This leads to celebrities commonly using cultural artifacts as a fashion accessory to stand amongst their peers.
Our particular analysis of cultural appropriation benefits intercultural communication because it demonstrates how being present in the media puts celebrities in a position where they have to take extra of their actions in accordance with other cultures and how they can be perceived. The significance of this research informs readers about the concept of cultural appropriation and its application through American pop stars by demonstrating how the severity of using cultural artifacts without acknowledging their cultural significance can offend other outgroups.
If we were to suggest future research for this specific look at celebrities’ use of cultural artifacts, we would disperse a public opinion poll and gather data on attitudes toward what others consider cultural appropriation and what they do not. For future research in the general term of cultural appropriation, we would develop a survey to give to Schreiner students that would analyze data according to their feedback about the concept. The analysis of cultural Halloween costumes and college students’ ideas of what constitutes appropriation would be an interesting look at intercultural communication.
References
Mazur, K. (Artist). (2013). Selena Gomez. [Image]. U.S.; MTV. Retrieved from
http://www.mtv.com/artists/selena-gomez/
Native American Headdress (n.d.). In Indians.org. Retrieved April 20, 2015, from
http://www.indians.org/articles/native-american-headdress.html
Nicki Minaj. (2014, December 8). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from
http://www.mypinkfriday.com/events
Pound The Alarm (Explicit) - Nicki Minaj. (2013, June 13). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from
http://www.vevo.com/watch/nicki-minaj/pound-the-alarm-explicit/USCMV1200079
Rogers, R. (2006). From Cultural Exchange to Transculturalization: A Review and
Reconceptualization of Cultural Appropriation. <i>Communication Theory</i>. Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rar/papers/RogersCT2006.pdf
Sieczkowski, C. (2013, April 16). Selena Gomez Bindi: Hindu Leaders Demand Apology For
MTV Movie Awards Costume. Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/16/selena-gomez-bindi-mtv-movie-awards_n_3092129.html