Importance of Context in Remediation and Cultural Appropriation (Blog 5)

     David Novak’s article Cosmopolitanism, Remediation, and the Ghost World of Bollywood, illustrates the significance of context in the process of remediation. He contrasts the usage of the song-and-dance number from the film Jaan Pehechaan Ho, in the film Ghost World, with its remediation by the music band Heavenly Ten Stems. In the film Ghost World, the placement of the song-and-dance number lends an alternative edge to the character. Her appreciation of the obscure film contrasts her “constant scorn for…popular media” (Novak, 44). Conversely, Novak recalls the night in which the Heavenly Ten Stems played their version of Jaan Pehechaan Ho, only to be called racist for their rendition. Novak draws an interesting comparison which calls into question of what context constitutes remediation as trendy, alternative appreciation, versus, racist appropriation. Upon interviewing one of the protesters of the Heavenly Ten Stems concert, the author discovers that the perceived racism is due to the social power dynamics which the interviewer felt was present in society. There was another difference which separated the two remediations, the band dressed up in Asian clothing and accessories, in Ghost World the character merely danced to the music. The protester felt that dressing up in Asian clothing appeared like costuming and made a farce of the culture the band intended to make dedication to.

      A similar example of cultural appropriation is the recent adoption of the ‘n-word’. This word has an awful root in social Darwinist groups, whose Eurocentric perception reduced African decent peoples to a derogatory slang word. This word has now been popularized in the media, especially in rap and hip-hop music videos. However, the ‘n-word’, usage is designated exclusively to African peoples in reference to one another. The word, when used by an African person, denotes an iteration of brethren, solidarity. When the ‘n-word’ is used by a non-African person, is perceived as derogatory as the cultural semiotic reverts to its original meaning.

     Stand-up comic Michael Richards, former actor on the famous sitcom Seinfeld, discovered the limitation of the term after he was called a racist for using the n-word in a skit at comedy club, Laugh Factory in 2006. The backlash against the comedian was enough to severely damage his career. The audience was outraged that a Caucasian man used the ‘n-word’ because of the socially accepted double-standard of the term. Richards apologized for using the term, thus enforcing this cultural dichotomy. Some argue that the ‘n-word’ should be used by no one, due to its connection to bigotry and racial oppression. In the US, the term recalls a time of African slavery and segregation, which took place less than a century ago. The derogatory term revives cultural tensions and racial awareness. However, for those who use the term, its usage by Africans extinguishes the term. So by using the term, African people diffuse the term and express solidarity for those who would have been subjected to the term in a formerly racist society.  

      This example illustrates the importance of context in appropriation, whether it is media or linguistics. In Novak’s article, he demonstrates to the reader how remediation of the same material can be perceived very differently. The difference which produced this result was the manner in which it was delivered to its audience. Ghost World presented Jaan Pehechaan Ho, as material used to substantiate an alternative persona of the character. By contrast, Heavenly Ten Stems went further and attempted to personify being Asian and resulted in a performance which was not trendy or alternative, but tacky and absurd. Whether it is the appropriation of the ‘n-word’, or remediation through performance or film, context is the most important factor in the acceptance or rejection of items reused.

Works Cited

Novak, David. (2010). Cosmopolitanism, Remediation, and the Ghost World of Bollywood. Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 25, Issue 1, pp. 40-72.