I was able to participate in the table talk with other students this past Monday that discussed the problem of cultural appropriation.  It was troubling to come to the realization that cultural appropriation happens way too often in society today–cultures incorporate parts of a different culture into their own, usually for some kind of monetary gain–without proper credit or respect given to the culture (that was borrowed from).  For example, companies that make Halloween costumes try to represent other cultures by using stereotypes and without understanding a culture at all; also, musical artists incorporate other cultures’ styles into their own songs and performances without giving due credit to their inspiration.

Although I tend to think that certain appropriation doesn’t necessarily need to be detrimental if there is good intent behind it, our group stressed that one must have a comprehensive understanding of a culture as well as the correct intentions for using an aspect of another culture.  Also, we concluded that if we are unsure whether or not something is cultural appropriation, we must ask ourselves if there is politics associated with the situation: if politics is associated with the situation, then it is characterized by cultural appropriation.