I already said this in class, but I feel the need to put it down in my blog as well. Besides, everyone wasn't there to hear me say it the first time.
It's been my experience that one of the qualms black people have with the interest white people have in "our" culture is simply a question of sincerity.
Take, for example, the movie "Step Up 2: The Streets." None of the main characters in the movie were black even though it was a movie about hip-hop dancing. As well, even the few characters in the movie who WERE black were as close to villians as this type of movie would allow. They beat up the white kids. They ostracized the white kids. It really made you feel bad that the white kids weren't welcomed into this culture that they seemingly had no reason to be interested in. They attended a prestigious dance academy. They were pretty much guaranteed college scholarships and professional advancement based on their education and dance background, yet their main focus was on being accepted into a subset of a culture that had NOTHING better to look forward to other than competing in this unsanctioned, traditional competition that had no prize other than respect in their communities. And the rich white kids from the beautiful suburban school wouldn't rest until they won. The movie was supposed to be about overcoming adversity. Like the white kids were just being eaten away inside because they were being denied access to something that WASN'T SET UP FOR THEM IN THE FIRST DAMN PLACE!
I think THIS is the mentality that bell hooks opposes. Putting the effort under a scholastic umbrella doesn't then give white people free reign over dominating a topic. White people DON'T have a right to conquer EVERYTHING just because they can or just because they want to. Why do you even want to when we can very well handle it ourselves (if given an opportunity to do so)?
2 comments:
Excellent post, Monica. Your voice is very important to our understanding of hooks' points. Playing devil's advocate for a moment (and I haven't seen the movie you discuss), I wonder if it says something about inadequacies in the white youth's culture that they sought to "join" the hiphop culture? There's clearly admiration for hiphop among many white youths. Is there anything positive about this admiration, from a black perspective? Should whites admire from a distance, but not attempt to co-opt or join? What is an "acceptable" position for the white youths vis-a-vis hiphop from a black perspective? There are no doubt multiple black perspectives on this. Black music producers, for example, are probably delighted with the popularity of hiphop among any audiences. Obviously, I don't know enough about the rhetoric around hiphop and my questions are sincere.
As far as inadequacies in the white culture, I personally don't think that's it. To quote a prominent member of the hip hip community (as I did in class), "If you won't give me Heaven, I'll raise Hell... until it's heaven." I think everyone wants to be a part of the what's "cool", of what's "hot" ad of what's "in." It's unfortunate to me, however, that many aspects of black culture are relegated to the "outside" like a subculture because it's not perceived to be good enough to be "mainstream," yet once it gains popularity, it becomes accepted, but only once it's been adapted to include the very people who initially rejected it. I think that's a major part of the animosity black people hold towards white youth taking an interest in hip hop culture.
On the positive side, though, one could look at the situation as the dominant culture realizing their error in initially rejecting hip hop culture, and that's good.
JOINING isn't the problem, DOMINATING is. First you said what we were doing wasn't worth your time. Then you changed your mind and decided that it IS alright after all. Then you come in and try to take over like you're better equipped to handle what WE created. But as far as just admiring from a distance, I don't think that's possible. Hen you like something, when you're struck by it, you have the compulsion to immerse yourself in it. No one can fault that. The negativity comes in, though, because dominance eliminates the possibility for any sincere level of respect. Period.
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