When the lovechild track of Coldplay and Beyonce, Hymn for the Weekend dropped on January 29th, it almost immediately flooded all social media sites. I watched it again, and again. Then I saw the video starting to pop up on more and more websites, especially news websites. Op-ed pieces began to crop up criticizing Beyonce's costumes, and suggesting that the video could have been made without using India as a backdrop. The argument is that: Is the video is a form of culture appropriation or culture appreciation?
Culture appropriation happens when a dominant group exploits the culture of a minority group, by using their dance, music, dress, religious imagery, language etc without permission and without understanding the history behind it in a negative manner.
Culture appreciation is to recognize and appreciate the beauty in another culture.
There have been incidences in music videos, performances by major stars, and movies where culture appropriation has been done. But I'm not going to touch that. It's a whole sticky topic. My point is that THIS video being discussed is NOT a form of culture appropriation. The things that are being criticized about this video need not offend anyone.
Here's how:
1) The music video is set in a combination of mystical India and a Mumbai neighbourhood today, where kids are playing Holi (the Festival of Colours) - it does not demean India, it does not attempt to belittle India. The shots of Mumbai show Holi being played by children, against the juxtaposition of ancient religious symbols still seen in a modern city. While it may be true that not the richest parts of the city are shown, but this is not done to show India as poor or backwards. The reason the director chose such a location was to show street culture during Holi, where the riot of colours is so intense that even the soil isn't untouched. This backdrop is used to enhance the mood of the song, an intoxicating feeling of celebration that Holi very aptly conveys. In this way, India becomes a part of the song.
2) Beyonce is not dressed in traditional Indian attire, she is dressed in her usual fierce look, a look which is designed by two Indian fashion designers, by the by. She is shown on billboards as perhaps an actress, fittingly titled Rani (Queen). Elements of Indian culture are certainly used as inspiration, and I see nothing wrong with that. She's always bold in her music video costumes and this is no exception. She deserves no heat for being a part of this wonderful artistic collaboration.
3) Sonam Kapoor, an Indian actress, gave a cameo in very traditional garb and got backlash for it. Why? She looked great, she looked mystic. Why do we think Indian actresses can only appear in bikinis (Priyanka, Exotic), on FBI shows (Again, Priyanka), at Cannes in a gown (Aishwarya), or in Hollywood films (Deepika)? Isn't it GREAT that Sonam Kapoor can be a Loreal brand ambassador and put in a cameo in a video shot IN India by Coldplay? It is great, end of story.
Racism and culture appropriation do exist today, but they are not everywhere. We as a society are so quick to put labels on anything new or different that our labels are often misinformed and harsh. Different and offensive have become synonymous. Cultures are merging to develop a new global culture.
I see nothing wrong with a white man and a black woman shooting a music video in South Asia. It's a wonderful collaboration of art, and culture, and it's a great song. So get over it.
