lmao this is so dumb
these arguments always clash really hard with arguments about representation and just give reactionaries fuel for the "damned if you do damned if you don't narrative", because unfortunately they are often right when it comes to these scenarios
if you don't put any aspects from outside western ideas/aesthetics in your game then you don't have any representation and you're whitewashing everything
if you do it's cultural appropriation
it also gives ammo to the image of a hyper controlling detached from reality "sjw" left cause like i said this shit is just dumb, all of the history of language and art and aesthetics falls under the umbrella of "cultural appropriation", nothing will ever exist in a vacuum
all of the history of language and art and aesthetics falls under the umbrella of “cultural appropriation”, nothing will ever exist in a vacuum
I want to jump off this point real quick.
You are correct that the sharing of art, language, tradition, cuisine, customs, fashion, religion, and so on across different cultures has happened constantly throughout the history of humanity. But sharing/borrowing things from another culture isn't what makes something cultural appropriation.
Cultural appropriation only really makes sense in the context of colonization, when you have this greater social context where one group is trying to assert their authority/superiority over another group. This is achieved partly through the relentless dehumanization of the colonized people, and creating an environment where participating in their native culture marks them as subhuman savages. This can be seen plainly in colonial institutions such as "residential schools" which tore native children away from their families, and then brutally punished them if they were caught speaking their native language, wearing traditional styles of clothing, eating traditional cuisine, or participating in their own culture in basically any fashion.
That is the context where cultural appropriation exists within. When you have this greater social context when on one hand you are being told that your culture and your traditions brand you as a subhuman savage, but on the other hand members of the "dominant" culture are allowed to freely wear your culture as if it were a costume that turns them into someone who is exotic, mysterious, and cultured. Or who are allowed to create art that mimics aspects of your culture and receive acclaim and professional success for doing so. As a colonized person, it is inherently traumatic seeing someone freely participating in cultural traditions that have been stripped away from you, that you have been made to feel ashamed of, and that have been used to mark you as subhuman.
That is what it means for something to be cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is not just shorthand for taking inspiration from other cultures.
if you don’t put any aspects from outside western ideas/aesthetics in your game then you don’t have any representation and you’re whitewashing everything if you do it’s cultural appropriation
This is entirely solved by just not having white people and choosing historical settings where white people don't exist. Not every fantasy setting needs to be based on 14th century Western Europe.
lmao this is so dumb these arguments always clash really hard with arguments about representation and just give reactionaries fuel for the "damned if you do damned if you don't narrative", because unfortunately they are often right when it comes to these scenarios
if you don't put any aspects from outside western ideas/aesthetics in your game then you don't have any representation and you're whitewashing everything if you do it's cultural appropriation
it also gives ammo to the image of a hyper controlling detached from reality "sjw" left cause like i said this shit is just dumb, all of the history of language and art and aesthetics falls under the umbrella of "cultural appropriation", nothing will ever exist in a vacuum
I want to jump off this point real quick.
You are correct that the sharing of art, language, tradition, cuisine, customs, fashion, religion, and so on across different cultures has happened constantly throughout the history of humanity. But sharing/borrowing things from another culture isn't what makes something cultural appropriation.
Cultural appropriation only really makes sense in the context of colonization, when you have this greater social context where one group is trying to assert their authority/superiority over another group. This is achieved partly through the relentless dehumanization of the colonized people, and creating an environment where participating in their native culture marks them as subhuman savages. This can be seen plainly in colonial institutions such as "residential schools" which tore native children away from their families, and then brutally punished them if they were caught speaking their native language, wearing traditional styles of clothing, eating traditional cuisine, or participating in their own culture in basically any fashion.
That is the context where cultural appropriation exists within. When you have this greater social context when on one hand you are being told that your culture and your traditions brand you as a subhuman savage, but on the other hand members of the "dominant" culture are allowed to freely wear your culture as if it were a costume that turns them into someone who is exotic, mysterious, and cultured. Or who are allowed to create art that mimics aspects of your culture and receive acclaim and professional success for doing so. As a colonized person, it is inherently traumatic seeing someone freely participating in cultural traditions that have been stripped away from you, that you have been made to feel ashamed of, and that have been used to mark you as subhuman.
That is what it means for something to be cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is not just shorthand for taking inspiration from other cultures.
This is entirely solved by just not having white people and choosing historical settings where white people don't exist. Not every fantasy setting needs to be based on 14th century Western Europe.