tsihcrana wrote: ↑September 30th, 2021, 10:40 am
Arbitrary by functional/practical standards, ie what practical objectives/functions do cultural things proffer.
I've conceded the argument already, so at this point all we're doing is talking about the semantics of a failed proposition.
Have you? . I thought you argument was sound. That cultural divisiveness is arbitrary, and delusional.
Railing against culture per se is not valid, but against the divisions between one "type" and another is a good project.
Culture can be two distinct things.
Culture is a word that can be used to indicate lofty stadards in art and literature such "High Culture" is not to be confused with the anthropological/archaeological definitions, which seek to identify peoples in the past(archeo) and in the recent history of humankind (anthro), embracing the fact that cultural items can be used to idnetify and divide cultures is not the same as saying these things are bounded and immutable.
So if we find a piece of an Attic Vase in Nothern Britain in a pre-Roman Briton level then we can identify a degree of contact between Briton and the Greek people, by trade.
Human cultures chose indentifable practices and object to promote otherness, and to create the Shibboleths of belonging against outside possibly hostile interests from outsiders.
Recognising that this is how culture can be used is not an endorsement.
Racism is always just under the surface and cultural definitions can be mobilised for racist purposes.
"Cultural Appropriation".
In my view this is racism. I do not mean appropriating a culture. I mean accusing another person of appropriation is racist.
Led Zeppelin took the "blackman's" Blues and turned it into Heavy Metal. Led Zep honour all the Blues guys they adapted, and give them full credit for what they did. In some cases songs by Willie Dixon, and Howling Wolf were modified and recorded by Zep.
Were they to have done this in recent time they may well have been accused of cultural approproation.
What you might call Cultural Appropriation has been a part of our world since the dawn of time and has brought people together.
WIthout Rock & Roll there would not have been a civil rights movement, and the Soviet Union would not have fallen.
THere is nothing more important to the fall of Russia that Gorbechev's love of the Beatles.