White-dominated cultural appropriation in novels
By Zhinan Yu
Cultural appropriation can be seen as the act of borrowing specific elements and symbols from other cultures and then incorporating them into a work of art (Young, 2008). This is especially true when borrowing across ethnic lines; for example, when a white author borrows cultural references from an Asian cultural tradition. Such act of “culture borrowing” can appear in any form of art. For example, it is seen frequently in music (e.g. MV of "Bounce" by Iggy Azalea) and novels. As novelist Margaret Drabble argues, cultural appropriation is a “must-do” thing in fiction writing “whatever we write is, knowingly or unknowingly, a borrowing. Nothing comes from nowhere” (cited in Young, 2008, p. 31). However, her argument overlooks the consequences of cultural appropriation, especially when novelists, as outsiders, attempt to depict the lives and experiences of another culture. In such instances, misinterpretations and misrepresentations will inevitably occur – harming that particular culture’s identity and legacy.
Perhaps one of the best-known examples of cultural appropriations emerges in English writer James Hilton’s popular novel—Lost Horizon. It became very popular in Western societies soon after its 1933 publication. Later, in 1937, it was made into film. Lost Horizon is probably the first document that narrates Orientalist fantasies about Tibet and the myth of Shangri-La from a Westerners' perspective. This novel told a fictional story about four westerners' fantastic expedition and journey in a remote valley (called “Blue Moon”) of Tibet. However, Lost Horizon seems a subtle projection of Hilton’s colonized attempts. For one primary reason, in the story, except Mallinson, the other three protagonists end up settling down in Shangri-La and being superior controlling over native inhabitants. For example, Hugh Convey is honoured as the new High Lama—the holiest leader of religion in Shangri-La. Such plot is obviously unacceptable in real circumstance, since it shows no respect to the religious tradition, but in the novel, “fantasy” becomes this misappropriation’s best disguise.
Globalization can be seen as the process that increases interaction between communities on a worldwide scale thanks to intercultural communications and commercial collaborations across the nations. However, the effects of such process should be perceived critically because both positive and negative outcomes will arise out of it (Berry 2008). Taking minority cultures as an example, globalization on the one hand enables members within these cultures to resist cultural domination, homogenization, imperialism, and colonialism, thus they can have better chances to reclaim their cultural heritage as well as to modify the wrongly depicted cultural identities (p. 330). On the other hand, globalization can also lead to marginalization of alienated groups, and “leaving their members without any cultural nexus in which to carry out their lives” (p. 332). Such arguments make a justifiable account that argue for treating the impacts of globalization not only as a cause but also an effect of cultural appropriation at stages of writing, editing and publishing. To explore this, it is crucial to figure out what role that globalization plays in transforming the traditional way of operation in publishing industry.
According to recent statistics, 79% employees working in the publishing industry are white (Deahl, 2016). Gatekeepers of publishing including literary agents and acquisition editors in the United States are 95% white (Childress, 2017). This data show that white-centric values in book publishing still holds a significant position, and in contrast, racial bias has not been eliminated. In addition, Childress (2017) argues that, compared to white writers, underrepresented writers are more harshly censored by publishers, many complaining that, compared to white writers, their work is more likely to be harshly censored. Some authors are even asked to “dumb down” their stories without considering it may damage cultural specificity and accuracy (Childress, 2017). In 2017’s Cultural Appropriation Debate, several scholars shares their opinions about why cultural appropriation is an inappropriate method for writers.
How does the lack of racial diversity in the publishing industry relate to cultural appropriation? For starters, as long as the industry is significantly dominated by white authors, writers of colour won’t have many chances promoting their own culture, or reclaiming their misrepresented cultural heritage on an unbiased platform. From a white writer’s perspective, Canadian writer Myn Kobayashi shares her experiences to highlight the importance of cultural diversity in literature. She suggests, white writers need to create a way of presenting other cultures, through wide research and intimate interactions to get known what customs, attitudes and values that these cultures really have. Last but not least, book publishing as a powerful artistic platform, should take greater responsibility for building a more multicultural literary community, in which all participants can freely interact and share diverse representations of the world’s population.
References
Berry, J. W. (2008). Globalisation and acculturation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32(4), 328-336. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2008.04.001
Childress, C. (2017, June 27). Cultural appropriation and the whiteness of book publishing. The Conversation.com.
Deahl, R. (2016, March 11). Why Publishing Is So White. Retrieved from Publisher’s Weekly.
Young, J. (n.d.). Cultural appropriation and the arts: New directions in aesthetics.