Hunger Games Actress' Eloquent Take Down Of Black Cultural Appropriation Is A Must Watch

This is a brilliant video - not just for the decidedly eloquent manner in which The Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg (who played Rue) conveys her point, but also for the discussions that have been sparked in its wake.

If you haven't watched it yet, you really must, as her commentary is as valid as any.

The video, entitled "Don't Cash Crop On My Cornrows: A Crash Discourse On Black Culture", first dissects her definition of black culture, starting with hair styles designed for black hair textures and moving onto dental grills and hip hop.

She then explains what she means by "appropriation" - that is, the taking of parts of black culture by white people and she cites Katy Perry and Iggy Azalea as examples of people who do this.

Appropriation Vs Assimilation

One of the biggest questions that has been occasioned by this video is of course whether this is, in fact, "appropriation" or whether it might actually be "assimilation" instead?

To "Appropriate" suggests the desire to take something from somebody, whereas to "assimilate" would be more about accepting something and moving towards it.

Amandla's rebuttal to claims of "assimilation" seems to be that Miley Cyrus, Iggy and Taylor Swift's use of black culture isn't in particularly good faith.

Each one of the music videos that she references views like a parody, wherein the singers use bits of black culture - like the dental grills, corn rows and hand signs - to create a caricature or as part of a joke.

And the people in the position of power making fun of those who aren't isn't really sending the right message.

The other point she rightfully brings up is the fact that police brutality towards young black people isn't showing any sign of slowing, with some particularly high profile cases, such as Trayvon Martin, making waves globally over the past year.

So while racial discrimination is still rife, both at a political and a social level, it's probably not all that fair for rich white people to keep making a joke about it.

As she concludes at the end of her video: wouldn't it be great if Americans put as much effort into closing the divide between black people and white people, instead of stealing the things they're proud of and turning them into a punchline?

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