“On my facebook, a discussion broke out over the Harlem Shake, and whether the residents of Harlem were just being too sensitive feeling hurt by it. It is very difficult to explain the significance of cultural art forms to people for whom art = entertainment; for whom art is just some beautiful thing to distract from the worries of the world. Art = political agency for marginalized people in this country, and when some white DJ comes along, completely distorts the art, and makes it suddenly a hugely popular phenomenon, that is a loss of political agency, a loss of cultural capital for its originators. To you it seems like being sensitive. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right? But not when imitation has always meant silencing the voices that created the thing in the first place. And let’s be clear: That’s exactly what’s happening here when people watch the video of people of Harlem reacting to the Harlem Shake and respond, “Oh, shut up. Diplo just used the name. It’s not even the same dance.” Right. So he took something black people made, changed it so that white people like it, and now white people want to pretend black people have no claim to it. Move along, folks. Nothing problematic to see here.”
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The Rest of My Life: Django, the Harlem Shake, and the right to be ‘offended’ (via nerdsrocket)
Go read the whole post.