{"id":3429,"date":"2018-04-30T16:44:49","date_gmt":"2018-04-30T21:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=3429"},"modified":"2018-04-30T16:44:49","modified_gmt":"2018-04-30T21:44:49","slug":"the-road-to-cultural-appropriation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2018\/04\/30\/the-road-to-cultural-appropriation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Road to Cultural Appropriation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Road to Singapore. 1939. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http:\/\/cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org\/cdm\/ref\/collection\/sayre\/id\/17768<\/a>. Dorothy Lamour, Bing Crosby, and Bob Hope (left to right) in The Road to Singapore<\/em>. Lamour performs ‘womanly’ tasks while the men relax.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope made many films together, the most well-known being their <\/span>Road <\/span><\/i>pictures, of which the duo made seven between 1940 and 1947.1<\/sup><\/a> It isn\u2019t much of a series, as the characters’ names are different in every movie, but their characters and friendship are always the same types–one conniving yet charming businessman (Crosby) and one sucker (Hope). They\u2019re always fighting over the same type of girl, played by Dorothy Lamour, and she always ends up with Crosby\u2019s character. The only differences among these films are the locations. The first picture they made was <\/span>The Road to Singapore<\/span><\/i> (Schertzinger<\/span>, 1940), and a still from the film is featured above. These movies are hilarious and remain classics because of the duo\u2019s constant banter, sarcasm, breaking of the fourth wall, self-mockery, and all-around ridiculous shenanigans. However, what <\/span>Singapore<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>and the others that followed are guilty of is cultural appropriation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kenan Malik describes cultural appropriation as \u201cnot theft but messy interaction.\u201d2<\/sup><\/a> These films interact with several different cultures in problematic ways. Just watching the trailers illustrates some of the manners with which Hollywood has engaged with and represented other cultures.<\/span><\/p>\n