Cultural Disaster

Is it a cultural catastrophe, cultural clash, or a cultural disaster? Russian ice skaters impersonating the aborigines of Australia.

I tried so hard to give the dance a chance. When I first saw Yahoo news and about how the Aborigines of Australia got all “shook up” over the dance interpretation of the Russian Ice Skaters, I had to by instinct roll my eyes. Really? another minority group crying over political correctness? The International Skate Union (ISU) is a group that invites skaters from all over the world to perform in singles, couples, and ice dancing. Now I am not completely familiar with this organization, nor am I an expert in the technicalities of ice skating, but this particular article caught my eye. The different couples were to skate to world music. Meryl Davis and Charlie White represent America and skated to India “folk” music. Oxana Domnina and Maxim Shablin skated to Aborigine music.
Of course I had to youtube this to see for myself if I would feel as offended with the Indian dance/skate. So, I satisfied my thirst and watched the routine. I actually really liked it! The woman was dressed in an outfit that looked like a skimpy Indian sari and the man was dressed in Kurta top. The moves were on point with what I have seen in Bollywood dances and classical Indian dances. I was really impressed. The music was catchy too. The Americans did me proud at least. I think they even placed first in the competition.
I kept trying to youtube the Aborigine skate dance, but it would not come up. Finally today, I was able to watch it. So I watched it. The routine was not bad. I actually really liked the moves and the costumes were pretty eye catching and the music was quite catchy too.
So what was so different between the American skate pair and the Russian Skate Pair? Did the latter unfairly get picked on?
The music in the second one did not match. As a former student of classical Indian dance, I am able to pick up different beats and sounds. Classical Indian music has a very distinct sound to the knowledgeable ear. First mistake- this skate pair was unknowingly passing off a fusion of Indian music with I am not completely sure what, with Aboriginal dance. I was baffled. They said in their interviews that they had went on youtube to see Aborigine dances- the sound of the aboriginal music is completely different from the music they had presented.
The American pair had got an Indian choreographer to help with the steps for their skate. They also watched some Indian movies. They were basically “studying” the culture and by asking an Indian to help to put in some moves, they helped to authenticate the routine. Also, another thing is that you cant go wrong when picking a Bollywood song. The dance routines in those songs are already a fusion of Indian classical steps and western steps with only God knows what.
The Russian pair did consulate with anyone of Aboriginal culture and background. Their coach offered them some music and they supposedly “researched” it and found it appropriate. In the end they claimed that there dance wasn’t just supposed to represent Australian culture, but many others that were thousands of years old.
I don’t think the Russian skate pair purposely meant any harm. I think they probably went into it with a good heart and felt their routine was artistic. But saying that, I now feel their routine was highly offensive. You are probably rolling your eyes at me now, but just hear me out. The English colonized Australia just as many Europeans colonized America and the rest of the world. The native cultures of the South Americas were nearly extinguished by the Spanish. The lands of the Native Americans were taken away by Treaties that were only one sided. Many of these cultures were seen either as uncivilized or at greatest, second rate to European culture. In India, the dance bharthanatyam, a dance that I learned growing up as a kid, was banned because it was thought to be only a dance for prostitutes because the British didn’t realize the significance of the dance to the religious culture. It was revived in the 1920s and 1930s and now has a respectable place in society.
So when a group, especially within what is now European culture portrays another group, they need to be careful with what they do. Don’t make caricatures of a specific culture. Be cautious of how you portray them. For instance, another mistake the Russian skate pair made was for the man to wear a dark costume with circular stripes all over it. I don’t think being dark skinned is wrong. I appreciate myself and would not change my skin color for anything. I am just too proud of who I am to fall into the vast majority of the world notion of being “fair skinned” as being beautiful. I don’t have the colonial mind set. I have my own. I think women and men are beautiful around the world and it is represented through our unique features. That being said, it is still sensitive.
For instance, in India, there is a wide range of colors and looks. If we just look within my family, you get the wide range. We range from fair to dark. My grandma has light brown eyes, her sister has green eyes, her brother has blue eyes You have people in Northeastern India who look more “Asian.” Again, let me reiterate that I am proud of who I am, but if there was someone who wanted to portray Indians and painted themselves my color, I would be offended. I would be so because that doesn’t represent all of India. It may represent a percentage, but not all. It represents the caricature. So, don’t paint yourself another color in order to try to become another culture, and don’t pull your eyes in order to show yourself as “Chinese,” or don’t paint yourself red in order to be “Indian.” The skate pair, could have been just as bad if they had done Native Americans and got out of a teepee and started hitting their hand to their mouth. Overall, in my personal opinion, painting your skin or doing something superficial doesn't make you part of that culture. You need to first know the ideals and philosophies and how they relate to you personally. culture is more than skin deep.
Finally, people are not zoo animals. You don’t go to another place to point and stare. You go to another place to learn. You don’t need to throw the banana at the monkey. You are smarter than that. (Hopefully). We live in a diversified, multicultural world. Sometimes we make mistakes. But you can only plead ignorance once. After that, it becomes plain stupidity.