One of the joys of growing older is that I find myself increasingly out of step with popular thinking. It might be increasing grumpiness or resistance to change, but I’m inclined to think that it’s just laziness on my part. I’ve decided that I can take a well-earned break now and let other people take on all that brain work so that I can be left in peace to read a Barbara Pym novel or perfect my falafel recipe.
Surely there has been enough thinking done over the years and I don’t need to be wasting my limited brain power doing any more. Confucius and the ancient Greeks seem to have covered most topics between them and I would imagine that any gaps have since been filled by the nimble brains and pens of Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll. Some people argue that all life lessons are to be found in George Eliot’s Middlemarch, but personally I look to Alice in Wonderland.
Let others spend their time forming opinions that will make no difference to anyone and will merely serve to annoy their friends and family, I tell myself. But the problem is that I’m not really convinced. As Lewis Carroll wrote, “I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.” I can’t seem to help myself – information just seeps in and then opinions pop out.
For instance, cultural appropriation is a hot topic at the moment and no matter how much I try I can’t stop myself having views on it. Of course it’s wrong to exploit others or be disrespectful of their culture, but I’m not sure what cultural appropriation is exactly or who does the deciding. When I wear the beautifully embroidered top that I bought in Mexico, I don’t think I’m appropriating Mexican culture and I know that the woman who made them was very happy when I bought two. And what about our newly laid bathroom floor inspired by Moroccan tiles? It doesn’t feel disrespectful. In fact, you could argue that it was chosen by someone of dubious taste who simply longs to be transported somewhere more vibrant and exciting than the family bathroom.
I love the cross-pollination of cultures in food, fashion and yes, even hair styles. I can feel only gratitude for the wonderful Tex-Mex food you find all over the USA. Apparently, flip-flops originated with the ancient Egyptians and Austrian women were the first to fashion their hair into buns, both wonderful things adopted around the world. I guess timing is everything.
I worry much more about writers being told what they can and can’t write about. I was listening to Edna O’Brien, the esteemed Irish novelist, who is having to defend herself against accusations of cultural appropriation. Her latest novel, Girl, is about a Nigerian girl abducted by Islamist extremists. She read about these girls and felt compelled to travel to Nigeria (at the age of 87) to immerse herself in their story. Of course people have every right to question what they read, but Edna O’Brien is also entitled to defend her right to imagine what someone else’s life is like and to write about it. After all, that’s what novelists do. Otherwise, she says that it will be the death of imagination. And I agree. There, I didn’t need to form any opinions of my own after all: the 90-year-old Edna O’Brien has done it for me.
Well said. No defense required. There was a time when imitation was the sincerest form of flattery.
It’s a tricky area, isn’t it? But I do think we need to talk about it and that we all need to beware of groupthink.
Please let me know when you’ve perfected your falafel recipe.
We had the best ever in Egypt, where they use fava beans and a wonderful selection of spices. I have never had better.
I try to be open-minded when I read arguments about cultural appropriation and be sensitive to the issue. I love to wear clothing, fabric, jewelry in styles that arose in other cultures. I feel like I do it with respect and honor. On the other hand, I have an idea for a TV pilot in which the central characters are black slaves in late 1700s Virginia. As an old white lady, I don’t feel like I could send out that script without getting input from a black co-author. Neither of us experienced slavery so we’d both be using our imaginations, but I believe the story would not be complete or right without the perspective of a black writer. There’s a line somewhere but its gray and wavy–hard to know when it’s been crossed.
I think the key is to go slowly and keep discussing it, but I hate to see people being shut down because others don’t agree with them. To me, that looks a lot like bullying. I do think we’re going in the right direction though.