The North American indigenous singing in the Cruciblr when I hit the final boss of the first board stopped me in my tracks and made me want to put the class down entirely. This is not the first time CBU3 has decided to inappropriately use indigenous culture in the game-- North American or otherwise!-- and it boggles the mind that no matter how many times it happens, and they receive pushback, it keeps happening.
Indigenous art is protected for good reason; Colonial powers have attempted to kill their culture and profit from it at the peoples' expense time and time again over history, and to use these clips of their songs completely removed from their context and original people is further colonial violence against them. I've heard the 'oh we can't borrow influence or sounds anymore?' That is not the issue at hand. The issue here is the removal of *specific cultural art* from its context and history and meaning to be used by people outside of that community. While I'm not familliar with the particular song used in this BST track, these sorts of songs are often used in celebrations, special events, and sacred ceremonies to people who have already had to fight too hard to hold on to their culture. It's utterly inappropriate to then rip it from them for a random bit of flavour in your video game-- never mind that to me, it seems to have been used to make the environment feel more primal or 'savage'-- long understood to be racist and harmful stereotypes of indigenous peoples.
Replace the track, CBU3. And knock it off.
Continue reading...
Indigenous art is protected for good reason; Colonial powers have attempted to kill their culture and profit from it at the peoples' expense time and time again over history, and to use these clips of their songs completely removed from their context and original people is further colonial violence against them. I've heard the 'oh we can't borrow influence or sounds anymore?' That is not the issue at hand. The issue here is the removal of *specific cultural art* from its context and history and meaning to be used by people outside of that community. While I'm not familliar with the particular song used in this BST track, these sorts of songs are often used in celebrations, special events, and sacred ceremonies to people who have already had to fight too hard to hold on to their culture. It's utterly inappropriate to then rip it from them for a random bit of flavour in your video game-- never mind that to me, it seems to have been used to make the environment feel more primal or 'savage'-- long understood to be racist and harmful stereotypes of indigenous peoples.
Replace the track, CBU3. And knock it off.
Continue reading...