Coldplay’s “Hymn for the Weekend” features cultural appreciation, not appropriation

Following the epic Super Bowl 50 performance this Sunday by pop stars Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars, chatter and gossip have been hitting the social media world hard. Beyoncé is featured on the newest single by Coldplay “Hymn for the Weekend” and the music video has caused a lot of controversy surrounding one topic in particular: cultural appropriation.

The video features Beyoncé, dressed in a traditional Indian Desi outfit, acting as a Bollywood dancer. Coldplay travels to India to see her film. Despite the beauty of the music video, critics think that Beyoncé is participating in cultural appropriation by depicting the Desi culture.

Cultural appropriation by definition states that this ideology surrounds when one culture adopts and emphasizes aspects of another culture. This doesn’t necessarily have to be negative. Of course, we have all seen the way this behavior can go wrong. “Blackface” is just one egregious example — often seen too many times even on college campuses — of true negative cultural appropriation.

But is this video really “appropriating” the Desi/ Hindi culture? I think not. The negativity associated with cultural appropriation is often considered part of a greater “power” role. For example, a white person painting their face with black paint is making light of a power dynamic that has been oppressive in nature for hundreds of years.

However, Beyoncé, dressing as a Desi woman and acting as though she is a Bollywood dancer with full respect to the culture doesn’t seem to be a case of true cultural appropriation. Beyoncé is merely representing, in very similar honesty to the truth, what the Bollywood culture is about. The outfits and jewelry and dance represent a piece of a culture in a way that is respectful and beautiful and in no way presents a negative corruption of the culture itself.

It is always important to be sensitive to the issues within cultural differences around the world, especially in the entertainment industry. However, it is also important to recognize the difference between negatively impacting or representing a culture and artfully and appropriately recognizing it. Beyoncé, in the “Hymn for the Weekend” music video, is in no way negatively or contradictorily represents the Desi culture.