Coldplay And Beyonce's 'Hymn For The Weekend' Dissed; Artists Misrepresenting Indian Culture?
When Coldplay dropped their new music video entitled "Hymn for the Weekend," fans freaked out over how good it was, especially because it featured Beyonce. But not long after, a debate sparked over the video, bringing the topic of misrepresenting Indian culture and cultural appropriation.
Many fans took to social media their thoughts on the music video, which was shot in Mumbai and featured snake charmers, a peacock, the blue god Shiva, henna tattoos, Bollywood and other icons representing India and Hinduism.
"Why does the white man not get it? India 2016 is not a land of snake charmers," an Indian journalist tweeted of Coldplay and Beyonce's "Hymn for the Weekend."
"Are we gonna discuss how Beyonce dressing up as an Indian woman for the Coldplay video is cultural appropriation or no?" another Twitter user wrote, as seen in The Hollywood Reporter.
"Just because it's Beyonce, doesn't mean she's right. She is being offensive and appropriating our culture," wrote another fan.
Meanwhile, in a Buzzfeed video, Indians reacted differently after seeing the video for the new song.
"I wasn't affected by the video. It didn't really insult my heritage or anything," a Buzzfeed respondent said.
"NamaSTAY out of my country please," said another.
On the other hand, some fans believe the video was more of an appreciation of the Indian culture, instead of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation, loosely defined, is when one takes the clothing, traditions and other cultural aspects of a marginalized group while the person taking it doesn't understand the culture itself and uses it for their personal gain or ego.
Chris Martin and his bandmates, however, travelled to India themselves and immersed in its culture. They also hired an Indian director, cast and crew to put up the music video.
"This doesn't bother me! For once, media is focusing on the positive aspects of India, like its sense of community, playfulness, and free spirit," Deepa Lakshmin wrote for MTV.com.
"Diversity is a beautiful thing, and the conversation surrounding appropriation versus appreciation is ongoing," she continued. "But if we continuously label everything that draws from another culture as appropriation, I fear artists will stop looking to other cultures for inspiration entirely."
Coldplay and Beyonce's "Hymn for the Weekend" video has since garnered millions of hits on youtube since it got uploaded.