After doing the readings for this week I realized that my view on what “appropriation” is has completely changed. I have always attached the potential exploitative indirect results of cultural appropriation with the actual concept of appropriation, and so there was always a negative connotation to the word for me. From Ashley and Plesch’s essay I’ve come to realize that the processes of appropriation extend both diachronically and synchronically and can produce kind of beautiful, fluid results.
Heyd’s “Rock Aesthetics and Cultural Appropriation” has made me personally realize that aesthetic appreciation shouldn’t be limited; instead we must educate those who engage in the aesthetic appreciation of other cultures to be conscious of context and cross-cultural etiquette. There is actually a lot we can gain from exploring other cultures (can enrich our understanding of other cultures, critique our own understanding of art, learn about another culture way of aesthetically appreciating something, offer a paradigm of resistance, and offer us an alternative model for the enjoyment of human creativity), but it is important to be respectful.