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I feel like not enough nctzens are having a constructive, nuanced discussion about MAW’s concept and why people are so uncomfortable/angry about it. I’m desi, not arab, but as time has gone by, this issue has started to concern my culture too. So here’s a thread ~
I want to start by saying that any potential issues with the MV itself is a conversation for arab muslims only. The majority of arab muslim nctzens I saw seemed to not have an issue with the MV. Here’s a helpful thread: https://twitter.com/hyuckholics/status/1316114633653186561
When I first watched the MV, I was concerned particularly in the bits where they clasped their hands together in a ‘namaste’ gesture. But I figured that it wasn’t my judgement to make, and since a lot of muslims didn’t have an issue, I figured I had no right to be bothered.
It also seemed like a throwaway choreography move at the time, not really central to the dance or the concept, so I didn’t focus on it too much.
But then they kept making ‘namaste’ gestures in photos.
And then this.
But then they kept making ‘namaste’ gestures in photos.
And then this.
SM has been setting them up with some questionable sets but this one was easily the worst. There’s a lot of things on that set that come from many different middle eastern and north african cultures that aren’t the same thing. And then they’re clasping their hands...
I realise that MAW has an aladdin concept, and I realise that this in and of itself is not offensive. There are plenty of threads from arabs explaining why it isn’t. But so far, SM seems to be making the same mistake that Disney did: orientalism.
The west has a long history of portraying islamic nations, especially in the middle east, as a monolith, and more often than not, they conflate it with south asian cultures. Aladdin (1992) had complaints on release from anti-discrimination committees about its insensitivity.
One of the things I distinctly remember about the 1992 movie (which I love, despite everything!) is that the opening monologue is done in that kind of south asian accent that white people like to do, and also a behind the scenes video on how the palace was based on the taj mahal.
The 2019 remake is better, but has still drawn criticism, especially around its casting. I have not seen it so I can’t go into specifics, but here’s one of many articles I found about it: https://theconversation.com/how-the-new-aladdin-stacks-up-against-a-century-of-hollywood-stereotyping-115608
Here’s another one: https://www.vox.com/2019/5/24/18635896/disney-live-action-aladdin-controversy-history
MAW has a similarly orientalist concept. I don’t think it is SM’s intention to harm any of the cultures involved, but that doesn’t mean the ignorance is okay. Orientalism has real world consequences around the world, especially considering how widespread islamophobia is.
Islamophobia can affect non-muslim brown people too. We are not the worst sufferers of it and heck, India is notoriously islamophobic right now, so I’m not claiming that we are victims — we REALLY aren’t.
I am saying that ignorant people have a habit of grouping things that are south asian and don’t have islamic roots with things that are from various islamic countries and claiming they are one.
This is a key example of this, and this is was the final straw for me (I will link the video at the end of this thread in case this tweet is deleted) https://twitter.com/chengsungs/status/1319270338975404035
Taeyong and Xiaojun are dancing in a similar way to that of south indian hindu dance forms, like bharatanatyam and mohiniyattam. As someone who is south indian, I don’t find this offensive or mocking, but it does anger me that they have assumed this was a part of their concept.
I don’t think it is intentional on their part! I don’t think they realise that this is an issue at all. But it is heartbreaking considering this is not the first time NCT has been involved in something regarding desi culture, and SM has been mass emailed about this before.
And it is heartbreaking to see them fall into the same traps of orientalism that their source material did. It is uncomfortable that my culture and so many others have been conflated into a monolith.
There’s no excuse for this. NCT is a global group aimed at a multicultural audience, so SM should be taking the pains to educate their artists, their staff, the production teams they hire, to be more culturally sensitive. We can only mass email the company so many times.
As fans, we also have to be better. I learnt about the Taeyong/Xiaojun issue 24 hours after it happened because I was busy during the stage and saw no mention of it the next day. This isn’t the kind of issue you should suppress. We should be holding our idols accountable.
They may be human and prone to mistakes, but asking people and corporations not to be racist shouldn’t be too much to ask.
I didn’t add too many details about the conflation of arab and other islamic cultures because I’m not from any of them and haven’t done enough research beyond basic notions of orientalism but if I find any relevant material I’ll link it!
End thread ig I’ve talked too much
Gonna add this! I’m aware the namaste may not actually be a namaste but it’s the wider context that was making me uncomfortable rather than this instance itself. https://twitter.com/fantaeilstic/status/1319852569381011458
Forgot to link the video
Muting this x
A lot of people have asked me this one so I’m going to clarify it YET again: https://curiouscat.qa/singledadjohnny/post/1151214782
Screenshot for people who cannot access the link:
Some more info on orientalism by an actual arab: https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1105506892556562433?s=21
