Burka Barbie Wars

I recently read an article in the National Post and was extremely disturbed by the writers (Barbara Kay) narrow minded ideas about the burka and the different cultures around the world that dress in this fashion. Today, people are able to move between places and cultures as immigrants or tourists. With technologies like television and the internet one can virtually travel to any part of the world within minutes. As a result, we as a society have to try to endeavor and maintain cultural diversity, deal with oppression or the unequal distribution of resources and power, and encourage collective action to create a more equal society. In teaching about different cultures, we need to include the experiences and perspectives of women as well as men from different socioeconomic classes. We need not look only at a particular group of people within a culture and use only those experiences to portray a whole society of people. After all, wasn’t this the model that colonialism and slavery were built on?



Ms. Kay’s describes burkas as symbolizing oppression. Perhaps like most Western scholarship, the writer is quick to jump to certain signifiers or stereotypes that have been constructed by the West. Did Ms. Kay bother to look at the millions of educated women around the world who choose to wear Burkas or Hijabs or the women who just take pride in wearing these garments? Probably not. Maybe it’s because Western media and other forms of visual culture only tell us or show us those people who are ‘suffering’ or those that need to be ‘saved’. The question I pose for Ms. Kay is, how empowered are women in West? After all, it is men that dictate women’s fashion too. There is no denying that burkas were introduced in the recent past to many Islamic countries but so too were bikinis and mini skirts to the West. It is true women in the West don’t get stoned in the streets for not being dressed appropriately - instead, we are shunned for not conforming to the norm, resulting in a culture full of young girls with eating disorders and high suicide rates. Oh yes we do have it better here!

But perhaps the most astonishing thing about this article is how Ms. Kay refers to the Barbie doll as having ‘cultural innocence’. Barbie is an icon around the world with her blond hair, big breasts, impossibly long legs constantly fashioning the latest styles. What part of the population relates to her? After all, in the U. S. America natural blondes only account for 15 percent of the population. Having played with the iconic dolls when I was growing up, I wish that I could find a doll that looked like me or represented something that was around me. Perhaps then we would not have so many cultures obssessed with blond hair, perfect bodies or big blue eyes. Dont get me wrong I think that the makers of Barbie dolls choice to represent the 'other' is and will continue to be extremely problematic however, I urge Ms. Kay to read some more scholarly criticism on this iconic doll not to mention try to you use a wider range of resources as her research on different cultures.



You can read the article on the National Post Website, published on December 2, 2009.

This is Africa

Until very recently little has been known outside of Africa about Nigeria's booming film industry 'Nollywood'. In 2006 an article published in the Guardian cited Nollywood as the third largest film industry in the world with earnings bringing in more than $200 million dollars a year. Currently, according to a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report, the Nigerian film industry has overtaken Hollywood and closed the gap on India - the global leader - in the number of movies produced a year. Nollywood films are being churned out at an astonishing rate where anywhere from 500 to 1,000 movies are made annually. While Nigerian films are slowly making their way into the international market having being featured in a number of international film festivals, their history dates as far back as the 1960's when television broadcasting just began in Nigeria. Sadly as Tayo Aderinokun noted in the spring 2004 issue of Africa Update which focused on Nigeria's film industry, "...we [Nigeria] had neither the technology nor the means to do our own films and had to be satisfied with mostly foreign fare." Unfortunately, Nigeria's younger generation began to be more rooted in the Bruce Lee and James Bond culture than in their own.

By the early eighties Nigeria like many countries throughout Africa, were faced with a growing epidemic of poverty and crime. The few cinema houses that existed had to close down due to rampant streams of crime or were taken over by religious bodies. New laws also began to restrict foreign television content. Nigerian filmmakers began to fill this void by producing local productions that were meant for home viewing. Experts have credited Nollywoods success to the producer's reliance on video instead of film which substantially reduced the costs of production. Another pivotal point in Nollywoods beginnings was the 1992 release of Living in Bondage. The movie told a tale of the Occult which was an instant hit throughout Nigeria and set a stage for other directors to produce films. More recently however, the rise of affordable digital filming and editing technologies has stimulated Nigeria's film industry. Each week, thirty new titles are distributed to Nigerian market stalls and shops reaching a potential audience of fifteen million people in Nigeria and about five million people outside. The films are usually shot in English which make them easily accessible to all of English speaking Africa and its Diaspora.

Most importantly though, Nollywood's rise represents an uncommon cultural perspective telling African stories by African producers to African audiences. The plots usually deal with everyday issues that the common African can relate to such as HIV / AIDS , prostitution, corruption, women's rights and other topics with concern to them. As UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura explained, "Film and video production are shinning examples of how cultural industries, as vehicles of identity, values and meanings can open the door to dialogue and understanding between peoples, but most importantly to economic growth and development. If you haven't had a chance to see a Nigerian film, check one out - you might just be surprised. They are real depictions of what Africa is today!

"African" Inspiration

The Paris Spring/Summer 2009 catwalks last year were awash with "African" inspired fashions including designs from Marc Jacobs, Bernhard Wilhem, Alexander McQueen - just to name a few. The designers showcased accents of exaggerated "ethnic" hairdos, face paint and masks, grass skirts, beads and bangles and off course Leopard print. But, perhaps the most provocative designs that I saw were from Japanese Designer Junya Watanabe. His collection included towering flower carrying head wraps, colourful "African" motifs which were molded into dresses and tunics, and splashes of leopard print g-strings. These accents were effortlessly paired up with faded denim and bright gingham checks as described on style.com. As the models walked down the runway the sound of twittering birds, "tribal" beats and traditional female vocals (which probably traces back to West Africa) played in the background further emphasing the place where his inspiration originated. Having been raised in Africa, I couldn't help but pick up on certain stereotypes or perhaps a projected group identity which are often employed when representing the 'other' in this case most things African. These stereotypes often involve a 'fetishization' of the continent which has been handed down historically from generation to generation.




















Photos by: Marcio Madeira

As many scholars have often argued, clothing has always functioned as a regulatory mechanism, which not only shapes the body but ensures a confirmation of social and psychic norms. These symbolic relations which are signified by clothing are never finally fixed. However, the interpretation of African clothing has often centred from a European understanding where terms such as "ethnic", "traditional" and "costume" are often used when referencing non-western dress. This off course is extremely misleading because these terms connote a fashion that is unchanging and frozen in time. The Africa that Watanabe and many other designers reference is one that is based on fiction - a story dictated by the Europeans to the rest of the world. Perhaps we need to pay closer attention to the African motifs the Watanabe used in order for us to truly understand this ambivalent relationship that African fashion has with Europe. Printed 'African' fabrics which originated in Indonesia were first introduced to Europe by the Dutch. They in turn sold them to the English who later developed their own version of these fabrics which were to be sold to its colonies. Later the French introduced their own version of wax printed fabrics that they had been producing in India to be sold in French ruled West Africa. A number of factories have since been set-up all over Africa to imitate the "French copy of the English imitation" of wax printing that had originated in Indonesia. The irony of this process is how these fabrics have come to connote an 'authentic' African identity.

Printed 'African' fabrics have gained such popularity world wide that today they not only assert Afro pride and identity but, in Africa, they represent an independent African identity free of colonial rule. The paradox off course is that the very cloth that has come to signify African heritage also signifies a separation from the motherland. As these fabrics travel from continent to continent, they undergo a process of "authentification" - the authentic in this case is a sign born of "diasporic displacements with an impossible referent." (Rabine 159). So when fashion journalist Sarah Mower described Watanabe's collection on style.com as being "natural and unforced." it off course rings false because while he effortlessly creates a balance between the "tribal references" and his own signature style, his collection cannot be viewed outside of that which has been constructed. In other words, the motifs, the leopard print g-strings and the head wraps that are used to represent Africa are in themselves a form of mythology or fetishization.

In this technologically savvy world that we live in, one would hope that there would be a better sense of what Africa is today instead of the romanticized colonial image of what it once was. Perhaps the media is not concerned with an African sophistication but a struggling continent. The reality is that Africa is a lot of things but in fashion world Africa is only one thing.

Street Art or Vandalism

Every week if not everyday I receive emails from one of my favourite collectives - Wooster Collective - a site dedicated to showcasing ephemeral art placed on streets in cities around the world. Earlier this morning I was shocked by an article posted on Wooster which called for the public to sign a petition to help stop the New Anti Graffiti By-Law in Cape Town South Africa. This new law is meant to take away the legal rights from private property owner's to commission any artworks on there homes besides a house number! While graffiti or street art has had negative affiliations for years in the Western world, in the East, graffiti has been part of a rich history especially in South Africa where it dates back to the 18th Century. The Ndebele people of Southern Africa created their own tradition and style of house painting producing expressive symbols on their houses and walls which were used as a means of communication between sub groups. These symbols proclaimed personal prayers, self-identification, values and rights passage all of which were disguised to everyone but the Ndebele people during war. This tradition and specific style was passed down from generation to generation by the mothers who were the main developers of wall art. In fact wall painting held such prestige that a well painted house would translate into the type of mother or wife the woman made. Over the years new colours have been adopted, patterns have evolved and off course the means of application have changed too with the introduction of new tools. This tradition however, is still very present in different parts of South Africa today.



This new Anti Graffiti by-law not only disregards this rich history but it also makes no clear distinction between vandalism and street art. More importantly though, it takes away the artist's and home owner's rights to freely express themselves. Looking at this from the perspectives of most governments worldwide however, I have to say that I too am not interested in being bombarded by images of gang tags or distasteful scribblings or drawings over advertisements which many people would agree is vandalism. However, graffiti or street art or urban art can be nurtured into colourful murals or public interventions with positive messages. By creating such sanctions on property owner's, the government is creating a city model that lacks creativity, individuality and more than anything diversity! Public art forces audiences of all ages, race and education to interact with art without the pretension of the four walls of a gallery space. It can also bring life to certain areas that may have fallen off the map. For example, before Lula Lounge and the incredible mural by my good friend Jose Ortega on the corner of Federal and Dundas, the infrastructure on Dundas and Dufferin had the uniformity of checkers board like, most neighborhoods here in Toronto. The wall design at Lula and on Federal Street not only brought the community together but it also livened an area which prior to this was known for...I don't know.



Cape Town like most urban centres today, is extremely rich in culture and art. I would have thought that the government would be trying to enforce this tradition by encouraging such community interaction. Will future generations learn more about their history from cream coloured suburbs or from innovative design and architecture? Perhaps the government needs to be reminded that they can work with a model that better suites the spacial conditions of South Africa than copying designs that lack the aesthetics of their own culture. For more on this article please visit the Wooster Collective website and better yet subscribe to receive news about this underground form of art.