Introduction to the Channel

“Hey everyone, back again! Today, I will talk about bell hooks ‘Eating the Other: Desire and Resistance,’ a super interesting text I’m looking forward to digging into. But before then, if you want to follow me other than on YouTube, you can find me on Instagram at theory_and_philosophy, where you’ll mostly see pictures of my cats. If you still need to follow me here and you’re new, hi, I’m David. I try to explain philosophical and theoretical texts in a somewhat accessible way as best as possible. So, if you like what I do, hit subscribe, and you’ll see my videos every week, which would be great. If you want to help me, for those already here, like, share, subscribe, and tell your friends – who knows, they might get a kick out of it. If you’re listening to this in podcast form, the video is on YouTube, and if you’re watching this on YouTube, you’ll be able to find it in podcast form, where there shouldn’t be any ads. Good? It’s probably good. Let’s jump into this.”

Overview of the Essay

“So, this is a pretty important essay that bell hooks wrote, and it’s quite good. I recommend you do it for those who still need to read it. It is tricky, and I hope I can try and make it a little bit easier – at least. I won’t claim to do such a thing so easily, but I’ll try. What hooks is doing here is describing how non-white cultures are often commodified. We saw this develop with various marketing strategies in the mid to late 20th century up until now. Still, it’s also playing out in other ways, like tourism, especially from North America to places like Thailand or Vietnam. Of course, it would be naive to say that no one from those countries visits North America, for example. It’s just about recognizing the differences in how certain populations are framed within the dominant narrative and then how those cultures are appropriated.”

Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation

“At least in the essay’s final lines, hooks asks us to begin questioning how we discern the difference between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation. This isn’t just a simple act enacted upon non-white bodies by white people; that would be way too reductive. It must encapsulate the complexities of representation, tourism, or the use of elements from other cultures, be it their food, dress, or language. It’s a complicated topic, but this essay is a good start to help us consider how it can go from cultural appreciation to cultural appropriation and how we negotiate that.”

The Commodification of Culture

“In the commodification of another culture, we see that culture essentially being taken out of its context and made into something consumable. This relates to Marxism and the idea that a commodity becomes a commodity when detached from its history within production. It seems like an object that exists on its own, as though it has a magical value. I’ve done a whole episode on commodity fetishism if anyone’s interested.”

Shift in Racial Attitudes

“This fascination with non-white culture marks a shift from how, traditionally, other cultures were shunned. Now, there’s a growing fascination with the ‘other’ as a sexual object or something to be used sexually. It’s a transformation from an old form of racist repudiation to a new form of racism that sees the ‘other’ as a play toy, a point of fascination and experimentation.”

Example of Cultural Consumption

“hooks provides an anecdote where she overheard young men talking about wanting to sleep with as many women of color as possible, ranking them as though they were collectibles. This associates these women with exoticism and difference, other than the self-ordering sameness of these men’s lives. It’s almost as though these men are trying to become ‘the other’ to escape their mundane existence.”

Imperialism and Its Reversal

“Interestingly, hooks notes a kind of regret about an imperialist past, where the goal was to purge the world of difference. This reversal sees the ‘other’ not as something to fear but as something that can be appropriated. There’s a kind of freezing of the ‘other’ in their difference, which leads to a new form of neo-racism.”

The Global Impact of Whiteness

“The common thread globally is the appreciation of lighter-skinned people, which perpetuates a certain kind of imperialism. Language politics also play a role, with English-speaking people having an easier time moving around the globe. This ease for white people to assume a cosmopolitan or multicultural appreciation gives them a privilege, while other people are seen as stuck in tradition.”

The Complexity of Addressing Cultural Appropriation

“This is a tough situation that demands more nuanced handling. To get at the heart of what whiteness is, the history of whiteness, who is considered white, who is not, and how different people of color interact with whiteness is extremely complicated. hooks is skeptical of reactive efforts to reclaim cultural identity, such as black nationalism and certain forms of rap music, which she sees as more gestures of powerlessness than critical resistance.”

Concluding Thoughts

“In conclusion, hooks emphasizes the importance of conversations about the difference between cultural appreciation and appropriation. It’s a difficult line to draw; she gives examples of when cultural appropriation becomes problematic. The essay challenges us to think about how we interact with other cultures and how we can appreciate them without reducing them to mere objects for our consumption. If you have thoughts on this or anything to add, I’d love to hear about it. If you didn’t like what I did here, there’s a dislike button. And yeah, if you liked it, subscribe and tune in next week for something else. Take care, everyone.”