![]() Tags: culture, religion, cultural appropriation, hinduism, status, yoga, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2015 Length: 2:48 Access: YouTube Summary: This College Humor sketch features a fictitious Mahatma Gandhi taking a yoga class at a trendy studio. Cultural appropriation, or the adoption of specific elements of one culture by another, is its central theme and issues of race, class and privilege run throughout the video. With the exception of Gandhi's character, all of the other students and the instructor in the class are white, and dressed in what is considered appropriate workout attire by dominant western culture. The instructor critiques Gandhi's technique and use of the Hindi names for poses, asserting that the pose he’s working on is actually called “up dog” and, not to worry that “you’ll learn the terminology.” The video draws attention to the impacts of appropriation on the practices adopted. Those in the class are highly concerned with the social prestige that comes with participating in a cultural trend and with “burning carbs” rather than understanding the customs and spiritualism that has informed the practice of yoga. Calling attention to the décor of the studio, which features statues of Hindu gods no one but Gandhi can identify, further illustrates the subjugation of Hindu tradition to a trendy aspect of western culture. When Gandhi finally leaves the class in indignant rage, the class sends him off with Namaste, to which he responds “You don’t know what that means!” The instructor in the video defends herself against Gandhi’s criticisms by stating that she is a certified instructor under the guidance of Carl Smith. The power dynamic present in the video, which leads to Gandhi’s departure is what allows for appropriation to take place. This power dynamic allows the economically elite practitioners of yoga in the United States to not only change and adopt yoga, but also to monopolize, formalize, commercialize, and institutionalize it. Submitted By: Miranda Ames
81 Comments
4/12/2021 01:39:41 am
I am grateful to this blog site providing special as well as useful understanding concerning this subject.
Reply
Thanks for such a fantastic blog. Where else could anyone get that kind of info written in such a perfect way? I have a presentation that I am presently writhing on, and I have been on the look out for such great information. <a href="https://www.eve-guides.com/">메이저토토</a>
Reply
8/1/2022 01:40:17 am
I've been looking for photos and articles on this topic over the past few days due to a school assignment, <a href="https://maps.google.com.sa/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fxn--c79a67g3zy6dt4w.com">bitcoincasino</a> and I'm really happy to find a post with the material I was looking for! I bookmark and will come often! Thanks :D
Reply
3/4/2023 06:09:19 am
Really impressed! Everything is very open and very clear clarification of issues. It contains truly facts. Your website is very valuable. Thanks for sharing. <a href="https://www.fiverr.com/share/EoV4EK">Linkbuilding</a>
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Tags
All
.
Got any videos?
Are you finding useful videos for your classes? Do you have good videos you use in your own classes? Please consider submitting your videos here and helping us build our database!
|