The cornerstone of the cultural appropriation argument centers on the amount of respect, or lack thereof, shown to the borrowed culture in question. Generally speaking, while not entirely comfortable with the idea, society will turn a blind eye to art that expresses nuance towards the appropriated culture. Take Eminem, for example. Ignoring the inflexible "arbiters of blackness" that will never accept Eminem as part of the hip hop family tree, most Black Americans give the rapper a pass because of how unique and idiosyncratic his content is. Yes, he is technically a foreigner in a predominately Black medium, but he doesn't affect Black mannerism or content to fit into the medium.
The trouble starts when an artist goes the opposite route and ignores nuance in favor of reducing a culture into a handful of trite stereotypes. That's why I find Tyler Perry so interesting. He is the biggest Black filmmaker of all time, with a sizable audience that's as proudly Black as he is. If a white filmmaker were to produce his brand of films, however, the same audiences would deride the works as racist and hollow. Perry makes no bones about the seemingly crass nature of his movies. He's proud to create art that caters to the Black southern demographic from which he was begat both physically and professionally. The question then becomes, is that enough? Is it enough to emit only one dominating frequency to encompass the entire culture? Especially when you're the loudest voice in the culture.
You can make the argument that Perry's inelegant and two-dimensional art—which serves as a window to Black culture for those who aren't privy to its inner workings—is the type of art that creates cultural appropriation. Without a contrasting narrative, people looking at Black culture from the outside could reduce real humans into Perry's stereotypes. In a thoughtful video, YouTuber LaVidaRosa gives an enlightening perspective on Tyler Perry's legacy as the most successful Black filmmaker. Check it out in the link above.
