in the Nlew York druf boll circuit. In these csses the guestion may nof be so much whether the subordinote subject is objectifying fhe superordinate, becquse thof superordinote.subject is clreody held up os the ideql in society. More ielevqnt questions to osk moy be: is the performonce subversive in its tnocking of the idealized subject? does it guestion the Dominant's ploce os o doninanf identity? or does the performonce just serveto moinioin the stotus quo? does.the performer long.to be thot which he or she is performing? So now cqn you see my confusion when it cones to hip hop's incorporction of the"Orienfcl"? The power dynamics ore harder to identify when it cohes down io . locoting the differing stotuses of African-Atnericons. Lotinos, and Asion-Americans in this couniry. Identifying "who's on top" is not.q simple tosk when one considers economics, electorol power, politicol representotion,
Justice qnd. crime stotistics, demographics. history, etc. It would be incorrect ridiculous) to just soy "Oh,
W,IE
Vibe is porticipating in on imperiolist dialggue with Asians!," or "Oh, Wu-Tong's 9ot on inferiority complex-' they just wqnf to be Chinese!" The oppropriation is more, say. iorizonlal, if you will. The menbers of the Wu-Tqng aren't rich white lodies like Modonnq; they ore young black men who grew uP in the projects of Stoten Island, who probobly grew up wotching the same martial oriiflicks on chonnel 11 thot my brother qnd I would ritually wotch every weekend wheh we were little. I like Wu-tang,I like thot they pui Stoterl Island on the map,I own the "Enter the 36 Chombers" CD, ' I even boast-o Shoolin potch on tny bockpock. But when rrpi.rs ond hip hop mogazines.stqrt invoking the Orient, why then, do I stomoch? I guess
still gef this incredibly
queosy feeling in my
I should return to rny eorlier discussion fioround performonces of the "Other". Politicol Power wos one ospect, but so wos representotion. The ploce of lilexominotion is not necessorily in locoting the differences in pouyer ond stqtus between Asiqn Americons, AfriconAnericons ond Ls*inos (which is very keY when one looks ot how white performers invoke the Other), but in looking ot how indeed hip hop'is using fhings "Asion." Fron whot I've seen with the Wu-Tong Clon, and with Vibe mogozine (ond moybe I'm just not looking in the right ploces or my rrAcinnl performonces ore , .:'i'r:l ara being beit used is off), ;$;l ;-+^*-+a*iar interpretotion ie ^ff\ "Asion" nanfanmnnces
-lS
ot the kitschy foreign Other,ond
hos
the problemotic
SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com