Cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation in Television Studies is when TV borrows elements from a culture, often a marginalized one, without context, respect, or fair credit. It is a representation issue tied to power, race, and global media.
What is cultural appropriation?
Cultural appropriation in Television Studies is the use of a culture's symbols, styles, language, music, dress, or rituals in TV without real context, respect, or permission from the people who created them. The term is not just about borrowing. It becomes a sharper issue when a show takes from a marginalized culture while the borrowing side has more power, money, or control over the media image.
On television, appropriation shows up in costume design, character styling, storylines, accents, music cues, and even marketing. A show might treat sacred clothing as a costume, turn a religious practice into set decoration, or use a minority community's slang as a trendy aesthetic. When that happens, the culture is often flattened into something that looks cool on screen but loses its original meaning.
This is why cultural appropriation connects so closely to misrepresentation. TV is not just copying an object or look, it is shaping what audiences think that culture means. If a program repeats the borrowed image without explanation, the audience may come away with a stereotype instead of a real cultural context. That matters even more in television because images repeat across episodes, spinoffs, promos, clips, and social media.
A useful way to think about the concept is power. Cultural exchange can happen in many directions, but appropriation usually describes a one-sided relationship where the dominant culture gets the style while the original culture gets ignored, mocked, or penalized. In TV studies, that makes appropriation part of bigger conversations about cultural imperialism, racial and ethnic representation, and who gets to define cultural meaning on screen.
You can also see the debate in localization and global television. A show adapted for a new market may change dialogue or settings to fit local audiences, but it can also strip away cultural specificity or borrow local traditions as decoration. The question is not just whether something was reused. It is whether the reuse changes meaning, hides ownership, or turns a living culture into a costume for entertainment.
Why cultural appropriation matters in Television Studies
Cultural appropriation matters in Television Studies because TV is one of the main places where cultural symbols get turned into mass entertainment. If a series uses another group's dress, language, or rituals without context, you can trace how the show builds meaning, who gets centered, and who gets reduced to a visual trope.
This term also gives you a sharper way to analyze representation. A character or scene may look diverse on the surface, but appropriation can reveal that the show is using cultural difference as style rather than giving the culture depth, voice, or control. That distinction shows up in essays about race, ethnicity, genre, reality TV, and global media flows.
It also helps with debates about audience reception. Some viewers may read the borrowing as celebration, while others read it as exploitation. Television Studies often asks you to compare those readings and explain why a network, producer, or platform might frame the same image as harmless while audiences from the originating culture see it differently.
The term is useful anytime you are connecting representation to power. It pushes you to ask whether a show is honoring a culture, marketing it, or simplifying it for profit. That kind of close reading is a big part of analyzing television as a social and cultural force.
Keep studying Television Studies Unit 8
Official unit cheatsheet
open one-pagerHow cultural appropriation connects across the course
Cultural Assimilation
Assimilation is about a minority group adapting to a dominant culture, often under pressure to fit in. Cultural appropriation is different because it usually moves in the opposite direction, with the dominant side taking from a marginalized culture. In TV, those two ideas can show up together when a show celebrates borrowed styles while characters from the original culture are expected to blend in or be backgrounded.
Misrepresentation
Misrepresentation is the broader problem of portraying a group inaccurately or one-dimensionally. Cultural appropriation can cause misrepresentation when a show borrows cultural markers but strips away history and meaning. A costume, accent, or ritual can become a stereotype instead of a real representation, which changes how audiences understand the culture.
Cultural Hybridization Theory
Cultural hybridization looks at how cultures mix and create new forms, especially in global media. That is not always the same as appropriation, because hybridization can involve mutual exchange and new shared forms. The difference in TV studies is power and context, so you can ask whether a hybrid look is collaborative or whether one culture is being mined for style.
Digital Media and Cultural Imperialism
Digital platforms can spread TV images faster and wider, which makes appropriation easier to repeat and harder to ignore. A borrowed cultural image can go viral, get clipped out of context, and become a meme before criticism catches up. That is where cultural appropriation overlaps with cultural imperialism, because powerful media systems shape what gets circulated as normal or desirable.
Is cultural appropriation on the Television Studies exam?
A quiz or essay prompt may show you a scene, trailer, or character design and ask whether the show is using cultural appropriation, cultural exchange, or misrepresentation. Your job is to point to the specific visual or narrative choice, then explain why the context matters. For example, you might identify a sacred symbol used as costume design, or a stereotype built from borrowed slang and music.
When you write about it, name the power relationship. Who is controlling the image, and who is being reduced to an aesthetic? If the question asks about global TV or adaptation, explain whether the borrowing respects the original culture or flattens it for a broader market. Strong answers use concrete details from the text, not just a label.
Cultural appropriation vs Cultural Exchange
Cultural exchange is usually mutual and context-aware, where groups influence each other in ways that can be respectful and shared. Cultural appropriation is more one-sided, often involving a dominant group taking from a marginalized culture without credit, depth, or fairness. In Television Studies, the difference usually comes down to who benefits, who is represented, and whether the original meaning survives.
Key things to remember about cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation in Television Studies is the borrowing of cultural elements on TV without respect for their original meaning or social context.
The concept is tied to power, especially when a dominant culture profits from symbols or styles taken from marginalized groups.
On television, appropriation can show up in costumes, accents, music, rituals, and visual branding that turn culture into an aesthetic.
The term is closely connected to misrepresentation, because borrowed images can teach audiences the wrong story about a culture.
You can use this concept to compare appropriation with exchange, hybridization, and localization in TV analysis.
Frequently asked questions about cultural appropriation
What is cultural appropriation in Television Studies?
It is when TV borrows from another culture, usually by using symbols, styles, or practices without context, respect, or fair credit. In Television Studies, the focus is on how that borrowing shapes representation and reinforces power imbalances.
How is cultural appropriation different from cultural exchange?
Cultural exchange is more mutual and respectful, while appropriation is usually one-sided and tied to unequal power. In TV, exchange tends to preserve meaning, while appropriation can turn culture into a costume, trend, or marketing tool.
What does cultural appropriation look like in a TV show?
It can appear in costume design, accent choices, storylines, music, or promotional imagery. A show might use a sacred symbol as a fashion detail or treat a community's language as a joke, which changes the original meaning.
Why do TV critics care about cultural appropriation?
Because television shapes how large audiences see culture, identity, and belonging. If a show borrows carelessly, it can spread stereotypes, erase context, and give dominant groups control over a culture's image.