Critique of exotica : music, politics, and the culture industry

In this innovative book, John Hutnyk questions the meaning of cultural hybridity. Using the growing popularity of Asian culture in the West as a case study, he looks at just who benefits from this intermingling of culture. Focusing on music, race and politics, Hutnyk offers a cogently theorised critique of the culture industry. He looks at artists such as Asian Dub Foundation, FunDaMental and Apache Indian to see how their music is both produced and received. He analyses ‘world’ music festivals, racist policing and the power of corporate pop stars to market exotica across the globe. Throughout, Hutnyk provides a searing critique of a world that sells exotica as race relations and visibility as redress. In this innovative book, John Hutnyk questions the meaning of cultural hybridization. Using the growing popularity of Asian culture in the West as a case study, he looks at just who benefits from this intermingling of culture.What does it mean when Madonna dons a bindi or Kula Shaker incorporate sitar music into their music? When Cherie Blair wears a sari to a public dinner? When the national dish in the UK is chicken tikka masala? Is this a celebration of multiculturalism or cultural appropriation? Focusing on music, race, and politics, Hutnyk offers a cogently theorized critique of the culture industry. He looks at artists such as Asian Dub Foundation, FunDaMental, and Apache Indian to see how their music is both produced and received. He analyses "world" music festivals, racist policing, and the power of corporate pop stars to market exotica across the globe. Throughout, Hutnyk provides a scaring critique of a world that sells exotica as race relations and visibility as redress. Annotation In this innovative book, John Hutnyk questions the meaning of cultural hybridity. Using the growing popularity of Asian culture in the West as a case study, he looks at just who benefits from this intermingling of culture. What does it mean when Madonna dons a bindi or Kula Shaker incorporate sitar music in their music? When Cherie Blair wears a sari to a public dinner? When the national dish in the UK is chicken tikka masala? Is this a celebration of multiculturalism or cultural appropriation? Hutnyk offers a cogently theorized political critique of the claims made in the name of hybridity and challenges the academic world to come out of its ivory tower and to engage in a critical debate around the real issues in cultural politics at the turn of the century Annotation In this innovative book, John Hutnyk questions the meaning of cultural hybridity. Using the growing popularity of Asian culture in the West as a case study, he looks at just who benefits from this intermingling of culture. Focusing on music, race and politics, Hutnyk offers a cogently theorised critique of the culture industry. He looks at artists such as Asian Dub Foundation, FunDaMental and Apache Indian to see how their music is both produced and received. He analyses ‘world’ music festivals, racist policing and the power of corporate pop stars to market exotica across the globe. Throughout, Hutnyk provides a searing critique of a world that sells exotica as race relations and visibility as redress.