Smack Mellon and Grey Art Display Art Sparked by Politics

Here is the photo I mentioned in my previous post. The comments are very interesting and telling. Some people are disgusted, some are happy, some are supportive and others are not. This is a very interesting discussion to both participate in and observe. Hope this helps to connect some dots..

Here is a link to a great example of what we discussed in class yesterday - fakelore vs. appropriation. I would say this is fakelore because Starbucks took a traditional Mexican culture/food item and commercialized/re-branded it so it is now mass-marketed and sold. People eat them all the time and many probably have no idea of the cultural meaning or symbolism attached to a sugar skull for Dia de los Muertos. I did a search for this after seeing the famous author, Sandra Cisneros, post a photo of Pande Muerto being sold at Starbucks on her Instagram page!!! I put so many exclamation points because it is really a theft of culture to do something so outright, in my opinion. I will link the photo in an additional post.

To go along with the link shared about the all-black version of Oklahoma! produced by The Denver Center, I thought it would be interesting to include some historical references and context to all-black towns in Oklahoma. Please check the study guide out, it's very informative and has further links to info about these towns!

"With a spring in their step and a song in their hearts, cowboys and farmers alike have chased their destinies to a land that promises love, opportunity and a brighter future. This joyful production is set in an all-African American town in the early days of the Oklahoma Territory."