-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
"Fortnite Dances" is Cultural Erasure. Straight Up.
- Thread starter DigitalOp
- Start date
- Status
The OP responded to whataboutism.
Yes all culture should be credited for what they brought to the table, but he's focusing on the particular charged history of black culture appropriation and the erasure of the people actually creating that stuff.
The original post is pretty clear.
That's just stealing from others and calling it your own.
If you use something, even if it's not legally protected, it's common decency in the creative industries to reference the source.
You see segments of music sampled all of the time in the music world and they're always credited. This should be no different.
Use the original dance move names, give credit where it's due. It's not just about money but respect for the culture you're deriving your works from.
OP
OP
You're thread whining so hard.
I haven't had black people call it the "Fortnite Dance". I've heard this from white people exclusively.
My friends and I will dance, and when the move comes out, white people point and say "look! he's doing the Fortnite hahaha"
This seems like an issue huger than Fortnite, to movies and all media, and OPs badly worded posts ain't helping his cause to drive in the point, at points also quite unsure what OP is dissatisfied with:
White people using "black dances" they came to know through Fortnite but not black people? White people profiting off them (OP unsure if Epic has POC employees)?
Black people not getting credited for their dances or everyone?
Nevertheless, I do agree this is something whole entertainment industry could do better on, pay homage or something.
White people using "black dances" they came to know through Fortnite but not black people? White people profiting off them (OP unsure if Epic has POC employees)?
Black people not getting credited for their dances or everyone?
Nevertheless, I do agree this is something whole entertainment industry could do better on, pay homage or something.
Exactly. The condescending posts in this thread are annoying as hell.
Right. Decades worth of this shit across multiple forms of entertainment has been happening to black people ever since we had the ability to record music.
Your argument is incredibly specific to your personal situation, then.
You'd have to assume it's a dance all black people know or only black people can perform, for your argument to have any validity.
If you're dancing a move that most people will recognise from Fortnite, then... what's the surprise here?
OP
OP
Reappropiating black culture for popular entertainment is as old as slavery.
They want our Rhythm but not our Blues....
I got that from a girl on Twitter lol, I could front like EPIC but it takes no effort from me to admit where I find things.
Epic is appropriating elements of black culture for monetary reason, making people with no connection to said culture referencing Epic instead of the artist.
OP
OP
Ive seen your posts on other sensitive threads, you're a troll. Nobody is going to waste time engaging your OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS when you're only here to dismiss others and waste time.
Go ask some black posters if they've ran into the same issue. Its not as personal as you think.
Well my roommate and one of my best friends is black and is legit laughing at the thread and is convinced you're joking... so there's that
OP
OP
One of my white friends read the thread and he agrees with me.
It seems like we're at an impasse
Bullshit mate. You're having a whinge without even doing a bare minimum of research.
"White people making money off black culture.... do epic even have black devs..... oh they do.... thanks, but..."
Whilst completely ignoring the facts that:
1. Fortnite features dances from many cultures
2. Most, if not all of those dances borrow, or "appropriate bits an pieces of other cultures themselves.
Stop assuming that anyone who doesnt swallow what you're pushing whole is trying to troll.
There are many problems with racial issues in the world. This isn't one of them. Epic is ripping off everyone and is not directed at one particular race or culture like a genre of music is. Dancing, in general, has been a part of all cultures. The problem I see most having is you've forced this into something specific that it isn't. Not that there are not larger issues, overall.
OP
OP
Funny that both those points have been mentioned and discussed already.
Everyone keeps coming in and saying the same tired points.
Im getting sleepy
White People telling Black People what is problematic or not... American as apple pie and baseball.
Would this even be an issue if Fortnite wasnt as popular as it is?
Anyway its good cultural exchange and brings people together.
Anyway its good cultural exchange and brings people together.
Well it has 100's of gestures and emotes. Some of them are actions or expressions. Some of them are dances. Of the dances, a proportion of them will be inspired by "black culture", I'm not sure which those are cos I'm white man with no rhythm or interest in contemporary dance, but I recognise the Thriller dance, Carlton dance, and there are more being added every season. So... in the grand scheme of things to leap from a proportion of dances, which are a proportion of gestures, which are one form of communciation in Fortnite to... "Fortnite dances is cultural erasure" seems like a bit of a stretch.
You're the one talking out of your arse.
Specifically the fact you're angling point number 2 like it's a point in your favour?
Hip hop is the most popular genre of music in America. And is mostly consumed by white youth. 2 of the 3 major American sports are predominantly black. Our slang. Our fashion. It's at the forefront of pop culture. It is what it is tho. I ain't mad at it.
"Black is in fashion."
"Black is in fashion."
lol, are you really doing the "one of my black friends" things right now?
Well since I'm black, i cancel him out and then one of the other black people in this thread gets to override any sort of validation there.
Contextually, yes, simply for the fact that jacking without paying homage to the source material is a staple, especially when it comes to borrowing from the contributions made by black people. It just wouldn't be as big of an issue because there'd be less people being influenced by altered perspectives.
Naw it's a two way street. I'm sure JB, 2 milly, etc have gained clicks and exposure from the game.
So the thread starts to be about theft of dance moves, which is being interpreted as intellectual property...why does race come into this? And why would it be any less shady if the "theft" was being done by a company with a bunch of POC in it?
Remember the Harlem Shake meme where a load of white people and the Simpsons co-opted the term Harlem Shake and made it about a load of people in a room dressed up as an alien doing a madness?
I imagine most people here have never even seen an original Harlem Shake.
Bauuer, the producer of that track is ashamed of it and had made an effort to distance himself from it. Poor guy made a Hudson Mohawke style hype track once and had to then fend off being invited to shitty EDM shows.
Fortnite is doing the same thing, taking black culture and making it super lame.
I imagine most people here have never even seen an original Harlem Shake.
Bauuer, the producer of that track is ashamed of it and had made an effort to distance himself from it. Poor guy made a Hudson Mohawke style hype track once and had to then fend off being invited to shitty EDM shows.
Fortnite is doing the same thing, taking black culture and making it super lame.
OP
OP
Thats how it is for sure, but we still get penalized for participating. Don't let confuse Black being in fashion as genuine acceptance.
Fortnite is making Epic so much money that Epic made Unreal free and dropped their cut of profits from 30% to 12% on assets sold on the unreal store, and then they went back and paid all the artists their commission back on previous asset sales. (source:venturebeat.com)
There's actually no reason for Epic not to do the right thing here too. They obviously have the means and the funds to do so.
There's actually no reason for Epic not to do the right thing here too. They obviously have the means and the funds to do so.
The exploitation of black culture is the crux of the issue. Blacks continue to be exploited by corporate America. Who does the exploiting is irrelevant.
OP
OP
But how? They don't credit the source! What am I searching for?
The Hype Dance?!
This is a such a silly hypothetical. This hypothetical POC company would credit the source!
Word of mouth. When I do the milly rock or shoot people ask where it came from. There's YouTube videos explaining where the dances come from. Every time I play a rap song or perform a dance the first thing my non-black/ non-rap listening friends ask is "who is this?"
If the dude who does the shoot can do so using moves from other cultures/dances without crediting them, why is it so imperative that Epic credit him?
Lol yeah I am! Op said to ask other black people so I did, and that was the response I got. Sorry it contradicts what you believe
I think I know what OP is talking about. I've been a metalhead since high school and in the last few years I'm seeing a lot of fashion accessories, like purses and backpacks, made in black leather with studs and spikes. That's the classic metalhead style, it was a way to know someone was into the same type of music as you. Now it's just another gimmick to sell to fashion victims. It's no big deal, I never dressed like that anyway because I'd look ridiculous, but it feels annoying. It was our thing and now they ripped it off. Take this and multiply it a hundred times and add centuries of racial discrimination on top of that, and I understand why OP is angry. Epic should give credit to the originals, give every move the right name so people can do an internet search and see where it comes from.
That's actually a bad example. If the black persons you ask aren't privy to the dance/song then it misses the entire point.
Your argument isn't even sound. He used stuff to create something, bringing forth an added value.
Epic just took his stuff and called it something else, that's not even comparable.
Last edited:
What? He's a huge gamer? He's well aware of the dances/songs. Where did you get the impression he wasn't "privy" to it?
There are black posters in this thread who have been told "tell us how you really feel about black culture" and worse when they said you've been hyperbolic and more or less talking out your arse. There are other minorities who take a very different view to you in this thread, as someone with close family ties to NZ I love this post which has gone largely unnoticed and can echo the sentiment;
New Zealand isn't perfect but overall its a shining example of two vastly different cultures meeting and turning into their own. All I'm getting from OP is segregation, hostility and hatred when both the artist and the game originate from American culture, what is the end game? Its mine and you can't have it? The logical extension is that the reverse is also acceptable. Overstand this;
https://youtu.be/bv_GEGT0RMw
Well yeah, they're gamers. What else would you expect them to do? Not recognize a thing as originating from only the latest mainstream entry that they played whilst having no wider cultural context?
I mean, didn't you know how Naughty Dog is retroactively responsible for inspiring movies like Children of Man and The Road? Or climbing mechanics as seen in Sands of Time?
I mean, didn't you know how Naughty Dog is retroactively responsible for inspiring movies like Children of Man and The Road? Or climbing mechanics as seen in Sands of Time?
It's hard to explain. If he isn't a fan of the dances then you might as well ask any random guy. Ask a black person is a weak experiment as being black and participating in black culture aren't the same thing.
OP
OP
I need you to understand you are a TROLL.
Your asspull of an idea that JB took other moves to make the shoot is completely unfounded. Its Tales from my Ass.
Then you're in the thread mad that nobody takes you seriously. Posters are aware of your shit Benita, Id stick to Alts from now on and scrap this account.
OP
OP
In 2018 peeps still don't recognize that it has been predominantly black cults that has helped the US with its soft power influence of the whole world.
Yet that the profits stemming from said culture never made its way into the community where it came from.
How don't people understand that this is an issue?
Yet that the profits stemming from said culture never made its way into the community where it came from.
How don't people understand that this is an issue?
I see what you're trying to say but you have no context... he is a avid gamer... knows the songs and the dances related to them, and enjoys them. Idk where you're getting the idea that he isn't is coming from?
It's the whole basis for "this is America" they know. It's just not their problem to solve.
- Status