“Theft and Artistry” discusses issues of cultural appropriation which, similarly to the past two articles we’ve read, has to do with ownership and right to an idea or style. Unlike mere copyright issues though, cultural appropriation includes a social justice dimension and can do significant damage to the status and wellbeing of particular groups. As Nitasha Tamar Sharma says, “When we’re presented with caricatures of other cultures, she says, it’s easier for people to view them as sub-human. It’s easier to pass unfair economic policies, for example, or even to start a war.” The issue is difficult to navigate because, as we have frequently explored in this course, influence comes from everywhere and is unavoidable. There are however many places in which artists have very clearly crosses a line from being influenced to taking advantage of. The issues isn’t just that they’ve borrowed something, the issue is that they’ve borrowed something and exploit the “exotic”-ness or it or put it in a context that is disrespectful to the culture itself. After watching the Coldplay/Beyonce and Taylor Swift videos mentioned in the article, I felt that a key feature was exotification of the setting. In Taylor Swift’s video, Africa is rendered a fantasy land of “wildest dreams” with herds of animals and waterfalls but not a single person, building or city. Meanwhile in “Hymn for the Weekend” nearly every shot of India was an exotified depiction of people or of religion. Instead of accurately depicting a setting or respectfully featuring Indian artistry, the video makes India into a divinity circus in which Beyonce is worshipped.