The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest was won by Israel last night.
The song ‘Toy’ was performed by Netta Barzilai, besting tunes by the likes of Cyprus, Austria and Germany to claim top spot and the honour of hosting next years competition.
However, the performance has already drawn criticisms of cultural appropriation.
The song, which is an odd little number about defiance and not wishing to be controlled by anyone or anything, isn’t that problematic.
But Barzilai was made out to look like a stereotypical East Asian woman complete with a kimono, hair buns, controversial make-up and dozens of lucky waving cat figures in the background.
The not-so-subtle references to Asian culture didn’t go unnoticed online and lots of people were offended.
Appropriation of Asian culture has been a widely discussed topic in 2018.
Just recently, a girl’s Asian-themed prom dress went viral for the same reason.
Elsewhere, Hollywood director Wes Anderson’s latest film Isle of Dogs was criticised for using cliched images of Japan.
source: indy100.com
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