It's been said, "Imitation is the highest form of flattery."
That's true when the urge behind the imitator is emulation. Teenagers want to look like the persons they idolize. Older people wear sports gear favored by admired athletes. Women ask hairdressers to cut their hair like fashion models. However, there's nothing flattering when imitation is bent on mockery.
We laugh when Jimmy Fallon "slow jams" the news, serving up a performance Barry White would enjoy because we know Fallon truly admires African American culture and R & B music. But when all-white fraternities and soroities host "Pimps and Hos" parties, I for one feel sick in my stomach.
It's bad enough when African American artists glamorize misogyny and prostitution, but the sight of sheltered suburbanites wearing afro wigs and fishnet stockings is hard to swallow. I think even Al Jolson would blush.
So when does good natured imitation veer into frown-worthy mockery? It's hard to pin down, but like Potter Stewart's famous Supreme Court obscenity standard, "I know it when I see it."
Unfortunately, even when the impulse is good natured, sometimes imitation truly is unnecessary. Are any cultural divides bridged when political leaders or celebrities don native garb and dance some goofy friendship dance while cameras record every embarassing moment? I don't think so.
And, my family wants to run for cover every time I try to speak a foreign language I don't know. Or, worse, when I use broken, accented English to non-English speakers.
"Dad," Isaac said to me more than once. "They expect you to know your own language. They don't understand you better when you speak that way."
But I was just trying to be culturally sensitive. So are many other patronizing foreigners when they encounter "less sophisticated" native peoples.
I guess it's all about respect and appreciation.
Keep slow jamming the news Jimmy Fallon--especially when you get a big assist from Barack Obama and The Roots play backup. And me, let me focus on imitating Emeril in the kitchen and stop trying to be Meryl Streep with dialects.
Maybe imitation is only flattering when it's good natured AND well executed.
That's true when the urge behind the imitator is emulation. Teenagers want to look like the persons they idolize. Older people wear sports gear favored by admired athletes. Women ask hairdressers to cut their hair like fashion models. However, there's nothing flattering when imitation is bent on mockery.
We laugh when Jimmy Fallon "slow jams" the news, serving up a performance Barry White would enjoy because we know Fallon truly admires African American culture and R & B music. But when all-white fraternities and soroities host "Pimps and Hos" parties, I for one feel sick in my stomach.
It's bad enough when African American artists glamorize misogyny and prostitution, but the sight of sheltered suburbanites wearing afro wigs and fishnet stockings is hard to swallow. I think even Al Jolson would blush.
So when does good natured imitation veer into frown-worthy mockery? It's hard to pin down, but like Potter Stewart's famous Supreme Court obscenity standard, "I know it when I see it."
Unfortunately, even when the impulse is good natured, sometimes imitation truly is unnecessary. Are any cultural divides bridged when political leaders or celebrities don native garb and dance some goofy friendship dance while cameras record every embarassing moment? I don't think so.
And, my family wants to run for cover every time I try to speak a foreign language I don't know. Or, worse, when I use broken, accented English to non-English speakers.
"Dad," Isaac said to me more than once. "They expect you to know your own language. They don't understand you better when you speak that way."
But I was just trying to be culturally sensitive. So are many other patronizing foreigners when they encounter "less sophisticated" native peoples.
I guess it's all about respect and appreciation.
Keep slow jamming the news Jimmy Fallon--especially when you get a big assist from Barack Obama and The Roots play backup. And me, let me focus on imitating Emeril in the kitchen and stop trying to be Meryl Streep with dialects.
Maybe imitation is only flattering when it's good natured AND well executed.
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