Wonderbread.
I have absolutely no doubt that you have been following along with the controversy surrounding reality tycoon Kendall Jenner and her dressing in “migrant chic” in order to sell a new tequila. Critics were quick to point out the tequila is integral to Mexican culture and the Jenner is stealing “the look and feel of poverty” for her own selfish gain.
According to The Hill, “This isn’t the first time Jenner has been accused of cultural appropriation or tone deafness. In the past, she has worn her hair in cornrows, sold vintage tees with her face superimposed over those of Biggie and Tupac and appeared in a Pepsi commercial about police brutality where she ends protests by offering an officer a Pepsi.”
Troubling.
Equally troubling, though, with a growing number demanding answers, is Matt Wilkinson’s bald-faced cultural appropriation of country music and the country music lifestyle.
Also, his literal tone deafness.
Days ago, the ex-professional surfer released a short music video that appeared to adopt objects or elements of a non-dominant culture in a way that didn’t respect their original meaning, give credit to their source, and reinforces stereotypes also contributing to oppression.
Country music and lifestyle fans, initially thinking the piece was homage, snapped their fingers along to the 4/4 time until quickly realizing it wasn’t homage, but rather parody, and became sad.
Wilkinson is yet to respond but should be held to account publicly across social media.
White on white violence is still violence.
David Lee Scales and I discussed this, Malibu Karen and how the World Surf League should launch a Master’s Division wherein Nathan Hedge can win groceries for a month.
Very au courant.
Listen here.
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“there is surfing productions beyond the WSL.” = “there are surfing productions…”
Pretty sure the Cenny Coast counts as country.
Cunt’s singing in Americanese, cunt can go fuck himself.
ive seen his dick its”aight” a proportionally girthy dong with a solid vein structure…#powerbottom #suckitscottbass
All I’m saying is,he was in the desert,for long enough,to give that horse a name!
He’s authentic cuntry! He was labeled a “surfing yobbo” by the Australian press! That settles it. I read it in the press. Must be true.
Johnny Paycheck would have just shot him. Waylon Jennings would have asked if he had any cocaine and if not…. he would have shot him.
Cowboys and ice cubes 😀
Wheeler Walker Jr. is way more authentic
Cant wait for Kelly’s song to upstage Wilko
From: BeachGrit < [email protected]>
To: Huli Opu
Subject: Your recent submission
Dear Mr Opu
After careful consideration, the staff at BeachGrit has reluctantly concluded that the surf poems you submitted are not a good fit for us. Could we be wrong in assuming that you in fact have never read our publication? You might find that most of our articles are somewhat humorless and quite honestly, very offensive. Although we found your poetic brand quite charming it might be better suited for another publication with a wider readership of higher scholar.
I do apologize if we misled you by our previous rejection where we stated that your poems “do not meet our needs at this time” into your thinking that you should submit them again. FYI, “at this time” is publishing code for “never”.
While we endeavor to keep these rejections as short as possible, we were all aspiring surf journalists at one time and are most painfully aware of the deep wounds these rejections can cause. They may fester for months and possibly manifest later in some drunken comments under a wholly unrelated BG story. Perhaps, in time, you will develop the requisite thick skin needed by aspiring BG wannabes.
Our many contributors range from renowned international writers of somewhat ill repute to talented newcomers, general layabouts, fake cancer patients and balding has-beens. We do however highly encourage you and anxiously look forward to you joining our esteemed crew who have been occasionally known to stagger towards a semblance of literary excellence.
Here’s some basic guidelines that may be helpful: Satire is most welcome as are ironic sarcasm and self deprecation. Obscenity is allowed if not heartily encouraged. Originality is required as cut/pasting and cribbing are reserved only for the staff writers. References to long-dead writers or the use of foreign phrases will be immediately rejected as pretentious detritus. Hateful manifestos will be considered only on an as-needed basis. Also, as there are probably less than 3 females who read BG, misogyny is acceptable if properly veiled.
Our published contributors are sometimes richly rewarded with a Beachgrit branded yarmulke cap made in China. Good luck!
I had a poem reject too.
I just put it in the comments.
To be fair it was pretty shit.
Been writing some too
Generally I can’t be fucked
But habits endure
Cmon Huli we all know what real BG rejection looks like: an email response, 6 months later, saying ‘oh sorry, must have missed this!’
Ha!
Last year, when the WSL announced in March that that month’s CT event(s) were scrubbed, we collectively embarked upon a journey into the wilderness, where every corner and crevice of surf-adjacent was explored. Much frustration ensued. We held out hope at first that we’d see Events again, but any hope was snuffed in July. We weren’t leaving the Wilderness anytime soon. That much was clear.
Once politics were brought into the fray, we found ourselves in an evermore suffocating atmosphere here in the comments. It was early on on this journey that I realized something. I’m gonna tear our eyez this joint. Because I can. No matter the article’s topic, I took it upon myself to steer the comments where I wanted to go. The more often I took this approach, more fellow travelers came along with me, albeit kicking and screaming. It wasn’t too long before I dragged this merry bunch to never before seen comment count #’s, leaving behind a path of destruction that time and again devolved into arguments that had left the article way, way, way the fuck in the rearview mirror. A guilty pleasure. I knew the arguments would bear little fruit other than comment #’s and genuine hatred for what I had brought upon this sacred ground.
My point: Tear our eyez this joint. Post your poems. The articles don’t dictate what directions we take the comments. You do. We do. You have a gift for the written word Huli. Your efforts deserve recognition, perhaps even critical acclaim.
It’ll be Anti-Depressive. Anti-Rejection. And might change the world. You never know.
Cuntry.
That song is QS1000
Ha!
That’s not ‘country’ music, which is played by Appalachian hillbillies.
Songs of cowboys relationships with their horses are ‘western’ music.
And perhaps the ‘Good Old Boys’ who famously play ‘both’ types of music, country ‘and’ western would think it’s neither.
As Otto says, it’s Australian ‘Station’ music as played by pasturalists and Jackaroos…
Still cultural appropriation? That’s all I really care about.
How about Mikey Wright’s appropriation of the 80’s Australian bogan.
Surely the only culturally appropriated ‘part’ would be the thinly veiled lyrical claim that the singer is proudly endowed with a very large ‘man sausage’, when infact it’s known in certain brokeback circles that he’s actually in possession of a very small ‘tom tiddler’…
cultural appropriation is the ultimate woke. Its racist to do it and its racist to not do it.
I think you’re forgetting an important distinction here. He’s Australian, which means it’s neither homage nor parody of country music. It’s Station Music. Yep, he’s pastoralist through and through.
Culturally appropriated by Branch Davidians. You do feel the pain and I am wrong/an amateur. Sorry!
It’s a good thing you’re amateur Chas.
Hezbollah man #1:: “He’s CIA!”
Hezbollah man #2: “Nah. He’s a fucking amateur!”
Hezbollah man #1: “Should we shoot him?”
Hezbollah man #2: “Fuck no! AK doesn’t stand for Amateur Killer ya goat fucker!”
It’s a gilded life.
Dear Soraya. What is “explotation”? When your wokeness blows up in your own face?
Writer’s block is definitely a real thing, as evidenced by my being several hundreds of words under my usual quota for non-Open Thread Beach Grit comments on this one and others recently. Maybe I can somehow tie in a story about Prodan eating chicken schnitzel to Wilko’s music video?… nah, nothing there.
Just 5 years ago, Wilko was rated #1 by a wide margin.
I wonder what Gabby will be doing in 5 years…?
Five more titles.
Storming the judges towers after Sophia’s heats.