The strong globalization process has led to the explosive growth of the creative economy in many countries, including Vietnam. However, along with opening up new opportunities for the development of the cultural industry, there has been a situation of borrowing, disrespect for the origin, distorting cultural values, and negatively affecting the community. Identifying and promptly adjusting this issue contributes to preserving and creating a healthy environment for the cultural values of the community to promote their value in life.
Lesson 1: Respecting the community in exploiting cultural values
Vietnam, with its community of 54 ethnic groups, creates a diverse and unified cultural picture, contributing to the country's sustainable development in the context of integration. However, the process of exploiting the value of national cultural heritage in many areas of life has been revealing many shortcomings, especially in commercial and entertainment activities.
Most obviously, advertising products or music videos often use heritage materials such as landscapes, costumes, customs and practices of ethnic minorities, etc. to create an impression and attract viewers.
Many products have achieved success in terms of sound and visual effects, while also honoring identity and contributing to tourism promotion. However, there are also many cases of using traditional cultural materials indiscriminately and without respect, causing public outrage.
Or in business, a famous shoe company once faced heavy criticism when it launched a product advertised as "inspired by Central Highlands brocade" but in fact it was imported brocade, but the manufacturer did not clearly state the source.
These incidents show that individuals and businesses benefit from exploiting traditional values while the community that owns those values is not concerned. According to experts, individuals and cultural, artistic and creative organizations that take advantage of other cultures for their own benefit without respecting the host community can be classified as cultural appropriation.
Dr. Lu Thi Thanh Le, lecturer at the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hanoi National University, said: Exploiting culture for benefits and profits is not bad, it only becomes inappropriate when artists exploit culture for profit without consideration and without respect for the community. A person who exploits culture with good motivation and good attitude will be different from those who appropriate culture with a selfish and disrespectful attitude.
Exploiting culture for profit and benefit is not bad, it only becomes inappropriate when the artist exploits culture for profit without consideration and without respect for the community. A person who exploits culture with good motivation and good attitude will be different from those who appropriate culture with selfish and disrespectful attitude.
Dr. Lu Thi Thanh Le,
Lecturer, Faculty of Interdisciplinary Sciences, Vietnam National University, Hanoi
This issue is becoming more and more complicated, especially on digital platforms. It is not difficult to find short clips on TikTok or YouTube that exploit regional and local cultural materials to create entertainment trends, attracting huge views, but the content lacks depth, even distorts the essence.
Recently, a form of “virtual tourism” has emerged - using VR to recreate festivals or craft villages in localities. On the positive side, this form brings the opportunity to spread traditional values, but without investing effort and careful research, it will easily be commercialized, with unpredictable consequences.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tho (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University) frankly pointed out: “Creators mistakenly think that creativity is limitless and borderless. In fact, if creators only use a few cultural materials as inspiration to unleash their own creativity and intelligence, it is okay. But if they touch on the traditions of ethnic communities, especially ethnic minorities, the story will be more complicated. They have to be more careful because they are touching on the intangible “assets” of the community, including tangible and intangible cultural works that have been recognized or are associated with religion and ethnicity.”
On the international level, this issue is also receiving much attention. American singer Kacey Musgraves faced a strong reaction from the Vietnamese American community when she wore a Vietnamese ao dai with skin-colored tights during a performance in Dallas in 2019. Many opinions condemned this way of dressing as an insult to Vietnam's traditional costume. Similarly, there are foreign designers who put Vietnamese ao dai on the catwalk as a "national creation" without clarifying its origin, which can easily cause confusion, and can also be classified as "cultural plagiarism".
The consequences of misuse and distortion of cultural values are very worrying: It not only violates core values but also causes inequality in the exploitation of traditional values. Profits from viral products belong to individuals or businesses, but the community that owns the values does not benefit. In the context of globalization, this behavior risks diluting national identity. The 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage emphasizes ensuring respect for the heritage of the community, including respect for cultural integrity as a foundation and avoiding unreasonable and improper exploitation that damages heritage.
The consequences of misusing and distorting cultural values are very worrying: It not only violates core values but also causes inequality in the exploitation of traditional values. Profits from viral products belong to individuals or businesses, but the community that owns the values does not benefit. In the context of globalization, this behavior risks diluting national identity.
In 2017, during the 31st session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore Expressions (IGC) - part of the World Intellectual Property Organization, held from June 12-16 in Geneva (Switzerland), delegates from 189 member states participated in negotiations and promoted the completion of international legal instruments to protect traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) from appropriation. Indigenous advocates and delegates emphasized that this behavior not only causes economic damage - such as individuals or businesses reaping benefits without sharing with the community of ownership - but also causes cultural harm, including insulting the identity and undermining the pride of indigenous communities.
To solve this problem, it is necessary to build a strategy with the principle of taking the community as the center, combining law, technology and education. According to Dr. Lu Thi Thanh Le, the principles of working together with the community, sharing benefits with the community will contribute to bringing sustainable and effective cooperation between artists and the communities from which they exploit cultural materials. Artists and businesses need to proactively conduct in-depth research, experience reality and co-create, helping to bring sustainable values. At the same time, education in schools and society helps the younger generation raise awareness of the meaning and role of heritage, thereby forming a sense of responsibility in behavior. When the community together creates and builds deep understanding, national cultural heritage will promote long-term value, become a bridge between generations, and create a foundation for sustainable development.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/ton-trong-cong-dong-trong-khai-thac-cac-gia-tri-van-hoa-post926671.html
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