Romancing the Culture
I was responding to a comment about romancing the culture. Basically, an accusation, a commentary that people shouldn't do that. I found a workshop or panel discussion I was in in 2007 with the Philippine consulate in Spain. This question was asked by an academic: "How do we respond when academics say that culture-bearer artists are romancing culture?" I basically said something like, when people romanticize a culture, what they're really saying is that there's a hole, there's something missing. It's the fault of the system, the academics, that people need to romanticize because they don't even know the basics. So you can't really fault them. So I do this thing that kind of annoys people: I try to take the position, or put myself in other people’s shoes, and see the arguments of the other side from multiple angles. And so, yeah, I understand why some Indigenous folks would be against—or take issue with—people romanticizing their culture or way of living. It would be annoying, but also because of issues like erasure, silencing voices, theft, cultural appropriation—all the usual things. But I really—this is zoomed in on the word "romanticize," and the root word is "romance." Romance, in itself, is love. It's an aspiration for love; it's wanting something again that you don't have, or wishing for something you know you may never achieve, right? So, in the cultural context, I think it is natural to go through a romantic phase in your self‑identity and cultural discovery or rediscovery. But, just like romance from a love perspective, it can blind you, make you go crazy, and cause you to have delusions. I think the delusions are what people have an issue with. But even if you know you are settled with your identity, you know you’ve got your shit together. I think a little romance is good for you; it’s good for people because it’s imagination; it’s an aspiration. Because without romance, you're just very literal, and the old couple sitting on the couch is just going through the emotions until you die. Life would be boring. You would get angry and lonely without a little romance.