Last night, Katy Perry opened the American Music Awards with a performance of her new song, “Unconditionally.” The lights dimmed and two women could be seen sitting on the edge of the darkened stage, one plucking a traditional melody on what appeared to be a shamisen. Above them, three large shōji walls enlarged the silhouettes of three women. As the bass kicked in, one of the walls slid away to reveal Perry, dressed in a kimono.
By using Japanese culture as a fashion accessory and a stage prop, Perry reduced an entire group of people to objects of consumption. What’s unfortunate is that this isn’t shocking. It’s practically the standard within pop music at the moment. Look at Miley Cyrus at the MTV Video Music Awards, or Lily Allen’s recent music video, which acts as satire but gets twisted in the process. Gwen Stafani has trafficked in this cultural tourism for years, with her Native American headdresses and Harajuku Girls.
Last night’s minstrel show continued in similar fashion. Perry and her backup dancers were choreographed to mimic traditional Japanese dance, complete with large fans. There was no deep engagement, or respect, for the images she was peddling. They were used entirely to sell a product. Perry and her creative team might have had ideas, as Wall Street Journal’s Jeff Yang pointed out, about linking the song’s message of unconditional love to the “tired orientalist imagery” of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” but the performance last night completely stripped that imagery of its context. What Perry’s performance signified instead is pop music’s power relationship with the rest of the world, or, as Tamara Winfrey Harrishas written, “a majority culture co-opting an element of a group it has historically oppressed, misunderstood, and/or disdained, while simultaneously reinforcing stereotypes.”
For Perry and her team, the images used were meant to leave an impression on the viewing public. Unfortunately for her, they carry the weight of history, which will never disappear. The tone-deaf performance will be judged, mocked, and criticized. But Perry will be shielded from all this. Her career will not falter, and she will not be held accountable. That’s the way power works.
