Deck 8: Aesthetics

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of antiracist appropriation?

A)white recording company executives who profit from producing mainstream hip-hop
B)musicians who are influenced by the blues yet water down the political messages found in original blues music
C)American retailers' sale of the kaffiyeh,a scarf symbolizing Palestinian nationalism
D)a white novelist who researches the lives and experiences of an indigenous tribe in order to portray tribal members in their full humanity

Answer 1

D  

Question 2

The fact that most art museums were closed on Sunday and had high entrance fees had what effect in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries?

A)made art available for nonwhite laborers to enjoy during their leisure time
B)limited the enjoyment of art primarily to the white leisure class
C)broadened the appeal and interest of art to all ethnic and income groups
D)taught the working class how to appreciate art

Answer 2

B  

Question 3

From a sociological perspective,what is the problematic underlying assumption behind the increasingly popular question,"Why do white youth love hip-hop?"

A)Hip-hop has reached the status of highbrow culture.
B)Hip-hop has not reached the status of "true art."
C)White youth are out of touch with traditionally white music.
D)White youth are alienated from society.

Answer 3

B  

Question 4

An increase in double-eyelid surgeries by Asian Americans is an example of an outcome from the internalization of what?

A)the racist aesthetic
B)the nonracist aesthetic
C)the white aesthetic
D)cultural appropriation

Question 5

Norman Rockwell's paintings and country music songs that reminisce over the "good old days" are examples of what concept?

A)the racist aesthetic
B)the nonracist aesthetic
C)cultural appropriation
D)racial nostalgia

Question 6

An artistic depiction of American society that doesn't include nonwhites or any signs of racial domination is an example of what?

A)white aesthetic
B)racist aesthetic
C)antiracist aesthetic
D)highbrow culture

Question 7

Treating whiteness as the universal default category is an example of what?

A)the white aesthetic
B)the racist aesthetic
C)the antiracist aesthetic
D)strategic amnesia

Question 8

Representations of Egyptian queen Cleopatra as a white woman by neoclassical American and European sculptors are an example of what?

A)whites dominating images of beauty
B)whites often being misrepresented and distorted in works of art by nonwhite artists
C)people of color not being considered authentic
D)a lack of knowledge by the sculptors

Question 9

What makes some comedy fit into the racist aesthetic and other comedy fit into the antiracist aesthetic?

A)Racist comedy is performed solely by white comedians;antiracist comedy is performed by both white and nonwhite comedians.
B)Racist comedy is comedians from one racial group making fun of those of another group;antiracist comedy is comedians making fun of their own race.
C)Racist comedy relies on stereotypes;antiracist comedy uses humor to break down stereotypes.
D)Racist comedy makes fun of only some groups of people;antiracist comedy makes fun of all groups equally.

Question 10

Portraying people of color in a stereotypical and distorted manner is an example of what?

A)the antiracist aesthetic
B)the white aesthetic
C)colonization
D)the racist aesthetic

Question 11

Chapter 8 contains a long discussion of Abercrombie and Fitch.What is the main argument of that passage?

A)Abercrombie ads promote a racist aesthetic.
B)Abercrombie ads promote an antiracist aesthetic by highlighting all "beautiful people."
C)Abercrombie has learned how to sell white privilege by manufacturing a "look."
D)Abercrombie recently won an employment discrimination lawsuit.

Question 12

An un-stereotype is:

A)a stereotype applied by nonwhites to whites,as opposed to a stereotype applied by whites to nonwhites
B)a representation of nonwhites that portrays them as fully themselves
C)a representation of nonwhites as the exact opposite of any negative stereotype
D)a highbrow,as opposed to a lowbrow,artistic product

Question 13

Your textbook mentions films like Mississippi Burning,To Kill a Mockingbird,Black Hawk Down,and The Matrix.What common movie theme do these films present?

A)the racist appropriation theme
B)the white savior theme
C)the minstrelsy theme
D)the narrowcasting theme

Question 14

In an hour-long TV drama about the "typical American high school," you observe that only one person of color appears on the screen.Noticing this and how it fails to treat the experiences of people of color as central to the American experience is to do what?

A)understand the racist aesthetic
B)detect whiteness in art
C)identify instances of cultural appropriation
D)detect instances of minstrelsy

Question 15

Which of the following is a potentially negative consequence of nonwhite artists having to rely predominantly on white sponsors to fund their art?

A)an increase in popularity for the artist
B)a loss of control over the representation of racism and people of color in their art
C)nonwhite artists reaching high levels of success
D)high profits for artists and artistic producers

Question 16

What is Victoria's Secret's "Sexy Little Geisha" merchandise an example of?

A)the white aesthetic
B)the antiracist aesthetic
C)the racist aesthetic
D)highbrow culture

Question 17

As a style of music,the blues evolved from spirituals in response to what?

A)the popularity of minstrelsy
B)the racial domination of African Americans by whites
C)the nonracist aesthetic
D)the events of the Civil Rights Movement

Question 18

Which of the following does Chapter 8 discuss as a present-day form of minstrelsy?

A)whites' collective memory of the South in country music
B)Asians' frequent choice of ethnic plastic surgery
C)auto-tuned YouTube videos of poor African Americans speaking to news crews
D)corporate executives' marketing of preppy looks in everyday fashion

Question 19

Aside from limiting professional options for nonwhite models,what is one consequence of the overrepresentation of white models in the fashion industry?

A)It reinforces the features of white women as the standards of beauty.
B)It decreases demand for haute couture.
C)It increases the price of designer fashion.
D)It supports the rise of white fashion designers.

Question 20

Why might African American artists such as Langston Hughes reject the playing of the blues by white artists like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones?

A)It disconnected the music from the social conditions in which it was grounded.
B)It made white artists too much money.
C)Hughes believed that white artists did not have any problems to sing about.
D)The music was supposed to be about personal,private expression,not for mass consumption.

Question 21

Appropriating another group's culture but refusing to use the art to further racial domination is an example of what?

A)racist cultural appropriation
B)strategic amnesia
C)highbrow culture
D)antiracist cultural appropriation

Question 22

Achieving commercial success at the expense of a political message or an artist's authenticity is often referred to as what?

A)going native
B)cultural appropriation
C)cultural capital
D)selling out

Question 23

Black Entertainment Television BET)is an example of what concept?

A)cultural appropriation
B)narrowcasting
C)highbrow culture
D)racist aesthetic

Question 24

According to sociologist Georg Simmel,what happens when lower classes begin to copy the fashions of the upper class?

A)Social divisions between groups begin to dissolve.
B)The fashions are adopted as near universal norms.
C)The upper class abandons the style and finds something new.
D)The lower classes experience upward mobility.

Question 25

What is an example of cultural appropriation?

A)the presentation of whiteness in Abercrombie and Fitch ads
B)the hypermaterialism of some hip-hop music
C)the labeling of dashikis as "unprofessional" attire
D)mass production and sale of the Palestinian kaffiyeh in the United States

Question 26

What is one way antiracist art responds to the racist aesthetic?

A)belittling the artists who create the racist aesthetic
B)refusing to work with white sponsors
C)correcting distorted representations of nonwhites
D)misrepresenting white people

Question 27

The "discovery" of quilts crafted by the African American women of Gee's Bend,Alabama,did not make them more _______ but it did label them ___________.

A)valuable;rare
B)special;art
C)unique;common
D)exotic;unique

Question 28

The sale of imitation Native American headdresses at popular music festivals by non-Native groups to be worn predominantly by non-Native Americans,thereby weakening the political and cultural significance of the headdress,is an example of:

A)cultural capital
B)narrowcasting
C)strategic amnesia
D)antiracist cultural appropriation

Question 29

What is the way for nonwhite artists to free themselves from the dominance of the white gaze?

A)represent people of color as exotic
B)imitate successful white artists
C)depict people of color as full,complex humans
D)depict whites solely based on stereotypes

Question 30

The turning away of hip-hop from its political roots can be traced back to what?

A)the white domination of artistic production
B)the successes of the Civil Rights Movement
C)the popularity of the racist aesthetic
D)The backlash against violence in media

Question 31

Presenting racism as an individual,psychological issue while neglecting structural and institutional racism is a part of what concept?

A)the white aesthetic
B)the racist aesthetic
C)colonization
D)racist appropriation

Question 32

An art museum recently decreased the price of admission,instituted admission-free Sundays,and offered free art education classes at a nearby low-income public school.These efforts can help the museum to:

A)increase attendance among the poor and working class
B)limit accessibility to only those in the working class
C)decrease attendance by the upper and middle class
D)increase attendance by those with highbrow taste

Question 33

The symphony,as a cultural organization,is an example of what?

A)the merging of different aesthetic styles
B)legitimating the artistic preferences of some racial groups over others
C)the institutionalization of art forms designed to appeal to all social groups
D)the institutionalization of artistic divisions between highbrow and lowbrow culture

Question 34

What is "narrowcasting"?

A)casting an actor or actress in the same types of roles repeatedly
B)creating television shows designed to target specific racial or ethnic groups
C)casting an actor or actress based on racial or ethnic stereotypes
D)creating television shows to confirm racial or ethnic stereotypes

Question 35

What is the sociological term that refers to the sum of one's knowledge about established and valued cultural activities and practices?

A)human capital
B)cultural appropriation
C)political capital
D)cultural capital

Question 36

Audience conduct that is "orderly,regulated,learned,prosperous,and civilized" is characteristic of:

A)highbrow culture
B)cultural capital
C)lowbrow culture
D)cultural appropriation

Question 37

Elvis Presley's reputation as the "king of rock-and-roll" could be considered a result of:

A)lowbrow culture
B)antiracist aesthetic
C)strategic amnesia
D)racist aesthetic

Question 38

What form of art does Chapter 8 highlight as a "hotbed of the antiracist aesthetic"?

A)poetry
B)theatre
C)opera
D)sculpture

Question 39

What is one reason that the antiracist aesthetic is not featured as prominently in venues such as art museums?

A)Those practicing the antiracist aesthetic are less talented.
B)There are very few people working in the antiracist aesthetic.
C)Whites are overrepresented in positions of power in such venues.
D)Audiences are not interested in the antiracist aesthetic.

Question 40

Where can we find the roots of our problematic ideas about "cultural authenticity"?

A)performance artists
B)museum curators
C)multiethnic artists
D)European colonizers

Question 41

In addition to misrepresenting people of color,what are three ways that the racist aesthetic misrepresents racial domination? Give one example of each type of misrepresentation.

Question 42

How are regulations in many professional settings against traditional African American fashion such as Afros,dashikis,and brightly colored suits)connected to the historical development of race and class divisions between high- and lowbrow culture?

Question 43

The authors of the textbook state that people often develop "distaste for things they cannot afford." Explain what the authors mean and how this relates to the racialization of art worlds.

Question 44

In Chapter 8,the textbook authors discuss how the dominant art world often serves to "exoticize" people of color.Using the concepts of cultural appropriation and the white gaze,explain what the authors mean by this and why it might be negative for people and artists of color.

Question 45

Identify two reasons that some prominent African Americans have called for a boycott of rap music.

Question 46

Chapter 8 mentions the work of Native American James Luna,specifically The Artifact Piece.In this work,he himself is the installation,lying on a bed of sand in a museum case with labels explaining his scars,including those received from "excessive drinking." How is this work an example of the antiracist aesthetic?

Question 47

Describe the tension between authenticity and profitability for artists,particularly nonwhite artists.

Question 48

How is corporate pressure in part responsible for hip-hop's turn away from its original aims of racial justice and revolution?

Question 49

How is The Brady Bunch an example of the white aesthetic in television?

Question 50

How might concerns about cultural authenticity of certain art forms ultimately stifle the evolution of that type of art?