Local Asian Lantern Festival: Appreciation or Appropriation?

Cleveland, OH— Running from July 19 to an extended date of Sept. 3 due to popular demand, the Asian Lantern Festival at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo transported its visitors from a mundane northeast Ohio neighborhood to an exotic and exciting Asian-themed hub of activity– complete with stereotypical decorations, portrayals, music and all!

I admit, I was a bit wary walking into the festival this past Sunday, as it drew some rather strong parallels to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ “Kimono Day” fiasco circa 2015, but– perhaps a tad too optimistically on my part– I figured that, collectively, society knew better by now. Plus, I’d heard good things thus far, so how bad could it really be?

Like I said, I was a tad too optimistic.

Upon walking under the stereotypical pagoda-esque entrance, I was immediately met with beautiful stained-glass mosaic structures bearing various native Asian animals that, honestly, resembled nothing similar to any westernized depiction of Asia I’d ever seen.

I breathed a premature sigh of relief, maybe the displays would be just as unique, beautiful, and unproblematic– I soon realized I was wrong.

Yes, it would all be just as stunningly beautiful, but, unfortunately, it wouldn’t all be as innocent.

I continued on, feeling relieved that Cleveland Metroparks Zoo was appreciating not appropriating and, for the first time, more excited than wary– that is, until I saw a massive structure that appeared to be a teapot of some sort, with none other than a stereotypically fair-skinned Asian girl carefully placed gently atop.

Complete with the trademark-westernized animals of Asia– dragons and pandas– along with the trademark colors of Asia– red and gold– the huge display was, again, stunningly elegant and complex. So much so, in fact, that it elicited an audible expression of wonder and awe in its viewers.

Yet, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of guilt for initially joining in all the oohing and ahhing of the mostly white-skinned, light-eyed onlookers: Was I participating in the appropriation of Asian culture? Or was I just appreciating its beauty and complexity?   

The artwork and displays were stunningly nuanced and intricate, but were they an accurate representation?

The Asian-themed instrumental background music did enhance the atmosphere and did add to the illusion of exoticness, but was it borderline orientalist?

The portrayals of fair-skinned, black-haired, top bun-sporting females were aesthetically pleasing, but were they just another example of the Western gaze?

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever know the answers, because it’s not my culture, so it’s not for me to decide.