Who Is Isle Of Dogs: Guilty Of Cultural Appropriation?

Critics began questioning whether or not Isle of Dogs was guilty of cultural appropriation due to Anderson’s way of handling language throughout the film. The main reason for this was the fact that there were no subtitles for the Japanese dialogue throughout the movie, with the exception of a few instances where an English-speaking translator is present on screen. The dogs on the other hand, speak English as opposed to barking because, writes Los Angeles Times author Justin Chang, “a writer as distinctive as Anderson wouldn't want his droll way with the English language to get lost in translation” (Chang). As a writer, Anderson has developed a distinct name for himself and in order to preserve that image, it would be more practical for him

Wes Anderson is not guilty of appropriating Japanese culture with his movie Isle of Dogs; however, he is guilty of being culturally insensitive. Had he been in conversation with his audience as Arewa suggests one should do when borrowing from a culture, Anderson would have been more aware of the repercussions and effects his artistic decisions would have had. The reason Arewa states that being in this dialogue is beneficial is because it “can be an important starting point to develop ways to negotiate thorny terrains of cultural contestation” (“Love” 29). As stated earlier, it can be difficult to determine what is and is not appropriation and this dialogue helps ease some of the difficulties. Chang asked if Anderson’s “highly selective, idiosyncratic rendering of an East Asian society constitute a sincere act of homage, or a clueless failure of sensitivity” (Chang). That is the million-dollar question regarding this film. Critics should be focused on the way Anderson handled some aspects of his movie, i.e. his use of language, in an insensitive manner as opposed to trying to find reasons the film could be appropriation. Having conversations surrounding the topic of cultural appropriation are important to have, but within the right context. Similarly to how context plays an important role in deciding if something is cultural appropriation or not, context is just as important when discussing cultural appropriation. Otherwise, the discussion turns into blame being thrown around and the people involved end up learning nothing, and neither do the people who may refer back to the conversation. When having discussions regarding cultural appropriation, the point is to educate so that it can be prevented from happening in the future, that it why context plays