Cultural Appropriation Theme Analysis

In Disgraced, Emily is a young white artist whose painting career takes off when she starts using Islamic patterns in her work. Emily’s use of Islamic imagery is problematic because she’s appropriating (borrowing from) and profiting off a culture that doesn’t belong to her. She also paints a portrait of her husband, Amir (a wealthy South Asian lawyer), as a former slave who’s become rich—suggesting that she sees him as an outsider to affluent white culture. Emily benefits from her use of Islamic culture, as does Isaac, the art curator who’s featuring Emily’s art in his upcoming show. Meanwhile, the story’s South Asian characters (like Amir and his nephew Abe) only suffer harassment and discrimination for their association with Islam. Through this juxtaposition, the play highlights why cultural appropriation is unfair: it enables people who don’t experience racism to profit from a culture that isn’t theirs, while people who are actually from that culture are stigmatized.

Emily’s use of Islamic culture in her work is exploitative of and offensive to people who actually come from that culture. A conversation that Emily has with Isaac introduces the idea that the Islamic influences in Emily’s art aren’t harmless or fun—they are, in fact, quite problematic. Emily suggests that “being a white woman” doesn’t mean she has “no right to be using Islamic forms”—in other words, she feels that it’s okay to use traditional Islamic imagery in her art, even though she isn’t Muslim herself. Isaac tells her that she’ll probably “be accused of […] Orientalism” (a term for the depiction of non-Western cultures as exotic, other, and ripe for exploitation). This lets readers know that Isaac, at least, recognizes the issue with Emily taking advantage of a culture that isn’t hers—but both of them are okay with her doing so if it allows them to turn a profit. Despite Emily’s protestation that her work isn’t Orientalizing, she does make Amir feel othered and exploited when she paints a portrait of him in the image of artist Diego Velázquez’s portrait of a former slave who’s dressed to show that he’s become wealthy. In associating her South Asian husband with a freed slave, Emily problematically depicts Amir as an outsider who’s attempting to fit into Western culture but isn’t seen as an equal to affluent white people.

The play’s white characters—notably, Emily and Isaac—profit from using Islamic culture and enjoy success. Isaac tells Emily that “The work you're doing with the Islamic tradition is important and new. It needs to be seen. Widely.” Isaac clearly approves of Emily’s art and thinks that others will too—in this way, she can expect to receive praise and recognition for using Islamic culture to further her art career. Isaac plans to feature Emily’s Islamic art in his upcoming show, which means that he, too, will reap the benefits of Emily’s appropriation of Islamic culture. Amir suggests that Isaac look at some of Emily’s earlier landscapes, which don’t feature Islamic imagery, but Isaac isn’t interested—he only wants her paintings that use Islamic patterns. Isaac thinks that “it’s smart that [Emily] moved on” to appropriating Islamic imagery, as he thinks her that earlier work “is not as fertile a direction for her.” His comments reveal that he thinks Emily will specifically profit from the way she’s appropriating Islamic imagery, because it makes her work seem unique or exotic. By extension, Isaac will benefit too, as he’ll earn commission for her paintings if they sell during his show. All of this profiting happens because Emily takes something from Islamic culture and copies it for her own benefit.

In contrast, the people who actually come from Islamic backgrounds face stigmatization (rather than praise) when they associate themselves with Islamic culture. The play implies that non-white people do not receive positive recognition or opportunities for drawing on their own culture—those opportunities tend to go to white people, who profit from representing non-white cultures. This illustrates why cultural appropriation like Emily’s art is harmful and unfair. For instance, while Emily profits from her appropriation of Islamic culture, Amir gets passed up for a promotion at work when his bosses find out that he has Muslim heritage. When the press quotes Amir as standing up for Imam Fareed, a Muslim cleric who’s been wrongly accused of funding terrorist activity, his bosses see the article. Realizing that Amir comes from a Muslim background, they grow uncomfortable with Amir’s ties to the Muslim community and make his less-qualified colleague Jory a partner at the law firm instead of him. While Emily gets praised for her support of Islamic culture, then, Amir gets punished for his presumed association with it. A similar incident happens to Amir’s nephew Abe when he happens to wear a Muslin skullcap in a Starbucks. When Abe’s friend Tariq upsets a barista, the barista notices Abe and Tariq’s skullcaps and calls the police—likely assuming that the men are terrorists—and Abe and Tariq end up being interrogated by the FBI. Unlike Emily, who achieves success by appropriating elements of Islam, Abe and Tariq get harassed when they try to openly support their own Muslim culture. Through this contrast, the play reinforces the idea that American society punishes ethnic and religious minorities who try to represent or support their own culture. In contrast, Emily is rewarded for representing Islamic culture. This juxtaposition suggests that, as a white person, Emily can profit from Islamic culture in a way that South Asian people like Amir, Abe, and Imam Fareed cannot.