Tribal Customs of the Primitive Peoples in America

Yesterday, I had the great privilege of watching my first full Grammy Awards show. This statement of course is heavy on the sarcasm right around the "privilege" part. Besides the fact that I personally despise country music, and it seemed this was Part 2 of the CMAs, the spectacle in general was somewhat disappointing, but thought-provoking. It seems like awards shows like these, clearly reserved for participation by the celebrity elite only, and blatantly set up so that the common masses can easily show their worshipful devotion, have begun to define major aspects of American culture. Celebrity is the center - it dominates our viewership and now even our conversation, more intensely through mediums like Twitter, which has been trending things like #grammys and #nicki minaj all night.

After watching America's prime sampling of upperclass culture, it was just so evident how blurred the lines of modernity and primitivity really are. I do not think I can believe in "primitive" culture. For one, obviously as I learn each day in development, we have to end the thought process that different from the Western way = underdeveloped, without question. However, I also gained this disbelief as I watched the most powerful and visible players in my own national society look absolutely "primitive" at the Grammys. Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj's performances stand out in my mind - they ranged from overtly flashy to the point of sensory overload, sexual gyrations and thrusts almost continually, and downright dark and scary. Obviously, this is all subjective interpretation on my part - I am sure elsewhere in the country there are people who are hailing those performances as high class art.

However, that is the point. Culture is subjective, and so is the term "primitive". As I learn more about the values of Ghanaian people, which differ entirely from those in my home country, whether this be marriage rituals, the way people define family connections, or the distinction between gender roles, I see that these values are not inferior or less advanced, just different. Even if one was to argue that primitivity is real, I would think they may have a hard time deciding which was more primitive - the Ghanaians, or celebrity/money/sex obsessed Americans.