I mentioned this in another thread. I'm a bit concerned about the possible effect of declaring "cultural appropriation" on poutine and other things.<p>In my city, and possibly Ontario, and maybe all of Canada, Shawarma Poutine has become a big hit. It's poutine with Shawarma chicken shaved onto it. It's glorious. All the shops I've been to are run and owned by either Iranians or other middle Eastern immigrants.<p>So to me it's a beautiful success story of immigration in Canada. These individuals are refining a brand new dish by combining middle Eastern and Quebecois food.<p>If we call it cultural appropriation and wag our finger at it, we possibly lose out on new things like shawarma poutine. What's the fear? That others will embrace and adopt your culture?<p>I feel less strongly about this part. I'm probably wrong. But I wonder if it has to do with the feeling I felt strongly as a kid. I played Bungie games like Marathon and Pathways before Halo came out. And then Halo arrived and a whole new breed of gamers appeared and made it their thing. They spoke like experts at the lunchroom table. But they didn't grok Bungie and didn't know the origins like I did. And it made me so inexplicably frustrated at them. They were stealing my thing.<p>Edit: a lot of good responses that have opened my eyes to additional perspectives. If you've gone this far, be sure to read the responses, too!
I thought this would be an examination of the fluid dynamics of poutine, perhaps a revelation that fully-integrated poutine dishes are non-Newtonian fluids.<p>Additionally: given the heavy cultural significance ascribed to poutine by this “paper”, would it follow that the import of poutine in US places like New York under the name “disco fries” constitutes an egregious form of cultural appropriation and erasure?<p>I just want to enjoy my fries, man.
The title is fun, but this is a terrible paper. Yes, Canadians poke fun at Québécois, and sometimes poutine is used (but rarely these days given its popularity).<p>But a big part of Canadian culture is being “in on the joke”. We tend to love it when we’re satirized in the media, particularly American media. I think this appreciation for jokes made at our expense is partly responsible for our high volume of comedian exports.<p>So we make fun of BC folk, they make fun of Torontonians; Quebecois make fun of Acadiens; we all make fun of PEI. It’s not done from malice, just good-natured ribbing about our differences.<p>This paper is a great example of research-free critical theory.
Cultural appropriation of foods is completely natural and should absolutely be encouraged... Do we really want southwest/mexican food without herbs based in europe and spices from the east? Or, for that matter, removing tortilla chips, or flour based tortillas. It's absurd to try to stop, and at a net loss to society to do so. It's been happening forever and it's a net good.
Living in Northern Ontario, I'm no stranger to Poutine. All sorts of places are popping up selling 'flavoured' poutines. Nothing beats the original. In fact, the best poutine is found at chip stands with suspect food handling standards. Not in fast food places nor even restaurants.<p>My personal favourite comes from the bush town of River Valley Ont. My god I could go for one now and it's only 8:30am.<p>Hey, were all gonna die sometime!