i have stanned and loved blackpink ever since as if itās your last came out, but iāve decided to take a break from them for a while. hereās why:
to start off iām indian, and when jennie first had on a bindi during d4 era, i played it off as she āmaybe she didnāt understandā even though i was questioning it in the back of mind. these pictures were included in the photobook and it slightly irked me but it was fine bc I love her.
now came kill this love and where do i even begin. first off, she wearing a tikka in the video. she also wore an indian headpiece towards the end. here, i also brushed it off and said it was okay even though iām sure she understood the backlash she got from wearing a bindi in d4. so i thought wouldnāt she understand not to wear a tikki and headpiece? did the stylists really force them onto her head and then physically force her to shoot the video with them on? i was lowkey frustrated but i let it slide as a āmaybe she didnāt understandā again.
then came the photobook and the terrible behind the scenes video. i canāt even tell you how annoyed i was at the blantant ignorance i was seeing. one photo showed her wearing an indian headdress while closing her eyes and folding her hands. this is the most stereotypical thing i have ever seen and to be honest i got offended. what bothered me the most was the behind the scenes clip of her and rosĆØ dancing āa funny indian dance.ā jennie was making hand movements called mudras which are a part of an indian dance called bharatanatyam. this dance holds a lot of meaning to those who dedicatedly practice and perform it. to see her making these skewed mudras made me feel so disrespected because i know how theyāre important to my culture. then came rosĆØ behind her who was waving her hands in the back as jennie made hand movements which looked like a failed attempt at a stereotypical indian dance where two people are stood in line with each other and wave their arms around. this really bothered me and i know it did for many other people in my culture.
they were not in any way appreciating the culture. they were dancing while laughing because it seemed like this type of dance was hilarious to them. i also donāt understand how you could repeatedly make all these mistakes by wearing symbolic indian clothing 3 times. however, i do understand that some indians may not be offended like i am and i get that too. but itās better to be safe than sorry.
*also i forgot to mention when they danced with s****** to an indian song during the d4 era using the most stereotypical moves ever. i laughed at how pathetic it looked.*
but as an indian, i was offended and upset at how things went down this comeback. i want some sort of apology or at least a message saying she understands and sees what we are saying but i highly doubt itāll happen bc it hasnāt happened in the past. itās hard for me to let it go this time and for this reason, iāll be taking a break from blackpink. i still love their music and jisoo :ā( but I will be staying clear of what theyāre actually doing with their lives for a while.
p.s. i understand sometimes we all just do things by accident and donāt mean to intentionally make fun of something. so on that note, what the actual hell is yg ent. doing. they have repeatedly made countless cultural appropriation mistakes. i seriously donāt understand how they donāt learn. if they see their artists making mistakes like this dance then why do they think itās okay to release the video to make so many people upset?