cultural appropriation
That’s what Uschi Glas, Sigmar Gabriel and others say about the Winnetou scandal
Scene from the movie “The Young Chief Winnetou”
© Leonine/dpa
Ever since Ravensburger Verlag decided to withdraw some of Winnetou’s books from sale, waves have run high in society. Numerous celebrities are also getting involved in the debate. With sometimes very different attitudes.
It’s a question that gets tempers running high in the summer slump: Are stories about Chief Winnetou a form of cultural appropriation? Are they even racist? All of Germany is leading this debate in view of a recent decision by Ravensburger Verlag. The camps are very clearly divided.
The focus is on two companion books to the film “The Young Chief Winnetou”. The publisher had received “a lot of negative feedback” about the books, which is why they are now being removed from sale. Specifically, it is about allegations that the books would romanticize the life of Native Americans, they are therefore racist. “Even if it is a classic narrative that has inspired many people: the material is far removed from how the indigenous population actually fared,” the publisher explained his decision.
Winnetou debate: angry reactions
The decision sparked heated debates. Uschi Glas, herself known for the film “Winnetou and the Half-Blood Apanatschi”, expressed her incomprehension to “Bild”. She believes the debate misrepresents the image of Native Americans in the novels. “There’s good and bad in the movies and in the novels. They have white skin or red skin. It reflects real life”; she explains. The 78-year-old does not want to accept the criticism. “We should stop looking for a reason to complain about something here by hook or by crook,” she says.
Former SPD chairman Sigmar Gabriel also opposes the move. “As a child, I loved Karl May’s books, especially Winnetou. When my hero died, tears flowed. It didn’t make me a racist any more than it did Tom Sawyer & Huckelberry Finn,” he writes at Twitter. CDU politician Tino Sorge also sees it that similar. “Winnetou and Old Shatterhand were my heroes and inspired them to dream. If you deny this to children today because of ‘cultural appropriation’, you really can’t be helped anymore.”
Sports presenter Frank Buschmann also blows the same horn. And he goes one step further: “Extreme leftists moralize society to pieces and the extreme right collect,” he accuses the supporters of the move. “Nobody can really want that! Well, I always wanted to be like Winnetou and not like the stupid and evil cowboys! People, please stop this madness.”
… on both sides
The editor-in-chief of the football magazine “11 Freunde”, Philipp Köster, does not want to let this argument stand. “Frank Buschmann, how he tells the world that because of a couple of Winnetou books, people are voting right-wing radicals and chasing foreigners through the streets,” he writes to a video of an obviously drunk man talking to a woman at a soccer game.
Activist Jasmina Kuhnke doesn’t want to let the argument stand either. “Those affected by racism, in this case indigenous people, who speak out against Winnetou, are themselves to blame if Germans become fascists as a result,” she replies to Frank Buschmann. And post a screenshot showing that the moderator blocked them.
SPD politician Ralf Stegner already seems annoyed by the debate itself – without wanting to position himself. “Can someone please end this moronic Winnetou debate? It can’t be sunstroke at 9 a.m., can it?” he scolds on Twitter. And gets encouragement and hostility from both sides.
Source:Twitter