To infinity and beyond

Matt Murdock, hearing this from a multiple blocks away:

I’m so pissed at everyone saying that Italy’s song for the ESC is racist. If you do not understand the lyrics just ask to translate them and we’ll do it. The song is not racist at all, it just makes fun of those people who after eating sushi or going to yoga lessons act like they know everything about Oriental culture. He also says that we tend to westernize everything because while going to yoga lessons we are more concerned about our look than trying to find a connection between body and mind. That’s all. He did very well, he’s a great singer/songwriter and I truly think he’s the smartest one in Italy right now. C'mon Francesco, make them dance!!

regarding the Italian entry for Eurovision Song Contest 2017, I’d like to tell you what the song is about. I’ve been reading a looot of comments, people yelling “cultural appropriation” and “racism” which are two very importants problems in our society.

The song is called “Occidentali’s Karma” and it’s by Francesco Gabbani. 

“Occidentali” of course is not an English word, it’s Italian and it means “Westeners”. So the title is basically “Westeners’ Karma”.  (I might also explain why this anglicism in particular but then the post would be too long)

Because the whole song is a CRITIC to Western misuse (and abuse) of wisdom, religions, concepts that belong to Oriental cultures. 

The song mocks all those people that act all spiritual and stuff but don’t go deep enough to understand a culture, or a religion. The words you hear in the song, and that make you angry because you think it’s wrong that he, a white Italian guy, is singing them, are actually quotes. He’s not making fun of a culture when he says Namaste: he’s quoting those who get tattoos of stuff they don’t get and that say random foreign words just to be cool, and yes, he’s making fun of those people.

He’s basically saying; “look at us, we go look for wisdom in Orient and we come back quoting stuff to look cool and enlightened but in the end we’re all “naked apes” dancing (he literally says “La Scimmia Nuda”, ahem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Ape)

He’s not an idiot. He knows what he’s singing about. He knows the importance of the many Oriental cultures and religions and he also knows those people who act like “web’s know-it-all” (”i tuttologi del web”, as he says in the song) and pretend to be experts of those cultures, because they had a yoga lesson once or because they eat sushi every Friday. He talks about evolution, he uses scientific and religious terms as someone who’s trying to look cool would use them. (Namaste? Aleeeè!) (ever been to a footbal match? Aleeee alee aleee aleeee) (same thing)

I KNOW that cultural appropriation is a very important problem, but Francesco Gabbani knows too and he’s basically as pissed as you are, and he made a good song about it. 

I know that if you don’t speak Italian and look at the lyrics you’d start screaming, but instead of using, idk, google translate (which is terrible when it comes to Italian, go ask my high school professors who still yell at the students who use it for their homework), ask us to translate it. Ask us what the hell is the talking about. what people is he talking about.

And that said, see you at Eurovision, come dance with us 

just a little reminder that the italian song “occidentali’s karma” is about calling out the appropriation and glamourization of eastern culture and that’s why the video looks so fucked up if you don’t understand the language

Francesco Gabbani - Occidentali’s Karma 

Essere o dover essere to be or to have to be Il dubbio amletico the hamletic doubt  Contemporaneo come l’uomo del neolitico as contemporary as the Neolithic man Nella tua gabbia 2x3 mettiti comodo make yourself comfortable in your tiny little cage Intellettuali nei caffè cafes full of intellectuals Internettologi* internetologists Soci onorari al gruppo dei Selfisti Anonimi honorary members of Selfiers Anonymous L’intelligenza è démodé intelligence is outdated

* interenttologo is a made up word consisting of the words internet + logo + -ista, based on words like psicologo and dentista Risposte facili easy answers Dilemmi inutili useless dilemmas AAA cercasi (cerca sì) storie dal gran finale stories with a great ending wanted (find them) Sperasi (spera sì) hopefully (do hope) Comunque vada panta rei however it goes panta rei And singing in the rain and singing in the rain

Lezioni di Nirvana nirvana lessons C’è il Buddha in fila indiana there’s Buddha in a line Per tutti un’ora d’aria, di gloria an hour of yard time for everyone, an hour of glory La folla grida un mantra the crowd shouts a mantra L’evoluzione inciampa evolution falters La scimmia nuda balla the naked monkey’s dancing Occidentali’s Karma Westerns’ karma Occidentali’s Karma Westerns’ karma La scimmia nuda balla the naked monkey’s dancing Occidentali’s Karma Westerns’ karma

Piovono gocce di Chanel Chanel drops are raining Su corpi asettici over aseptic bodies Mettiti in salvo dall’odore dei tuoi simili flee from your fellows’ smell Tutti tuttologi col web everyone’s a know-it-all thanks to the internet Coca dei popoli drug of the peoples Oppio dei poveri opium of the poors AAA cercasi (cerca si) umanità virtuale virtual humanity wanted (go find it) Sex appeal (sex appeal) sex appeal (sex appeal) Comunque vada panta rei however it goes panta rei And singing in the rain and singing in the rain