CULTURAL APPROPRIATION OF “PAPUAN PEOPLE” IN THE SELECTION OF THE AMBASSADOR FOR PON XX IN 2021

Abstract

The selection of the famous artist Nagita Slavina and Raf Ahmad as PON XX ambassadors in Papua drew a lot of public criticism. The issue of cultural appropriation practice related to PB PON’s decision to choose the artists to accompany Boaz Salossa who has been appointed as ambassador is getting wider. By using Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis method, this paper tries to see how the “orang Papua” is represented in the discourse of PON XX Papua. The results showed that Boaz Salossa as the XX PON ambassador was in fact only a subject who was seated to represent the “orang Papua” while Nagita and Raf represented the PON event. Boaz Salossa is considered not representative enough to publish and promote the PON event, therefore Nagita and Raf are considered needed. Reasoning cultural appreciation, in fact, the practice of cultural appropriation has occurred in the PON’s ambassador selection. “Orang Papua” bears the burden of representation as primitive humans who cannot speak up and convey their own interests. Papuan culture is commodifed on the basis of knowledge and power only for the beneft of the ruler. The event is not a form of cultural appreciation, yet a practice of cultural appropriation