Cultural appropriation, celebration or protection?

[Note: yesterday’s email had the correct uprade link, but for some reason I had to disable and enable that page. It now works. The fun of using new tech…]

Two weeks ago I read that Disney and Universal are suing the creators of an AI image generator for reproducing their work. In their court filing they included images of Spider Man and Baby Yoda that the generator spat out. So, I thought I’d make this newsletter a semi-serious piece warning the world’s floating Yoda statues and costumed Spider Men that it was time for them to consider changing careers.

But, when I searched for cases where companies or artists have sued buskers for copyright, all I could find was the reverse: the story of The Naked Cowboy suing M&Ms for using his image.

We happened to have photographed him in 2011 (we did go there looking for him, as The Naked Cowboy had run for mayor just two years earlier). Shortly after our visit, locals started loudly complaining about the behaviour of other buskers in Times Square, specifically the costumed characters. In 2014, for example, the cops arrested three separate Spider Men in one week—one for punching a mother in the head, another for groping a woman and another for punching a cop.

The cases weren’t entirely clear cut. The guy who punched the cop said it was in self-defence, as he didn’t know who was grabbing him. And the guy who punched the mother said the interaction had gone something like this: She didn’t tip; He cursed at her; She threw a snowball at him; He punched her in the face; She went and got a cop, but when she returned she blamed the wrong spider man, about three years before that meme got popular.

I haven’t found any legislation that actually banned buskers wearing costumes in Times Square—if you know something, either comment below or reply to this email. However, while looking for laws against costumed characters, I found this utterly fascinating story that’s just come out of Indonesia. As far as I can tell, this legislation is a global first.

The Betawi are the original inhabitants of Jakarta. "Ondel-ondel" are giant puppet figures representing protective ancestral spirits in Betawi culture. These puppets are traditionally used to ward off evil and celebrate important ceremonies, but also get rented out by street performers:

The unique (to my knowledge) news is that, according to the Jakarta Post:

I believe this is the first use of legislation targeting the costumes street performers wear for reasons of cultural preservation, distancing a celebrated art form from lowly busking. Interestingly, the people making these costumes (modern day Betawis) are divided on whether that argument is legitimate.

One ondel-ondel craftsman said there aren’t enough ceremonial events organised by the government during the year to keep him in business. Renting the costumes to buskers, "helps us to fulfil our daily needs,” and indeed he "felt proud" that buskers were helping to preserve Betawi culture.

I did a little more sleuthing, and the economic argument for keeping this arrangement look good. Rent for an ondel-ondel back in 2019 cost 50,000 Indonesian rupees (around $3 USD). This means each costume the craftsmen rented would earn them about half of minimum wage per month. As for the buskers, an article from 2024 said two buskers (they always go out in pairs) could get roughly Rp 350,000 in tips per day. After deducting the cost of costume rental, that means each busker would earn about $9 USD a day, in a city where over 400,000 people are earning less than $50 USD a month.

On the other hand, another ondel-ondel craftsman said he believes that the costumes have too high a cultural and historical value to be “humiliated by being a tool to make money on the street."

This argument—which is the one the Jakarta government has sided with—is based on the opinion busking is inherently humiliating. They are merely trying to distance cultural heritage from the debasing act of entertaining people in public spaces, which is akin to begging. Even many street performers would say that those who busk merely by renting a costume, rather than creating new art themselves, are less respectable than others.

The idea that buskers who just wear pre-made costumes are somehow ‘lesser’ than those who create their own (or, indeed, perform a skill) is one I more-or-less agree with—but only to a point. There is less artistic value in people buying a cheap Spiderman costume at a halloween store and then getting tips for photos in tourism hotspots. However, the reason they stay in business is because people keep voluntarily giving them money, indicating they’re providing an entertaining service the community wants (like sparking joy and arresting shoplifters). Who am I to yuck someone’s yum?

There is also a clear distinction between costumed buskers and someone sitting on the floor with a cardboard sign requesting alms, not tips. Neither is inherently humiliating, but one is done for joy, the other for compassion, and both make people feel good to support.

I have no respect for the costumed buskers who demand tips for photos and hound passersby. I wouldn’t be against bye laws that prevent that specific behaviour. But, I’ve seen many, many buskers wearing copyrighted material from Disney, Marvel, Universal and others (not to mention all the musicians who earn their keep by singing cover songs which is at least copyright-adjacent) giving nothing but happiness to an audience that is not just willing but keen to reward them for providing a moment of whimsy and a photo op.

I’m also uncomfortable about siding with the establishment when it comes to policing dressing up in costume. Anti-busking police action is often associated with pressure from local businesses. The head of the Times Square Alliance, Tim Tompkins, has long pushed for tighter regulation of the buskers in Times Square, giving quotes like this one:

There was a sudden spike in news articles about the arrest of street performers in June and July, 2014. During that same period, 15 people were shot in less than 12 hours, and dozens of gang members were arrested on charges of conspiracy, assault and weapons offences. The cops were busy. My gut feeling is that it’s far more likely the spike was the result of press releases to news desks orchestrated by the Times Square Alliance, than that suddenly the buskers got worse.

Bottom line? As always, governments should legislate against bad behaviour, and not lump all buskers in together. And if people are being entertained, let them.

One more political story before we get to the fun stuff.

🇨🇦 Can someone explain to me what’s going on in Victoria B.C.? This article makes it seem like there are a bunch of restrictions being put in place, and yet the quoted politician is talking about it as if they’re promoting street performance: “Coun. Matt Dell said the revamped program, which builds on a pilot project that ran last year, will bring back what Victorians used to love about going downtown.”

Also, from a survey the council put out in 2024, it looks like buskers are being paid to take part in busking in certain locations? Was that just for the pilot program? And what do they mean by “technology for buskers to receive tips electronically”? Are they providing you with cashless tip machines? If you know, please let me know so I can write about it later 😗

The above examples are certainly not the worst costumed characters I’ve ever come across. There internet is full of stories who can’t seem to handle the power that comes with wearing a mask, like the guy dressed as Cookie Monster who handed out Nazi propaganda at a German School, or the two Adam Sandlers. You probably know the actor, who made an enjoyable short film about a fight between two tin men in Times Square:

Hopefully you don’t know the other guy quite possibly the worst busker in the world, rightfully deserving of the nickname, “Evil Elmo”…