” Commercialisation of culture can entice consumers to consume products from various cultures in a consumer-driven economy. This is also a diplomatic strategy which is used by countries. For instance, Thailand’s gastro-diplomacy, focuses on commercializing Thai culture through Thai food.“
Eudaimonia. (2020). Is the commercialisation of culture necessarily a bad thing? [online] Available at: https://ejceudaimonia.com/2020/10/28/is-the-commercialisation-of-culture-necessarily-a-bad-thing/#:~:text=Commercialisation%20of%20culture%20can%20entice,Thai%20culture%20through%20Thai%20food. [Accessed 6 Dec. 2021].
I think the perspective of using culture within a consumer-driven economy is really interesting. It goes against the points I would make for the commercialisation of Qawwali but also feeds into the diluted narrative of the convolution of true Sufi culture to appease global audiences. It’s painful to think of Qawalli as a “diplomatic tool” – a way in which South Asia can be seen as ‘secular enough’ to conform to western ideologies of what they believe is freedom. From my analysis, it drives the art form itself into nothing more than another commodity to fit a narrative upheld by colonial idealists.