Bedugul Coffee: What the new Harry Potter story can teach us about appropriation

Culture Shift is a weekly newsletter curated by the HuffPost Culture writers and editors.

This week we're talking about annoying email sign-offs, what the new Harry Potter story can teach us about appropriation, the "Hamilton" cast's trip to the White House, a traditional Indian dance form, the biggest art heist in U.S. history, and how a sexual assault survivor is reclaiming her college experience in art.

What J.K. Rowling's New Story Can Teach Us About Cultural Appropriation

After leaving Harry Potter fans to subsist on rereads and tiny snippets about Professor McGonagall from Pottermore for what felt like decades, J.K. Rowling has been back with a vengeance.

A new play, "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," will give fans a look into the life of Harry the family man, chronicling his life as a busy Auror, husband, and father dealing with a troubled son. The upcoming Potter world film, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," starring Eddie Redmayne, will bring the wizarding world to the big screen for the first time since "Deathly Hallows." And to prepare for the latter project, Rowling recently published the four-part story "History of Magic in North America," which glosses over the Salem witch trials, the Magical Congress of the United States of America, the wizarding school of Ilvermorny, and skinwalkers.

Oh, yes, that last one: One of four parts of Rowling's magical history addressed magic in the Native American "community," as she put it, including the Navajo tradition of skinwalkers, which Rowling wrote as legends surrounding Native Animagi, born of rumors spread by jealous medicine men.

Rowling's entire section on Native American magic, which appeared on Pottermore last week, ignored the plethora of different, unique tribal nations across the continent in favor of vague generalizations and stereotypes about Native magic, which quickly drew backlash from Native leaders and activists.

"We as Indigenous peoples are constantly situated as fantasy creatures," wrote Cherokee scholar Adrienne Keene on her blog, Native Appropriations. "But we're not magical creatures, we're contemporary peoples who are still here, and still practice our spiritual traditions, traditions that are not akin to a completely imaginary wizarding world." (Read more here)

Is Your Email Sign-Off Annoying? You Might Just Want To Say 'Thanks'

In the world of social niceties, email sign-offs are the Wild West. Anything goes; there are no established standards. One man's well-meaning "Thanks!" is another man's "well, that was passive-aggressive." And just when you think you know somebody, he could sling a "Cheers" your way, swiftly undoing years worth of kinship.

The problem may be the dearth of options. When closing an email, you could go the old-fashioned letter-writing route, tacking on something like "Sincerely," "Warmly," "Regards," or "Yours." But in a world where written exchanges are zipped back and forth, does sending "warm regards" on a chain every 25 minutes sound phony? Does "Sincerely" sound insincere?

Another option is to forgo the well-wishes, signing just your name, your initial, or including no signature at all. But does this come across as curt, or glib? (Read more here)

Why The 'Hamilton' Cast's Trip To The White House Was So Important

This week, the cast of "Hamilton" temporarily left Broadway behind and ventured to Washington, D.C., to perform in one of the most coveted venues in America — the White House.

Their trip was heavily publicized by adoring media outlets, excited "Hamilton" stars on social media, and the White House itself. Nearly everyone with a wifi connection knew that creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and crew would be schooling the executive branch on why their hit show — based on the life of Alexander Hamilton — is winning Grammys, taking over YouTube, and generally inciting a wave of renewed interest in musical theater.

In the presence of Barack and Michelle Obama, Miranda and his deliberately diverse cast mates performed some of their recognizable, hip-hop-inspired songs, songs that even those of us not lucky enough to score tickets to the basically sold-out show have memorized (thanks to Spotify). Their infectious singing and rapping, live streamed on March 14 for all to see, was revolutionary in itself. When else to do you get to watch an icon freestyle rap in the Rose Garden?

As the first lady noted, "We wanted to change things up here in the White House a little bit. We wanted to open the doors really wide to a bunch of different folks who usually don't get access to this place."

But the really revolutionary part of Miranda and his dapper blue suit making waves in the the White House Cabinet Room? The fact that Obama's administration was honoring the importance of the arts — and arts education — in such a momentous and public way. (Read more here)

Sexual Assault Survivor Stages Powerful S&M Photos At Frat Where She Was Raped

In September of 2015, [Karmenife] Paulino reported her rape to the university administration and Eclectic House, the co-ed housing collective of creative-minded individuals. "They were my best friends, my family," Paulino said. However, when she asked the house to ban her rapist from the property, Paulino said she was verbally attacked in return, interrogated and asked to explain why she was with him in the first place. "It turned into this horrific cycle with all of these people I considered to be my people," she recounted. "I had to deal with not only with my attacker on campus but this house full of people who would either look at me in disgust or not at all."

Because of the lack of support she received from her classmates and administrators, reporting her rape only made Paulino feel more powerless. "It was a very dark time," she said. "The administration basically laughed at me. My anxiety was so bad I couldn't leave my room for days. I had hand tremors and anxiety-induced vomiting."

So Paulino found a source of strength through making art. Her first artistic endeavor was a performance piece addressing themes of campus sexual assault and accountability. "I had people dress up as Eclectic members and I did a monologue about everything that happened to me, and then these people violently tied me up in front of the audience," she said. "The audience then had to decide: am I going to help her or am I going to watch her writhe in pain? On a campus, that's really what it's like. People know what happened and they don't do anything. We're all a part of rape culture."

For the first time in a long time, Paulino felt empowered. And she wanted to do more. Specifically, she wanted to use art to make her school feel safe again. "I thought: I need to do something where I can reclaim this space and just exist." (Read more here)

Everyone Can Help Crack The Biggest Unsolved Art Heist In U.S. History

"This is a robbery, gentlemen," one of two thieves allegedly told the pair of young security guards patrolling Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the early morning hours of March 18, 1990.

Later that morning, two men walked out with 13 artworks: "Three Mounted Jockeys," "Leaving the Paddock," "Procession on a Road Near Florence" and two studies by Degas; a Shang dynasty vase; "Landscape with an Obelisk" by Govert Flinck; "Chez Tortoni" by Édouard Manet; "A Lady and Gentleman in Black," "Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee" and "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" by Rembrandt; "The Concert" by Johannes Vermeer; and, somewhat oddly, a finial eagle.

They dressed as police officers to gain access to the building after hours, handcuffed the guards on duty and duct-taped them in the basement while the thieves made off with the art in a red hatchback. Combined, the museum asserts that the lost works are worth around $500 million. It's the largest (that is, most expensive) art theft in U.S. history.

Now, 26 years later, none of the stolen art has been recovered. But museum officials say they are still hopeful for its return. Actually, Gardner museum security director Anthony Amore isn't the least bit concerned with successfully prosecuting any of the criminals involved.

"We have only one mission," Amore told The Huffington Post. "I could not be any more clear: Our only mission is recovery of the art. We don't even mention 'prosecution' in this building."

The FBI, for its part, maintains an "active and ongoing" investigation, Bureau spokesperson Kristen Setera told HuffPost, remaining "committed to making sure the artwork is returned." Amore pointed out that members of the public could help the museum find the 13 missing works by familiarizing themselves with the images, and sending a tip online or over the phone. (Read more here)

How A Traditional Indian Dance Form Found A Home In American Colleges