“The Miseducation of Hip-Hop—Discrimination in Education”

The gap of understanding a generation’s musical preference will never cease.  To take a look back in time of two examples, one is the Rock-n-Roll era of Elvis Presley; Showing off his swinging hips on television and having the female audience members screaming out of control was offensive for the parents of the children who grew up in the 1960. Second is the disco era; the unforgettable movie, “Saturday Night Fever”, where it was common for people to dance under lights all night long at clubs, wear flashy clothing and platform shoes was seen as an out of control and sexually provocative for the parents of the 1970’s generation. This brings us to today and the hip-hop revolution; in which the author, Jamilah Evelyn’s writing of “The Miseducation of Hip-Hop Discrimination in Education” explains the struggles of this generations acceptance in society.

Evelyn shows a 22 year old University of Delaware student, Jason Hinmon,  who transferred from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, two culturally different societies, and how Hinmon outward appearance had the, mostly white, faculty of the University discriminating against him because he  was “Dark-hued, dreadlock, and, well, young” (p. 559). Because he appeared to them like a hip-hop gangster, these faculty members associated him with lack of educational desire.  

This experience that Hinmon went through is not uncommon for anyone facing a new environment, stereo-typed. When a person dresses in anyway, that is an outward self-expression that is a form of freedom, which is an inhalable right. Nobody should assume that because a person looks a certain way that they have less of an education, or might behave in a socially unacceptable manner. Many people, for of lack of understanding the full scope of a subject, are quick to label, because we live in a fast paced society that needs quick answers. In corporate America, status quo is the normal, because the employee is there to represent the best interest of the company and not with a personal agenda so dressing and having a conservative, focused point of view works best. These kids of the hip-hop generation, if listened to, are unbelievably in tune with global events, corporate dealings, and emotional circumstance and are not afraid to express this in their music or their attire. Hip-hop songs, like rock-n-roll, country, or jazz, are a form of expression through musical instruments, life experiences, and media promotion. If one should choose to listen then understand; if one should refuse to listen then be understanding, it’s a choice we all acquire and carry with us wherever we go.

Reference:

Rosendale, L. (2008) Pop Perspectives, Readings to Critique Contemporary Culture. New York, NY. McGraw-Hill.

"The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures”

This powerful writing of Postman and Powers describes function as well as the impact television has on American culture. As I read the article, there was no convincing me, I was in complete agreement with their claim that, “All news shows, in a sense, are re-creations in that what we hear and see on them are attempts to re-present actual events, and are not the events themselves”. (P.482) With that in mind, the use of language, stationary pictures and moving pictures, having differences, are  necessary tools in order for the news caster to interpret, or re-create, an actual event for the viewer. When a person listens to the language of a broadcaster, the presenter uses words to describe, evaluate or infer what is unknown to the viewer about an event and the viewer interprets a verbal description based upon personal satisfaction. With stationary pictures, which show a moment in time, viewers subconsciously adapt still photographs to one particular idea. Moving pictures bridge a gap between language and stationary and with the aid of music; moving pictures can bring drama to the set even before a word is spoken and set a mood. With all these aspects together, viewers must take these broadcasts and understand what they are seeing is a personal analysis and must use the information given to evaluate the depth of the information portrayed.

Resource:

Rosendale, L. (2008) Pop Perspectives, Readings to Critique Contemporary Culture. New York, NY. McGraw-Hill.

Volkswagen Commercial for the 2011 Passet

With a child’s strong Darth Vader imagination, Volkswagen has created a 21^st century humorous commercial with reference from a movie that was originally made 30+ years ago. With massive marketing and new sequels, the Star Wars™ series of movies is etched in the minds of all ages and still classical enough for anyone to watch over and over again and creators of this cleverly marketable commercial have found a way to incorporate bit of the past into a commercial that has the audience relating to the theme along with traditional gender representations.

The boy in the Darth Vader costume, assuming now he has the powers of the “Dark Night”, finds himself moving from room to room trying to manipulate exercise equipment, the family dog, dryer, and a baby doll all unsuccessfully. Frustrated, he makes his way to the kitchen where his mother makes him a sandwich but before he can take a bite, the sound of the dog barking lets him know his dad is pulling up in the driveway after a day. Without hesitation, the boy, on a mission, passes up the opportunity to greet his dad and heads straight for the front of the 2011 Passet and has a try at making the car move. From the picture window in the kitchen both mom and dad are witnessing this effort and dad pulls out the key to the car, which has an auto start button. As he presses the start button, the boy is in amazement because the car started and the headlights flash, which ends the commercial.

The representation of mid suburbia, family dog, two children; one boy and one girl, where the Dad goes to work during the day and Mom stays at home is evident in this commercial. This representation is a comforting, traditional form of family that no longer is the average household in the 21^st century due to several facts. If there is a mother and father that are still married, they would both have jobs which would mean the possibility of even having a dog is very slim because there would be no one to take care of it during the day and hardly any time in the evening to give it proper attention, if available a dog day care would be the normal these days. The impression to have a boy and a girl is nice, idyllically, but in fact, the average family has more children and if necessary each gender will share bedrooms, not have one of their own. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R55e-uHQna0#at=11

Justin Beeber's music video, "Baby"

Pop Culture and Justin Beeber, the perfect combination for the tween age influential minds. This video,with the accompaniment of Ludacris, projects a wholesome clean image for young love and the music is suitable for all ears to hear,which is a interesting perspective for the rapper, Ludacris, because his rap style has explicit content,  profanity and negative undertones. The video encourages children at very young age to date, which for many traditional families this is too young of an age for such a mature topic. The good,clean fun the kids are having in the bowling alley is  a new portrayal  of urban america and shows that boys and girls of young ages enjoy the security of being in a large group of friends. At this age genetics, as depicted in the video, plays a roll with boys and girls. The boys traditionally enter puberty at a later age than girls and mature at a slower rate, notice how the girl is slightly taller than Beeber. Parents across america will appreciate and gladly accept idols like this for their kids.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kffacxfA7G4