Tricia Rose
Is Hip-Hop Harming Our Society?
I recently attended the Tricia Rose, Journey to the Motherland and was very enlightened by the event where students performed live dancing, singing, poems, etc… and had a speaker named Tricia Rose. Rose is a professor of Africana Studies at Brown University who specializes in 20th Century African American culture and politics, social thought, popular culture and gender issues. I found her ideas to be very interesting and inspiring, through her speaking, she discussed the idea of community and how our community is under duress. She spoke of sustaining hip-hop energy and use it again as our voice and for expression. Rose argues that hip-hop has become corporate and is no longer the voices of what people actually feel. She states that hip-hop currently is more about a product and trying to sell that product, whether it is fashion, clothes, footwear or automobiles. Interestingly enough, Rose mentioned the fact that often times these hip-hop artists do not have as much money as they claim to and often times go bankrupt from trying to attain the superficial items that are often times rapped about. Also through her speech, she mentions that hip-hop was once about dance, style, and creativity and now is focused on a commercialized form of that, that profit on half-truths and turns it into product. Rose also refers to the derogatory comments that are often rapped about in music these days whether it is about women, hustling, or the ghetto. Rose refers to the fact that hustling, which is now a product, at one time was a condition of survival, an environmental circumstance, not a cultural trait. The ghetto is a low-income area that people often struggle to overcome and to rise above, but these hip-hop artists glorify its existence, as if there were to be no better place to grow up. The respect of women has been lacking in the hip-hop world for far too long, never appreciating a women’s beauty and always demeaning her intelligence. Through Rose’s speech, I learned a lot, she has the ability to help a person turn the other cheek and acknowledge to imperfections in this community. Rose has dedicated here studies to helping us be aware as society and as consumers to the world around us and the music that we are listening to. She lectures frequently to scholarly and general audiences on a wide range of topics relating to American cultural politics, black culture, music and gender. Overall, I enjoyed this speech and would suggest for anyone to go and see her speak if for no other reason than a better perspective on our community and the youth of today. I believe Rose’s point of view coincides with that of Ann Arnett Ferguson, who wrote the article “Bad Boys” which I have recently read. I feel that both authors try to explain and understand hip-hop and how it is so impressionable on our youth of today. I also feel that Rose related to Lauren Greenfield’s piece, “Fast Forward”. Both authors seem to acknowledge the strains and struggles that societies go through in order to fit in and both authors try to analyze those struggles in order to help people in our society to make our community stronger and better.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Article about Teenagers: Seventeen Magazine
The article that I have recently read is from Seventeen Magazine. I feel that I must preface this blog by saying that when I was a teen, my life revolved around this magazine. I t was equipped with all the best fashion advice, celebrity news, and the best boy tips ever. Now when reading this magazine I cannot help but feel a sense of superficiality run through my body while my IQ is dropping just a little lower. The article that I have chosen to read is,” Your Life: Is Your Friend for Real?” The article goes on to describe different types of friendships that a teen might have and the role that each one of these friendships play whether it be good or bad. The first picture viewed by the readers has two young girls with bubble thoughts around each one of their heads, one reads, “I always knew we’d be best friends!” while the other reads, “I hope she’ll give me a ride to the mall!” Mind you, these two girls are sitting there with their hands around each other both appearing to be best friends of the year. Throughout the article, there are words highlighted in red to stand out to the reader, those words are, “at the mall, scandal, crush, secret, popular”, isn’t this supposed to be an article about friendship. Now in my adulthood looking back at the magazine I am appalled, I feel that this magazine is a complete mockery of teens and based by this magazine, no wonder no adult would take them seriously. I think that this magazine assumes that teens are everything that Hines was trying to defend. I think that this magazine almost gives teens a reason to behave in a certain way because that is what’s expected from them anyway.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Talking Points 6 Fast Forward
Talking Points 6
Fast Forward
By: Lauren Greenfield
The article “Fast Forward” is about a woman’s, Lauren Greenfield, trip down memory lane into her youth as a young teen growing up in Los Angeles. In order to connect to her past, she spent sometime in areas that she was most familiar with. Through her experience, Greenfield reflects on what she refers to as her common theme, which helped to keep her focused throughout, which was the sense of an early loss of innocence. Greenfield recalls a teenager once saying, “You grow up really fast when you grow up in L.A. It seems like everyone is in a rush to be an adult. It’s not cool being a kid.” I feel that this statement is very telling of how most teens feel these days. I remember in my teenage years feeling the exact same way, having concerns that were way beyond my years, and worst of all it was all self-induced. I question why we as teenagers do this to ourselves, why must we rush through our childhood so fast to only live to regret how quickly it went by. Greenfield also mentions a boy asking her what she was doing, and when she explained, he very simply stated, “If you’re doing a story about growing up in L.A., you have to show money. That’s what it’s all about.” I find this statement to be depressing, the idea of a seventh grader, thirteen years old, only having one concern and that being money. Greenfield later states that when she processed the film to her camera, she noticed that the boys were holding up hundred dollar bills. Greenfield also goes on to discuss the pressures that teens have in trying to assimilate and fit into society. She explains that kids from all sides of the tracks now idealize the image of gangsta rap. This closely relates to Tricia Rose’s piece, Rose refers to teenagers buying into this gangsta rap, however all these rappers are rapping about are commercialized labeled brands, hip-hop/rap has changed so much over the years. It is no longer used a way to vent and release about life, so much as it is used to talk about the newest hottest brand name out there. I thought that Greenfield did a wonderful job of explaining her standpoint, before she ends her argument, she briefly mentions a young boy Ennis Beley, who was, as she describes, her advisor throughout this entire experience until he was killed in a brutal gang murder just before his sixteenth birthday. Overall, I enjoyed this article; I feel that Greenfield made very valid points, that we as adults can mildly remember experiencing. Greenfield states, “The self-consciousness that underlies their aspirations inevitably costs them their innocence”, and I could not agree more.
Fast Forward
By: Lauren Greenfield
The article “Fast Forward” is about a woman’s, Lauren Greenfield, trip down memory lane into her youth as a young teen growing up in Los Angeles. In order to connect to her past, she spent sometime in areas that she was most familiar with. Through her experience, Greenfield reflects on what she refers to as her common theme, which helped to keep her focused throughout, which was the sense of an early loss of innocence. Greenfield recalls a teenager once saying, “You grow up really fast when you grow up in L.A. It seems like everyone is in a rush to be an adult. It’s not cool being a kid.” I feel that this statement is very telling of how most teens feel these days. I remember in my teenage years feeling the exact same way, having concerns that were way beyond my years, and worst of all it was all self-induced. I question why we as teenagers do this to ourselves, why must we rush through our childhood so fast to only live to regret how quickly it went by. Greenfield also mentions a boy asking her what she was doing, and when she explained, he very simply stated, “If you’re doing a story about growing up in L.A., you have to show money. That’s what it’s all about.” I find this statement to be depressing, the idea of a seventh grader, thirteen years old, only having one concern and that being money. Greenfield later states that when she processed the film to her camera, she noticed that the boys were holding up hundred dollar bills. Greenfield also goes on to discuss the pressures that teens have in trying to assimilate and fit into society. She explains that kids from all sides of the tracks now idealize the image of gangsta rap. This closely relates to Tricia Rose’s piece, Rose refers to teenagers buying into this gangsta rap, however all these rappers are rapping about are commercialized labeled brands, hip-hop/rap has changed so much over the years. It is no longer used a way to vent and release about life, so much as it is used to talk about the newest hottest brand name out there. I thought that Greenfield did a wonderful job of explaining her standpoint, before she ends her argument, she briefly mentions a young boy Ennis Beley, who was, as she describes, her advisor throughout this entire experience until he was killed in a brutal gang murder just before his sixteenth birthday. Overall, I enjoyed this article; I feel that Greenfield made very valid points, that we as adults can mildly remember experiencing. Greenfield states, “The self-consciousness that underlies their aspirations inevitably costs them their innocence”, and I could not agree more.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Talking Points 5 Bad Boys
Talking Points 5
Bad Boys
By: Ann Arnett Ferguson
This article is about black males and how they are often labeled as “bad boys”. “This book tells the story of the making of these bad boys, not by members of the criminal justice system on street corners, or in shopping malls, or video arcades, but in and by the school, through punishment”, (page 2). I believe that this is an important fact to remember because, society is so quick to judge these young black students and cannot wait to give some sort of reason of why they may act the way that they do, but never seem to take any credit for these students struggles. I think through the article, Ferguson was able to paint a very clear picture of these students and how they are perceived verses how they actually acted. Ferguson gave us direct examples of how these students looked and felt, she describes a student as looking like Tupac Shakur in the advertisement for the movie Juice. Being a person who has seen this movie before can understand and visualize this person and remember the struggles that this young black male experienced in this movie. Ferguson also continues to explain the schools perception of a young black male, Horace, who was classified as “lazy, belligerent, incorrigible at school” but in other contexts was a “respectful, diligent, and responsible”, (page 15). I feel that students always seem to be stereotyped in these situations and the pressures and assumptions from the school often times hinder the student’s ability to be a successful student.
Some things that I found to be confusing was that the text could often time drag on and get slightly lengthy and boring to read which would cause me to lose attention. I also thought that Ferguson tends to use very eloquent words and add them into these very long and lengthy sentences, which I feel at times, could distract you from reading and understanding her true point or concept.
I felt that this text easily related to Tricia Rose’s piece. I felt that both authors tried to explain hip-hop and understand the correlation between it and the youth of today. I also felt that this article related to Hines’ piece, “The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager”. I think both articles show how people are stereotyped and how by doing that we are hindering the abilities of the young population whether they are black or white. I feel that by assuming that people are not capable to complete certain tasks or by assuming that they have a particular personality flaw, allows teenagers to assume these roles and never strive for excellence.
Bad Boys
By: Ann Arnett Ferguson
This article is about black males and how they are often labeled as “bad boys”. “This book tells the story of the making of these bad boys, not by members of the criminal justice system on street corners, or in shopping malls, or video arcades, but in and by the school, through punishment”, (page 2). I believe that this is an important fact to remember because, society is so quick to judge these young black students and cannot wait to give some sort of reason of why they may act the way that they do, but never seem to take any credit for these students struggles. I think through the article, Ferguson was able to paint a very clear picture of these students and how they are perceived verses how they actually acted. Ferguson gave us direct examples of how these students looked and felt, she describes a student as looking like Tupac Shakur in the advertisement for the movie Juice. Being a person who has seen this movie before can understand and visualize this person and remember the struggles that this young black male experienced in this movie. Ferguson also continues to explain the schools perception of a young black male, Horace, who was classified as “lazy, belligerent, incorrigible at school” but in other contexts was a “respectful, diligent, and responsible”, (page 15). I feel that students always seem to be stereotyped in these situations and the pressures and assumptions from the school often times hinder the student’s ability to be a successful student.
Some things that I found to be confusing was that the text could often time drag on and get slightly lengthy and boring to read which would cause me to lose attention. I also thought that Ferguson tends to use very eloquent words and add them into these very long and lengthy sentences, which I feel at times, could distract you from reading and understanding her true point or concept.
I felt that this text easily related to Tricia Rose’s piece. I felt that both authors tried to explain hip-hop and understand the correlation between it and the youth of today. I also felt that this article related to Hines’ piece, “The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager”. I think both articles show how people are stereotyped and how by doing that we are hindering the abilities of the young population whether they are black or white. I feel that by assuming that people are not capable to complete certain tasks or by assuming that they have a particular personality flaw, allows teenagers to assume these roles and never strive for excellence.
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