...COMS 354: The Visual Culture of Crime Kristina Ezhova 260454703 April 9, 2015 “Monster”: Misogyny, Racism, and Popular Culture Kanye West is a prominent figure in popular culture nowadays and his reputation is quite complicated and conflicting. West is acclaimed as one of the best rappers of this era, and is celebrated as a successful entrepreneur and fashion designer. However, he is also frequently condemned for his outspoken personality and offensive attitude. From numerous acceptance speech interruptions to questionable interviews and statements, Kanye West has created a contradictory image for himself in the media and is often characterized as a misogynist. The music video for his single “Monster,” in which he collaborated with Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver, and Nicki Minaj, was released in 2011 and almost immediately became known as deeply controversial: the six-minute clip, which depicts dead women hanging from ceilings and scantily clad in lingerie, was banned by MTV for its violence and explicit content toward women (Vassar). Undeniably, the misogynistic theme runs throughout the video, however, West has defended himself by stating that “the concept of models hanging or people being eaten alive or [other] type of visuals for a horrific video was purely artistic” and addressed the ignorance of misogynistic accusations by claiming that “they [women’s rights activists] couldn’t understand how a rapper can have a taste high enough to do something like that without being...
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...racism | (rszm) n. 1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.racist adj. & n. | → The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. racism (ˈreɪsɪzəm) or racialism n 1. (Sociology) the belief that races has distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some races with an intrinsic superiority over others 2. (Sociology) abusive or aggressive behavior towards members of another race on the basis of such a belief ˈracist ˈracialist n, adj →Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003 rac•ism (ˈreɪsɪzəm) n. 1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usu. involving the idea that one's own race is superior. 2. a policy, system of government, etc., based on such a doctrine. 3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. [1865–70; < French racisme. See race2, -ism] rac′ist, n., adj. →Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. racism 1. a belief that human races have...
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...abstract symbols through the use of characters. Harper Lee use birds to symbolize traits in various characters throughout the book. Although it is not just mockingbirds used as the only bird example. When Jem and Scout receive guns to shoot for fun, Atticus warns them against shooting mockingbirds. However, he states that they may shoot all the blue jays they desire. Blue jays are the nuance bird; this connects to Bob Ewell due to the fact that he is the perfect display of a blue jay. The blue jays represent the prejudiced citizens of Maycomb; they are ever present and continue to taunt others. Atticus goes on to tell the kids that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The mockingbird is the innocent bird and therefore sums up Tom Robinson the most clearly. As being an innocent man that is only being tried due to his race, he embodies the mockingbird perfectly. Throughout the many lessons Atticus gives to Jem and Scout in the book, killing a mockingbird is the only thing he ever told them was a sin. Atticus is a man of strong ambition and great character; his defense against Tom is put at a complete contrast against the blue jay of Bob Ewell. “Atticus does, indeed, represent a hero in the novel. He is rational and impartial, in a world that is...
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...think about it.” --Lebert Joseph, Praisesong for the Widow Paule Marshall’s autobiographical article “From the Poets in the Kitchen,” published a month before her novel Praisesong for the Widow, describes stories from her childhood that reflect the immigrant experience, addressing the constant presence of the Caribbean and its influence on Marshall’s life while growing up in the United States. Marshall’s mother and her female friends, immigrants from Barbados, would gather in the Marshall kitchen after their days of working in low-paid jobs to chat, gossip, and “tackle the great issues of the time” including the economy, politics, war, and their nostalgia for home. They discussed their adopted home, America—acknowledging both the racism they endured, and also the wealth of possibilities that the country offered. These women and their stories were, for Marshall, the origins of her fiction. She asserts that a writer’s ability to render everyday speech is derived from close listening, and the talk that “filled the kitchen” additionally functioned as a kind of therapeutic catharsis, a release of creative energy. The special kind of language used between certain groups of people gives writers their own narrative and unique language: “The principle means by which a character in a novel or story reveals himself and gives voice sometimes to profound feelings and complex ideas about himself and the world.” Although Marshall ultimately transitions from the kitchen table to...
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...In these articles (two of them) "Black Lives Matter" by BBC News Staff and "Brown v. Broad" by Emma Brown, Washington Post. According to "Black Lives Matter", "a black cop who has a problem with ‘Back Lives Matter'. In "Brown v. Board" is the evidence of segregating colored people. They both have to do with colored people and their rights. These articles can change others opinions or their thinking. In this article "Black Lives Matter", this black cop has a strong feeling about the topic. In fact, he says "Black lives do not matter to most black people… Only the lives that are taken at the hands of cops or white people, matter". The post was shared on Facebook more than 130,000 times. The police officers' name is Jay Stalien, working...
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...The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel about a man by the name of Jay Gatsby, trying to win the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, but his background eventually destroys him. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a horrendous novel due to its attack on social classes, the American dream, and going against traditional and religious values. The attack on social classes is shown through characterization by displaying the upper class as full of bootleggers, adulterers, and racists. The novel´s antagonization of the American dream is shown through theme showing that a man who started from scratch makes millions and it leads to his own downfall. The plot of The Great Gatsby also goes against traditional and religious values by making the novel about two lovers having an affair....
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...as the Bronx in New York or Compton in California, which are predominantly African communities. Other groups with out-spoken messages included N.W.A with songs such as ‘Straight Outta Compton’ and ‘F*** tha Police’. These songs protested against police brutality and racial profiling occurring in the African American community. Over the years, N.W.A have been described as notorious, advocates of violence and as controversial. In the eyes of N.W.A and its supporters, their music was ‘reality rap’ and gave an insight to the life African Americans endured. Another example of strong messages and lyrics conveyed in his music was Tupac Shakur (2pac). 2pac wrote lyrics with the aim of spreading the message of gender equality, eradicating poverty, racism and police brutality. These songs included ‘Keep Ya Head Up’, ‘Changes’, ‘Ghetto Gospel’ and ‘Trapped’. The album 2pacalypse was noted with controversy by then U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle in 1991. His...
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...Hip Hop lays the foundation to an underrepresented culture. Hip Hop was created in the early 1970s by black and latino youth living in the economically depressed community. It incorporates so many elements which have given and allowed people to finally find a platform where they can speak freely upon the unjustified acts that their people have tolerated throughout the years. It exposes the public to racism, gang violence, drug abuse in their neighborhood. Also it is a way where many people can express and be represented in the larger public sphere, and seek proper validation of the black male, female voice to improve the black community. Hip hop has turned into a global phenomenon. Yet their are so many negative factors that have destructively...
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...Hip Hop: A Way of Thinking? Since the development of hip hop nearly three decades, it has become a ubiquitous form of music in the nation, influencing the youth with its edgy music and empathetic lyrics. First pioneered in the streets of New York as a response to the oppression of blacks during the civil rights movement, hip hop and its successful influence on its listeners, especially the black youth, was able to thrive due to its uncanny ability to adapt and respond to the problems that that era presents. From the socially and politically conscious hip hop (SPC hip hop) during the civil rights movements to the mainstream music we hear on the radio today, the difference in message projected by today’s modern, hyper-masculine hip hop onto society compared with that of SPC hip hop has become a controversial subject criticized by American media such as Byron Hurt’s movie “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” and Tricia Rose’s article “There Are Bitches and Hoes.” With regards to the negatives that hip-hop music could have on society, the songs “Let Nas Down” by J. Cole, “Come Get Me” by Jay-Z and “Bitches Ain’t Shit” by YG each respectively complicate, exemplify and extend Hurt’s claims that hip hop artists solely produce generic, hyper masculine mainstream music for the production of records; glorify violence and negatively portray women as sexual objects in order to prove their man hood. When the song “Let Nas Down” by J. Cole is analyzed through a historical context and compared...
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...huge impact in this era of Black excellence? Let’s list a few. Phillis Wheatley. She was the first ever published African-American female poet....
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...Raisin in the Sun. For example, they are similar because their entire lives revolve around money. Also, they define their lives by determining what social class they live in. Another main likeness between the two is that they reside in large cities. Which leads to problems that people in rural communities wouldn’t have. On the other hand, they also have major differences. One is wealthy, the other lives in poverty. Jay Gatsby lives in a paradise-like community in New York, while Walter Younger and his family live in the slums of Chicago. Another difference between them is their race. Jay, being a white, is a well respected individual in his part of town. The Youngers, being African American, have a hard time finding their place in the city of Chicago. Especially when they decide to move to a white association. The final difference is that even though they are in similar situations, and despite their hardships, the Younger family always seems to find a silver lining in whatever they are going through. Gatsby, on the other hand, is always discontent with his life. Jay Gatsby, a bootlegger, was probably introduced to “big money” when he started in the business. Because of that, events that occur during his life, or big decisions that he has to make, is centered around money. In other words, every thought that runs through his mind deals (in some way) with his money, or money that can be earned. This is also the case for the Younger family in A Raisin in the Sun. Although it may seem...
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...In the world everyone comes from different cultures, beliefs, and appearances. Racism has been a part of society for a pretty long time. Racism occurs because one person or group may not like another race. Thus, people harass and hurt each other whether physically, emotionally, or mentally. Racism can be seen in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez, where in both books whites are portrayed to be superior then the rest. For example in the 1920’s the whites thought that they were the superior race. Till today many different races look down on each other. Quinonez 2000 novel Bodega Dreams shows us how our race could determine how we are treated in society. The novel talks about the real life of Spanish Harlem neighborhoods. The Great Gatsby was a story told by Nick...
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... Much of our perceptions of the world are based on narratives and the images that we see in film, television, radio, music, and other media. These are some of the outlets that construct how individuals see their social identities, as well as learn and understand about what it is to be black, white, Native American, Asian, South American, etc. (Dow, Wood, 2006, p. 297). You will get a better understanding of this once you understand the concept of ideologies. Ideologies are what create our perception of the world around us, whether it is political, social, economic, etc. Ideologies are not the product of individual intention or conscious, rather we create our intentions within ideology (Marris, Thornham, 2000, p. 267). These ideologies exist before we are even born; they form the social constructions and conditions that we are born into. But, ideologies are just a practice, and it is produced and reproduced in apparatus of ideological production. The media is a great example of an apparatus of ideological production (Marris, Thornham, 2000, p. 273). It produces social meanings and distributes them throughout society. However, as long as ideologies continue so will social struggles such as racism, which we will discuss in this essay. Media elites represent different races through media based on their ideologies. This has a predominant influence on the social constructions of race and contributes to our understanding of it. The media is bias. This is due to the bias in the...
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...Misogyny Page1 In today’s view hip hop is blamed for the negative images of women in music videos. When it comes to degrading and sexist representations of women in music, it is often perceived as misogynistic. Misogyny in hip hop culture refers to lyrics, videos or other aspects of hip hop culture that justifies exploitation of women. Hip hop has influenced modern popular culture, saturating mass media through music videos, radio broadcasts, and a variety of others. Most of the lyrics and images you see today in the hip-hop industry portray women of all ethnicities as sexual objects and depicts the exploitation of women. The image of dozens of semi-naked women dancing provocatively around one famous rapper has become the usual in music videos. Hip hop has become a mess of unrealistic images of female sexuality. Some defend that the sexism in hip hop is a part of a hip hop artist life. If that’s the case then how did this image become the accepted standard of hip hop music video format? Many artists try to manipulate their fans in believing that this is their lifestyle, but the main reason behind that is sex sell and it draws people in. Some women have made careers of this lifestyle. If you pay attention to hip hop videos you may see some of the same faces in multiple videos. The more revealing they are the more casting calls and more money they will receive. To me I find it embarrassing that rappers degrade females in their music videos but still have the same ones in every...
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...racial group. The main reason in advocating racial profiling in the background of criminal study can enlarge the possibility of arresting criminals. Paul Bou-Habib stated, “If the rate at which members of a specific racial group commits a crime is higher than that of other criminals will be caught if the police concentrate their efforts on investigating members of the racial group in question?” (2011, p.34). It is not right when police officers, political officials, and judges make decisions based on predetermined racist and some would say ignorant beliefs. For example, my friend was in McDonald’s parking lot and he was in the process of switching seats with his friend because he was exhausted of driving. . The term “driving while black has been used to describe the practice of law enforcement officials to stop African-American drivers without probable cause” (Weatherspoon, 2004). This is one of the leading minority men are pulled over in their vehicle. Which usually leads to a unwarranted stop and either summons or sometime even arrest depending on the situation. To make matters worse, once the individual is unjustly cited or arrested its almost impossible to fight the case. The justice system usually sides with the officer. Currently, the mis-education of children in our school systems has played a huge part in this problem. Racist beliefs are an acquired trait. No one...
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