Killing the youth: The message in the music

 Pop culture is popular media, activities, or any trend of this current generation that can affect the minds of the youth. I agree with Adorno to some degree. The degree being that pop culture does in fact have control over a lot of individuals, not all, but very many. The aspect of pop culture that is an example of this is first and foremost, music. Music has such an impact on todays younger generation its almost scary.

   This first image is the positive side. Back in the day rap music, and music in general used to have a positive message. Rappers rapped about the struggles they faced, and staying uplifted, and how to make a way out of a negative situation. Especially when it came to the black youth. It was about being proud of your skin color and where you come from, and Tupac exemplified that by making it ok to talk about respecting woman and being an example to the youth, not this foolishness we see in the world of pop culture amongst my fellow African Americans today, and even young white kids.

 

Now on a negative note, This modern day music is not good, and it truly is controlling. Music now a days forces you to think that you have to be a certain way, or carry yourself a certain way in order to justify your blackness, which is wrong because your actions do not define your ethnic background. It's true because kids think because a rapper sags his pants, "I have to do it," or because he does this drug I have to try it. Basically what I am trying to say is that music is causing kids to be followers so they feel as if they fit in or are "cool." The most detrimental thing music in pop-culture has done is give the youth the acceptance of the N word. In times past that word was not tolerated at all, but now if you say it, it gives you a since of cool, or it becomes an endearing term. It has gotten so bad that even young white kids, and all races are using it like it is a normal word. This is all through the influence of modern music because almost every rapper today loves to use the word in every line.

                                                      This is the example we see today
                   http://reason4rhymes.com/2013/03/hip-hop-news/music-industry-exec-says-gangsta-rap-is-designed-to-send-black-people-to-prison/




 At the end of the day Adorno had a point by stating that pop-culture today makes today's people followers, and no longer thinkers for themselves. Instead youth feel they have to act this way to fit in. I honestly have to say that this is true because most of these kid's are trying to do everything the latest hip rappers are doing instead of trying to get educations, or reasonable occupations because what they see on TV seems like the easy way out.

IT BEEN DONE ALREADY

Alot of things have been repetitive like music and movies. Now you go back to the early 90s where movies were all about fun and all not saying its not like that now but lets take it back to 1990 the movie "HOUSE PARTY" about this two guys who rap, dances,throw parties and like talking to girls and getting the hottest girls. 

Now look at this movies "Footlosse" a 2011 film looks familiar doesn't it. Its like whatever was done before it's time to do it again and make better. Everything is being REPETIVIE!!!!!!! Now tell me I'm wrong?

 

Mass Media Talks Politics

I'm a huge fan of 30 Rock, even though its no longer on the air, I still
watch it borderline religiously. Throughout repeating the seasons, I've
been able to notice and follow the subtle narrative this show portrays.
In the first seasons of the show they poke fun at conservatives, they
portray them as old fashioned and stupid. I remember in the one episode,
Tina Fey's character Liz encouraging their actors to say they are
voting for Obama while being interviewed. As we look back in hindsight
of the show we can follow in the beginning they made subtle
encouragements in favor of Obama's campaign. Statements like "Just
because I believe in gay marriage, and I think everyone should drive
electric cars, doesn't mean I hate America." represent more left wing.
There is a constant clash of the political parties, but for the most
part throughout the first 5 seasons, the show demonstrates favoritism to
the Obama Administration. Its not until season 7, the final season and
the year of Obama's reelection that the show finally takes a stab at the
Liberal Party. In the clip below you see Liz, who usually speaks with
such authority on why we should support Obama, stumbling over her words.
All while her friend jack, who is conservative to a fault, is seen
making an example of her. What do you think? Could sitcoms push certain
ideals without us noticing?

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ9O8D3QCNo

(Sorry apparently you have to follow the link, embedding was disabled)

Disney/Animated Subliminal messages

Innuendos in Disney/Animated Movies

I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember if I knew that Chel and Tulio were (that kind of friends).  Or in "Beauty and the Beast" when the Candle holder and the broom are getting frisky behind the curtains? Honestly I’m not sure if I didn't care, didn't notice or maybe I really was just too little to understand. Did this image ever phase me as a kid, or distort my way of thinking? I don't think so, maybe it just gave me a sense of humor. 

 But when did I start understanding? Was there an AHA moment or did it just slide in when I started to understand more… Here is a clip from "Eldorado" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR7azhjUJuo Kind of crazy, right? But you can’t help but laugh. Here are some less obvious ones that I didn’t know about in Disney.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paG9Y6Wijdk

Now how about more recent movies? Are they better or worse? I know the Madagascar movies have a couple choice phrases. Are these sense harmless? What do you think?

Check out the link below to look at more.. I didn't know all of the ones they were talking about.

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1g3bqv/whats_the_funniest_adult_innuendo_from_a/

Motivation in Pop Culture

The other day in class we were talking about if a movie could actually motivate us, some people made the point that the movie The Pursuit of Happiness motivated them, having never seen that movie I Googled quotes from the movie and the most common one that came up was “Don't ever let someone tell you, you can't do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period. All right?” said by Will Smith’s character. 

That quote is very powerful in the sense that, he wants to teach his son that he can dream big and achieve anything he wants to, and that he should ignore any one that tells him that he cannot reach his goals. I think that anyone with big dreams only has two options; they can either go forward and not let anyone or anything get in the way of them achieving their goals or they get tired and discouraged along the way and they give up. There isn’t really any other option.

 But what happens when you dream this big dream and you’re standing at the middle, with people watching you and counting on you, and you just think to yourself that you don’t have what it takes to achieve this goal. You want to just slide by and hope no one notices, but in reality there are people around us watching and willing to do whatever to get us to our goal.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sUKoKQlEC4

I think this scene from Facing the Giants, is a great example of how many people doubt their own ability to succeed. Sometimes we need something or someone to point out to us that we can do twice as much as what we think we can, we just have to be shown. If it’s a movie, music, TV show, or quotes.

What is Originality.... Isn't everything just something bigger or better?

Think of someone or something that inspires you,something that motivates you or influences you in some way or another. Why does it influence you? Why do you want to be more like that person per say or have your paper, or painting, or music or what have you resemble or be inspired by that person or style, etc.?  Do you think media ever changes your life? We discussed in class one time if anyone had ever watched a movie or such that literally changed their life. However I think that the movie doesn’t change, rather it influences you to make a change for yourself, because ultimately that movie didn’t make you choose to do something, that was your own will power. It simply just gave you the idea or inspiration you might say.

Originality: the ability to think independently and creatively.

Frankfurt claims we have no originality in our days. Nothing is new or independent, rather everything is duplicated or simply adjusted with a slight twist. But is that slight twist originality? Or would that slight twist be the same as something as simple as when we paraphrase a paragraph from a source we found and want to include in our "own" paper. Is inspiration originality, or is it simply taking someone elses idea and expanding on it ourselves, adding our “own”, “unique” “twists” making it original? But if all we are doing is repeating, mimicking all of the original, where exactly is the starting line drawn where the origin of the originality resides?

We all were those kids who have that one person, that one hero we looked up to for one reason or another. Everybody starts out with influences and inspirations in their life. I wouldn’t doubt all great singers did covers before they started to create their own originals. Aren’t we all those same kids just grown up as authors, directors, painters, doctors, architects etc. that has had those previous people who were or are still our inspirations? And so, are we not all just bigger or better versions (or attempts to be) of our inspirations. All of the great originals most likely had inspirations along their way to become original. Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel, remarkable piece of art, but is it truly original? I mean really they are just paintings of angels and or have connections within it that are derived from stories, from history. SO really isn’t the painting just a bigger, better version of a story, just in a different form? Is different considered originality? If so, then isn’t that slight twist count as our originality too?  And so where is the origin of it all? After all aren’t airplanes just an inspiration from the birds and aren’t we as humans just better versions of apes? Or if we came from Adam are we better versions of the first man, but isn’t that left for God to decide?

But after all they are just inspirations and all they do is simply influence our life. We were the ones who “chose” to make the change. It was you inside your own mind who decided to paint that stroke, play that note, capture that scene, operate and save that person’s life, teach and make a difference in that child’s life, etc. Isn’t that the beauty of life that we get to independently make our own choices? So aren’t all of our added twists, all of our choses original? Aren’t our lives in themselves original enough? But as cliche or unoriginal as is sounds it only matters if you are happy, cause believe it or not life is short. 

Since yesterday was the 11^th of September, it made me think about the awful events that happened 13 years ago but also about the documentary 'Fahrenheit 911' by Michael Moore that focuses on what happened afterwards. This documentary is the highest grossing documentary of all times according to Wikipedia. I don't know if you guys know it or what Moore's reputation is in the US but one thing I find remarkable about him is that he dares to stand up. He made documentaries criticizing Bush, the gun laws, capitalism and so on. I looked at Moore's background, and he is coming from a working class family and he most likely grew up with popular culture, but yet he developed to someone that thinks politically and questions the given order of things. He uses the culture industry to spread his messages and reaches people and I think he made a lot of people aware of things that they did not know before. I think his documentaries and documentaries in general prove that a movie that was produced by the culture industry can actually have political effects on the audience. That was something Adorno didn't consider and couldn't know regarding the time he lived in. I couldn't find any evidence of people saying that his documentaries made them aware of something so I wanted to ask you if you have watched any documentary of him (or any documentary in general) and if that changed anything about the way you perceive things?

(I don't really have an opinion on Moore in case he is despised by the majority, I just think his documentaries are interesting)