Vocabulary
Egalitarianism: asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, esp. in political, economic, or social life.
Minstrel: one of a troupe of comedians, usually white men made up as black performers, presenting songs, jokes, etc.
Monolithic: characterized by massiveness, total uniformity, rigidity, invulnerability
Obstreperous: resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly
Recalcitrance: resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory
Chapter 1 talks about the modern day rappers becoming this generation’s minstrel show. Perpetrating stereotypes and portraying what some believe as the definition of blackness. Summary: In this chapter Ogbar is trying to convey the point that the idea of the “controlling images” of black people reflecs the role that black artists, from minstrel shows to rap songs, assume in articulating dominant ideas about black people, reducing them to sterotypes.
Example: Modern hip-hop and how they are sort of in a way making a mockery of themselves...parading around talking about foolish things, just for the entertainment of mainly white people. Most commercial hip-hop videos could be an example of this, like Candyshop that we watched in class today. It had no real deep meaning, only setting a negative image for black people.
My personal analysis of all of this is that yes, I think people do make a big deal out of nothing sometimes, but if you really look at a hip-hop video, and see the way they portray themselves, the critics may have a point. Black people need to embrace their culture and heritage, rather than money, cars, bitches, and hoes...even though that is what is mainstream, and what makes the most money. It still doesn't help the image of their race, and can be compared to a Minstrel Show. On the other hand though, like Ladi said in class..why don't people bring up the Cherry Pie video by Warrant? White people make the same sort of oversexualized, shallow, meaningless videos, but no one seems to stereotype them..
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Do you listen to hip-hip? Do you like Ogbar’s book? I do not like the parts I read and understood. I have never listened to hip-hop music and after what I have learned in class I do not think I ever will. Do you think rapping reduces black people to stereotypes? I think it is bad that black rappers try to identify with gangs or are proud of having shot someone or dealt drugs. Surely they could find better reasons to make them more credible. I think it is scary that mostly young people listen to hip-hop. I think it is a bad influence on them. I agree that it gives blacks a bad image and the fact that it is so heavily published by the media does not help the fact. I am glad that I was not raised with exposure to this culture.
ReplyDeleteI think even in the early 1900’s when they were portraying the minstrel as a white man with his face painted black that it was a bad image for the blacks because it sort of held them up as the clowns in the public eye. They should have taken a hint that blacks did not find their shows funny when the audience was mostly white. It did not help them get jobs and equality when they were constantly being held up as the no-gooders. I thought it was interesting that President Abraham Lincoln that was so opposed to slavery enjoyed watching minstrel shows which implied that whites were supreme over blacks.
I am a huge fan of hip-hop and I listen to it a lot. Before we started reading the book, I honestly had never heard about the minstrel show. I don’t really feel that rap artists today are doing the same thing that is portrayed in the minstrel show. They are doing what is popular. They are trying to make money, not be a show for somebody else. I agree with you, in that people often make a big deal out of nothing. I don’t really think anybody would have thought anything about the minstrel show had it not be mentioned in this book, I know I didn’t. I do also agree with you in, when you say they are setting the stereotype. Many rap videos are showing them doing foolish things, such as throwing money around while having parties with women dancing and flashy cars. I think there’s other ways to show that you have wealth and that you have came from the bottom. I do see the other side of things though, because they are just doing what is popular to do now. They aren’t doing anything that’s different from what the next person is doing in their music and music videos. There are other genres of music that have videos of women portrayed as objects and of parties. I have seen some rock videos with this in them and they are in my opinion doing the same thing. I feel that it is because of our mainstream views that these artists are acting this way in their videos.
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