So just to start off this is not a bash on any of the musicians, ask anybody and they'll tell you that trina is my favorite music artist alive so there's no way this should be twisted as a dis on her.
In class we talked about there being a huge income gap, and I believe its the media that links a persons income to the recession happening in America.
So this is a prime example of how media drives peoples wallets and I believe without cocky songs like this there would either be no recession or we'd be out of it by now. People listen to songs like this and see music videos similar to this one and then they want to be like that. People strive their whole lives to be able to have a whole buch of cars, big houses, and maybe just maybe be seen as a Million Dollar Girl [or boy]. But the thing about people is that we want instant gratification, so we won't wait to be legitly rich to spend a lot of money.
People watch these videos and want to be just like the musicians in it so they go out and spend their money so they feel more like the people they see on TV, hear in songs, or watch in movies. But what each and every one of us finds out is that our paychecks only go so far, and its no where near the amount Keri Hilson can spend off her paychecks. But we still do this by spend, spend, spend, spending our money on materialistic things to make us feel richer than we are when in reality we're digging ourselves into a deeper hole versus climbing up to the top.
This then causes people to be scrapping up their last dollars in order to pay for their true necesities (bills, food, etc). This then diminishes the money people want to be saving for the future, which then causes people to take out loans in order to pay for the things they need. The high amount of loans being ok'd by banks is not the only factor and contribution to the recession, but it definetly takes a piece of that pie.
*video from http://www.mtv.com/videos/trina/495537/million-dollar-girl.jhtml#artist=710288
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Alicia Keys Opens Opens The Door Of Present Day Racism
In my opinion, anything Alicia Keys touches turns to gold. When I saw this video, I knew it would be perfect for this class. In the video she addresses a very common issue in the black community; the issue of a black person dating someone not black. This is a commonly thought of notion that white people and black people shouldn't date (not as previlant in the present, but its definetly still out there) and it really hits home for me because alot of my friends are black, and even me just being their friend has stirred up drama with certain people. But also my boyfriend Kevin was black, and we were really serious and had a strong relationship and could back that up to anybody that wanted to question it so our races shouldn't make any difference in the judgements made on our relationship. But the concept I will be talking about in this blog was a bit different than the video, because his family and friends really had no problem with me being white at all they took me in as one if I'd known them for years; but there were a few people that either met him or saw a picture of him and said things like "wow, you're dating a black guy?!" or "he's black? never would've thought I'd see you with a black guy" I really don't understand why interracial dating is seen as such a taboo topic and surprising concept when its seen in the real world.
The thing that struck me in particular about this video is the jump between all the different time periods throughout the video. I've never really seen that in a music video, and if there have been they've been subtle and not a big potion of the theme of the music video. All the different fashions, hair styles, cars, settings that age the look of the images themselves (black and white or tinting), etc make it such an interesting and powerful video linking the past with the present.
This video embraces that racism from back in the day is still alive today and gives the idea that its not any different than back then. By switching the time period in nearly each scene with all the same faces without aging them gives the viewer the ability to relate to the characters. The director basically tricks the viewer into opening their eyes and seeing this as a real life thing, not just something studied in history. It shows us the same people with their hair, fashion, and general settings comletely changed from what we see and know in our daily lives and then switch it after making a point in the past to the present day in the same setting but with present day technology, fashion, hair styles, etc which is the key used to open the door of active racism in the present day.
This video is very sybolic to me and really speaks to me because as I said before I've basically lived this, and even though the racist behaviors of people seemingly have deminished the sad truth is they haven't.
*video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhuGQUZJot8
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Being "Disabled" Can Be Sexy...Can't It?
Watch this video, I'm not going to explain why til after you watch it because as you watch it you will know exactly why I chose this video.
[If you wanna go back to the part I focus on as you read what I write, go to the 2:30 mark] So in the video around the start you see Lady Gaga get out of a limo in a wheel chair with a neck brace and a completely stiff body. But this entrance is very different than any really disabled persons would ever be. She is surrounded by men all dressed up like butlers dancing around her in a worshiping way by the way they don't ever truely touch her when they put their hands around her except for when they help her take some of her clothes off and they carry her up the stairs while still dancing along side her as one pushing her across the flatter grounds. They make her seem as this epic piece of royalty. Then when she gets inside whose there to welcome her home? Some decked out tredy twists on maid figures. Also dancing but forming a line around Gaga leading her into her outrageously massive mansion.
Also she is dressed pretty damn good from someone "just out of the hospital" with first her metal corsette, frilly shoulder pads, and lace leggings which then change when the butlers help her take off her clothes. The new outfit is a pair of stilletos, a gold metal leotard with a matching helmet, and a pair of crutches; and not even the crutches you typically see on people fresh out of the hospital they're the ones stereotypically seen on people depiciting physically disabled individuals.
I know what you're think, what the hell is she doing?! I like Gaga but I still think the same thing even though I've seen this video many times since its release over a year ago. But I believe you could take this scene in 2 different ways: making a mockery of the disabled community along with the idea of embracing the disabled community and giving them a new look.
It's very obvious that disabled people [or even able bodied people] ever get this sort of treatment. But the outfit she eventually changed in to with the metal leotard is very negetively depicting a disabled individual and how they walk and how they might be dressed. Her way of waddling towards the camera and her facial expressions make it seem as if she's making fun of a disabled person more than depicting someone who just arrived home from the hospital.
Now you can't even tell me that this depicts a positive image of disability.
But the posibility that she is more embracing and showing a positive image of the disabled community is the fact that she's glamorizing and sexualizing a disabled individual. Which may not sound like a good thing, and that it could still be mocking the group of people but in a way its not. Most groups of people have a sexual being that is apart of their same group and gives them someone to look up to, well the disabled community doesn't really. So I see this as something that could potentially include the disabled community in the sexual idolism that the world has because Gaga makes herself a disabled person and makes herself look sexually pleasing thus connecting the two and including disabled people in something never really seen before: having sex appeal.
*video from search results on Hulu.com which linked me to the video on MTV's website http://www.mtv.com/videos/lady-gaga/400705/paparazzi.jhtml#artist=3061469
*photo from http://www.wornthrough.com/2010/01/page/2
[If you wanna go back to the part I focus on as you read what I write, go to the 2:30 mark] So in the video around the start you see Lady Gaga get out of a limo in a wheel chair with a neck brace and a completely stiff body. But this entrance is very different than any really disabled persons would ever be. She is surrounded by men all dressed up like butlers dancing around her in a worshiping way by the way they don't ever truely touch her when they put their hands around her except for when they help her take some of her clothes off and they carry her up the stairs while still dancing along side her as one pushing her across the flatter grounds. They make her seem as this epic piece of royalty. Then when she gets inside whose there to welcome her home? Some decked out tredy twists on maid figures. Also dancing but forming a line around Gaga leading her into her outrageously massive mansion.
Also she is dressed pretty damn good from someone "just out of the hospital" with first her metal corsette, frilly shoulder pads, and lace leggings which then change when the butlers help her take off her clothes. The new outfit is a pair of stilletos, a gold metal leotard with a matching helmet, and a pair of crutches; and not even the crutches you typically see on people fresh out of the hospital they're the ones stereotypically seen on people depiciting physically disabled individuals.
I know what you're think, what the hell is she doing?! I like Gaga but I still think the same thing even though I've seen this video many times since its release over a year ago. But I believe you could take this scene in 2 different ways: making a mockery of the disabled community along with the idea of embracing the disabled community and giving them a new look.
It's very obvious that disabled people [or even able bodied people] ever get this sort of treatment. But the outfit she eventually changed in to with the metal leotard is very negetively depicting a disabled individual and how they walk and how they might be dressed. Her way of waddling towards the camera and her facial expressions make it seem as if she's making fun of a disabled person more than depicting someone who just arrived home from the hospital.
Now you can't even tell me that this depicts a positive image of disability.
But the posibility that she is more embracing and showing a positive image of the disabled community is the fact that she's glamorizing and sexualizing a disabled individual. Which may not sound like a good thing, and that it could still be mocking the group of people but in a way its not. Most groups of people have a sexual being that is apart of their same group and gives them someone to look up to, well the disabled community doesn't really. So I see this as something that could potentially include the disabled community in the sexual idolism that the world has because Gaga makes herself a disabled person and makes herself look sexually pleasing thus connecting the two and including disabled people in something never really seen before: having sex appeal.
*video from search results on Hulu.com which linked me to the video on MTV's website http://www.mtv.com/videos/lady-gaga/400705/paparazzi.jhtml#artist=3061469
*photo from http://www.wornthrough.com/2010/01/page/2
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Blackface, Yellowface...Fatface?
So last week we examined blackface and what it is along with yellowface and other ways of white people negatively depicting other races by dressing like them, changing their skin tones, etc. so i really wanted to write this weeks blog on that topic and relate it to something in the modern media that portrays media and made lots of money yet didn't really get called out. After alot of research trying to find this big hit that portrayed blackface, yellowface, etc that wasn't really blown up in the media I finally stumbled upon the perfect choice: Norbit!
Norbit is a movie that came out back in 2007 and was an instant success, I will admit I watched it 2 or 3 times in the theatre as did many other viewers due to its outrageous comedic appeal. The movie is basically Eddie Murphy playing 3 different roles in the same movie. He plays Norbit [a very timid man that allows everybody to walk all over him], Resputia [an obese woman that acts as if she owns the world], and Mister Wong [an Asian man that is the owner of a Chinese Restaurant that's also an orphanage].
These are the 3 characters he played in order from the way i listed them in the previous paragraph. He clearly didn't use blackface in this due to the obvious fact that Eddie Murphy is African-American and it is very obvious that he used yellowface, but has he added in a new twist on blackface? In my opinion I would say yes and I would deem it fatface. Throughout the movie alongside the extremely racist characteristics of Mr. Wong there are jabs at obese women, thus brining it back to the days when it was funny to make a white person black and do some rediculous shenanigens because now Eddie Murphy is an obese woman and making her look crazy but doing it in a comedic way; thus the same as the old blackface films, shows, etc.
In my opinion the idea of the blackface will prefail through each and every generation. Back in the day America had the black face, then during the war we had yellowface, but in modern day its very subtle and we have more than just one blunt negative dpeiction of a particular group of people and the one that is sticking out is my idea of fatface. The 21st century has taken a turn for the worse with so many young people with eating disorders, thinking they're fat, or being at all selfconcious due to their appearence. Think back to the days when blackface was popular, do you think African-Americans' self esteem was sky rocketing? No is the correct answer, connection much? I'd say so. People say we're past all of those negative depictions of different groups of people but we're clearly not because look at this! We're making fun of obese people and laughing about it, back then they were doing the same thing about African-American people. It's just awful to realize this connection, because its apart of my life because I'm one of the many many people that do this. As much as I hate to admit it, its the truth; I laugh at this awful depiction of obese people. All I can hope is that future generations learn from our mistakes and eliminate racism, sexism, or any sort of segregation of particular groups of people.
In case you haven't seen the movie, here's the trailer for it that I got from youtube.
*first photo from http://www.commentbuddy.com/image-code-comments/Funny-Movie/norbit-how-you-doin.gif-80.html
*second photo from http://www.asianweek.com/top-25-yellow-face-performance-20-16/
*third photo from http://www.hahahaimontheinternet.com/male-actors-who-cross-dress-for-success/
*fourth photo from http://twogirlsandagay.blogspot.com/2007_01_21_archive.html
*trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmSZJ17ppEQ
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