I choose this media because it was a presentation I attended in the past and I was reminded of it during this week’s class. http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/02/heres_a_pbs_doc.html is a website describing the movie along with the host Terrance Howard and narrated and presented by Bryon Hurt.
This film clip explores ideas of violence, sexual abuse towards women, verbal abuse towards women, attitudes of homophobia, women perspective on rap/hip hop, and other subjects. Bryon Hurt interviews fans of rap along with well known and amateur rappers to get their perspective.
I found that a majority of the fans and artists believed that they would not succeed unless they used lyrics that are popular today, as no one would want to hear anything else. They also said that if they strayed from the usual lyrics (about violence, drugs, and so on) then they would not make money or get contracts. The film explains that white executives are usually the ones who decide who is getting a contract, which seems strange.
I felt that this is a connection the class material as it examines how race is portrayed in the music industry. We have discussed how race is involved with cyberspace, and this topic is closely related. Only one type of hip hop/rap is the primary player, and since most artists are black, this is forming a connection with race.
The article about the video can be found at http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/02/heres_a_pbs_doc.html. From the article, “But Hurt thinks there’s hope. “I think a lot more young people are questioning and challenging what they’re receiving than most people think,” he says. “I’ve been going around the country showing this film, and I think you would be surprised by how many young people are tired of what they’re seeing.””
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