If Women Ran Hip-Hop

A reading for one of my other women's studies class, may appeal to some of you :)

http://webct.ric.edu:8900/1092-RICOL-WMST-350-SEC02-21091/If%20W.ran%20hip%20hop%2D%20DeLeon.pdf

What are your views on this article?

Prep: Curtis Sittenfeld

This novel is about a teenage girl who is attending a boarding school. Her experiences are very typical and very relate-able. I can remember a few too many instances of awkwardness. I feel that the author portrays these instances, in such a way, that I find myself looking back and laughing at awkward moments.

Reading students blogs, many wrote about her affection for Gates. I wish she had turned out to be gay, but that's just me. I believe everyone has instances of same-sex attraction at some point in their life, just some tend to pursue it more than others :)

I related this reading to Hines in many ways. Hines believes that most is learned through experience and that problems should not be categorized by age groups. This is one view of Hines that relates most for me.

I understood everything about this reading. It was an easy read and quite thought provoking. I felt a sense of comfort knowing that someone may be just as awkward as I have been.

Rhode Island Stereotypes

East Greenwich Barbie
This Barbie is sold only sold at stores along Main Street in East Greenwich.. She comes with an Assortment of Kate Spade Handbags, a Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a cookie-cutter house. Available with or without tummy tuck and face Lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.



Western Cranston Barbie
The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Wind star Minivan And matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.


Central Falls Barbie
This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) . . . Unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.



Newport Barbie
This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of BMW convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them.



Foster / Glocester Barbie
This tanned model comes dressed in her own Levi's jeans two sizes too small, a John Deere t-shirt, and Tweety Bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Rolling Rock and a Garth Brooks CD set. She can spit over 5 feet, split wood, drive a tractor and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a Confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.



Downtown Providence Barbie
This collagen injected, rhino plastic Barbie wears a leopard print outfit and drinks cosmopolitans while entertaining friends. Percocet prescription available as well as warehouse conversion condo.



West Warwick Barbie
This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own
high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out her house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home.



College Hill Barbie
This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow . She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.



South Providence Barbie
This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include A GED and bus pass. Gangsta Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.



Newport Mansions Barbie
She's perfect in every way. We don't know where Ken is because he's always out a-'huntin'.



Providence Nightlife Barbie/Ken
This versatile doll can be easily converted from Barbie to Ken by simply adding or subtracting the multiple snap-on parts.

Fast Forward: Laura Greenfield

When I was younger I always felt that growing up quick was the only way I would be both respected and tolerated. I have always felt incredibly influenced to be older than I am, and still subconsciously feel that way. I really enjoyed reading Laura Greenfield's artist statement. I connected with how she felt about the idea behind her photos to be a growing process. I especially like how she noted the differences between areas. I spent the last 3 weeks in Utah, and my idea of 'the obnoxious teenager' was entirely different from what that area may portray it as. Looking for something to photograph involved a different kind of approach.

I love Greenfields' photos. All of them. You could seriously write a book about each photograph. Her photographs prove not only that we are all influenced from such a young age, but also how it follows us. Influence is constantly lingering. Greenfield photographed all kinds of people at many different ages, with many different ethnicities and social upbringings.

In recent years, I photographed “Fast Forward” youth in Milan and Shanghai. The young and privileged in Shanghai don’t care about politics or communism but are obsessed with MTV, Fashion TV, Gucci, and L.V. (Louis Vuitton). Milanese youth don cutting edge hip-hop fashion originated by the inner city and perfected by haute couture designers. Fourteen-year old Italian girls wear thongs deliberately hiked up over their low-riding pants and rip revealing holes in their jeans. They go out to discos on school nights and dance to American hip-hop and electronica until dawn.

Tonight I went out to take more pictures for my photo project. I don't think I realized how intense geographical differences can be, when it comes to influence. I guess that can be what I don't understand. I would like to learn more about that. I really would love to travel more and come to more realizations. I find it comforting!

Media Literacy

Not a single person can fully comprehend how much, exactly, we are influenced by the media. Influence is deeply hidden in the all of the adds we see, the clothes we buy, how common tasks are viewed and how we raise our families. I believe it is important to at least become comfortable with the idea that... we can not entirely convince ourselves.

When wikipedia'ing media literacy:

Media literacy is the process of accessing, analyzing, evaluating and creating messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres and forms.

It's important to at least realize that there is some level of influence with everything we may watch or hear. It is a matter of controlling how much of that personally influences you. 'Rising above', I guess would be the best advice.

An example of the influential media would be a video, such as this:


I think that if I loved Chris Brown enough, I would have had to purchase some double-mint gum ASAP. I chose this video not only for its influence, but for it's feedback. Check out the responses below! Perfect examples of how one may be influenced by such a simple add.

Hip-Hop Wars: Tricia Rose

I am really torn between sides. I believe that in order for you to really try to understand either side, it is important to realize how hip-hop has developed throughout the past 15 years. Both its motive and intentions have entirely changed. It's important to realize where we are right now in our society, in terms of financial and political drama. It's important to compare issues then, to issues now.

When I say that I am torn between sides, I mean that part of me is disgusted by the fact that 90% of the songs involve violence of some sort, and the idea that we have become quite a violent society. I think it's wrong to point a finger at the hip-hop industry and blame our youth issues on their content.

"I think it is disingenuous because they know that this isn't just about turning off one song. You would have to turn off all commercial black radio. You'd have to shut down all of your children's and your own investment in MTV, BET, VH1. You would basically have to unplug from society as a whole. So they know this is not going to happen. They know you're not going to do it because that means rejecting the entire system, not just a given artist."

Tricia Rose entirely recognizes this issue and I believe she perfectly states the 'problem'. For me, 'the entire system' extends beyond music. It's in the depths of our media, classrooms and households.

I honestly never listen to the radio. I feel that I've developed some kind of 6th sense when it comes to people trying to influence me; so I avoid influence at all costs. I barely even watch TV. The hip-hop I do listen to, well yeah it involves some violence. I do not personally relate to most of it, but I have learned to respect the artists voice. People typically tend to like a song based on how it sounds, which is something that should be taken into consideration, not just what it's about. But then - that's getting back into the hip-hop wars. I do not want to exclude those who listen to a violent song for the violent lyrics.

I feel that I clearly understood everything that was portrayed in this interview. I would like to hear more from Tricia Rose about her views on the hip-hop wars. For me, hearing her speak and reading her interview clarified how I feel about hip-hop.