08th Sep 2008
Watch what you’re watching…
Check it out: http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/live/index/php/963405.phtml?play=1
New song by NAS, talks about the Fox channel in “Sly Fox” and the fact that media is “misleading ya…” interesting to see and hear hip hop culture which usually has the pulse of youth and music…warning listeners to beware of the media and hype….
Media literacy comes in all forms
The genre of hip-hop and rap is a very interesting and contradicting music genre. When we talk about media and social relevance, it’s very hard to deny the impact that rap and hip-hop have on culture. Unfortunately, more times than not, we focus on the negative social impacts that this genre of music gives the youth of today. Whether its glorifying violence and drugs, or having to bleep out every second word of a song, or praising men on being “pimps”, and giving props for the most “bitches and hoes” he can get, popular rap music these days can be summed up pretty neatly as a negative media type.
However, i encourage any music fans out there to do more research on this slowly decaying genre, The history of hip-hop is filled with much more positive notes, and great lessons can be learned from some artists and their songs. A great example of this is Tupac Shakur, who called himself a poet before anything else (of course he also had thug life and an ak-47 tattooed across his chest). Song’s like “Brenda’s got a baby”, “Keep ya head up”, and “changes”, all have huge social relevance, and for once, in a positive light; speaking empowering woman, the importance of a father figure in a child’s life, and trying to ignite social change.
So i encourage all to take a second look at hip-hop music. I am not for a second defending the average “rap stars” these days, who only talk about these very superficial things (i have also noticed that most rap songs these days are usually a step-by-step of how to do their original dances), but i am absolutely defending the artists who started this genre, with a better purpose or idea of what music is meant to do.
I would recommend the following artists
A tribe called quest, De la soul, Common, Tupac, Mos Def, Fugees, Nas
you had me for the whole entry, except for the “slowly decaying genre.” any genre has negative or disagreeable aspects…any type of music, film, art…i wouldn’t call the entire genre decaying…hip hop is culture, and it will go up and down in taste and interest, but certainly isn’t decaying.
I totally agree with both comments above. Although there are many hip hop artists that are pretty caught up in their egos, a whole lot of other ones are grounded and observant and really aware of what’s going on in the world around them. I think in the end, people really gravitate to honesty.
Nas’s song was great. The lyrics were very refreshing and its great to know that he has the power to reach the youth of today with that message.
Another place to see inspirational hip hop artists with eye-opening lyrics is on the show “Def Jam Poetry.”
I totally get Theodore’s point when he says that we sometime overlook the more ”positive” effects of hip-hap and rap music has on our culture. People often sees rap and hip-hop as a negative form of media; talking about drugs and violence, degrading women and sending negative messages to kids. It is a shame that “true hip-hop and rap” artist are being over-shadowed by commercial hip-hop and rap music. Music is (or at least supposed to) a way to get a message across… but nowadays, meaningful messages like the message sent out through this track are often disregarded. It really gets you thinking… it seems like hip-hop/rap artist could talk about anything they want- be it sex, guns and violence-, put the lyrics on a catchy beat and sell millions of records. But when they actually talk about something meaningful, or something that has a positive influence on our culture, only a hand full of these tracks turns out to be a hit song.
I strongly suggest we take a second look at hip-hop and rap music. Because despite all of the commercial hip-hop artists, there are actually some artists worth listening to.
When i was looking through the other topics, this one interested me the most. For one thing i was going to write about Nas (the name is overlooked when i initially read Shirley’s 1st post on this topic) as an example of rapping about true concerns and issues that we are faced with. One of the reasons why i like Nas (and i don’t listen very much to rap due to their negative and vulgar lyrics) was due to having heard one of his songs that is a few years old….I believe it was about Child soldiers. This immediately caught my attention because im a very social/humanitarian oriented person. And i was very touched by the lyrics and the whole video because it dealt with a real issue that was effecting so many people in other countries and ruining their and their family’s lives. I think that like the song mentioned above about fox news and the media is great because while in the beginning of time for hip-hop and rap…these two were used as a way to voice the social inequality/problems that were faced by people (specifically the black people). So to see the whole genre of music to be turned from its original purpose and then to see some artists still maintaining that spirit of voicing concerns/issues is a feeling of happiness.
This leads me also to talk a little bit about Fox news channel, which a lot of Americans rely on. Fox news is a very odd news station because while they claim to be reporting with honesty and integrity, they politically are very republican…thus supporting the republican cause. The way they report is also problematic because some news reporters (the one that readily comes to mind is O’reilly who has very confrontational interview style and very rigidly strong opinion) deliver news from rather an obscured way. The news is very one sided and subjective rather than objective. And i watched this documentary about Fox news, and they had done polls and found that viewers of Fox news were more likely to agree with the war in Iraq and also something like they were also more likely to have reality of things a lil mixed up in a way….which is due to the way that news is delivered on Fox news. It was an interesting documentary. All this to say I am proud of artists like Nas who speak out and use their fame to do some good to the general public, especially the youth. I am also glad that pop culture is recognizing and taking the time to acknowledge these issues about media distortions.
I completely agree with all the above comments, every person had something important to note.
What I would like to point out also, is the fact that all the different all of the mainstream media is owned by just a few powerful conglomerates that influence a society’s culture as a whole. These media systems work to ensure that they are profiting as much as possible. This relates specifically to the rap/hip-hop culture as well. A lot of struggling artists cannot be heard when they have an important message to deliver to society because these media companies only sponsor those whom they believe will grasp the “interest” of society. That is why we see a lost of discrimination and vulgar language in today’s rap/hip-hop songs, where they only make a small portion of what the real rap/hip-hop culture is really about.
Fox News is a perfect example to this, and as Farhana mentioned, they claim to report equal and unbiased news when all they do is the complete opposite. If any of you watch O’Reilly you will see that whenever the opposed person has a good point to deliver he will immediately tell him to “shut up”. Fox News distorts all news for their own interest and is definitely a republic news station that does not deliver the news “without an agenda or any ideological prejudice” (This is well delivered in the documentary “Outfoxed”)
In conclusion, I can definitely agree with NAS and what they are trying to do, the real hip-hop/rap culture does try to convey messages to society which deal with real problems in the world and it talks about how important music is to them and how it has helped them overcome a lot of their personal problems (see documentary “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes”) and definitely is not about degrading women or talking about drugs all the time. I applaud NAS’s work.
(sorry for the long speech =D )
I will admit that Fox News does seem to have a conservative bias, but I am always confused by the way some people react to political bias. Whenever a conservative opinion is presented people are quick to label it propaganda, while liberal bias, such as in a Michael Moore film, is labeled ‘subversive’. Everyone seems to agree that Fox is biased and unfair, but shouldn’t news sources like CNBC and the Huffington Post be held to the same scrutiny? I know that this is an unpopular opinion, but I feel that it needs to be said. If we call ourselves open-minded then we should be open to all views, not just the ones we already agree with.I might disagree with someone like Bill o’reilly or Sean Hannity on many issues, but I have no desire to silence them. Closing up the dialogue and not listening to people we disagree with is never going to produce any positive change.
Jeff, while i can see what you are getting at, the truth is that the conservative bias is not looked at critically at all. it has become popular media and has an incredible power on influence in our culture. while media that would like to make a positive change that is viewed more liberal becomes part of the struggling underground media. this is the problem. even if the conservative media is labeled as propaganda, it is much more well known. it has much more influence on a larger part of the population. and the main agenda of much of this is to propagate a consumerist society. i think this is particularly dangerous for teenagers and younger children who are often the targets of this agenda because they are still in the process of forming their identity. it is clear that this conservative agenda of creating a more materialistic and consumeristic society has been very successful in midddle and high schools and elementary school children are starting to fall victim as well. I don’t have any fear that the conservative media will be silenced. they are in a position of great power and it seems by looking at the current political climate that they are very successful influencing culture.
Hip Hop is such a major influence in today’s society. You see it everywhere – from the music videos we watch on TV and the internet to clothing at most stores. Even so, the hip hop that most of us to listen to rarely has a positive message to put forth. Instead, hip hop (at least the stuff that is “popular”) today revolves around a group of artists who, a lot of the time, degrade women in their lyrics referring to them as ho’s or bitches, talk about their pimp lives, and the riches that they apparently have. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that the media has managed to put this stamp on the world of hip hop, glamorizing and popularizing songs like Soulja Boy, Lollipop, Golddigger, Low, and Got Money. Isn’t music supposed to uplift us and show the world that these stereotypes should not exist anymore? On the one hand, it is true that all artists have the right to creative freedom. But seriously, where’s the creativity? Yes, I will admit that these songs are pretty damn catchy. But if you actually sit down and listen to the lyrics, you will realize how ridiculous they actually are. A lot of the time they are actually quite funny. Nevertheless, as Rania Harb stated above, the fault is not only on the artist. It is also on the people in suites who work at these massive music companies making the decisions regarding what we listen to. In reality, artists like Lil’ Wayne and Flo Rida are not directly the ones making sure that their music is heard. It is indeed those mammoth sized companies that are calling the shots and defining our idea of this so-called hip hop. At the end of the day, however, it is our job to realize that there is much more to hip-hop than just this. There most definitely are rappers out there who have a positive message to put forth and manage to make their point without the use of excessive profanity. Regrettably, it seems as if it is generally not these artists who are getting the record deals. But I assure you, good rap music is out there. So go ahead, look for it.
I completely agree with Rebecca that Hip Hop and Rap are a huge part of our society. More and more teens and adults are listening to this type of music which is known for its vulgar statements and insults towards women. Our population is constantly surrounded by it as it always hits the top charts on the radio we listen to and it is the main videos we see on MTV throughout the day. Rap is continuously in our face! However, NAS’ song is very powerful and makes people think about the media in a different perspective, if they hadn’t already done so. His lyrics shocked me because they summarize all I have ever learned about FOX and the media in general. I do agree with him when he says that we should “stop sleeping and start thinking outside the box” and open our minds to what the hidden messages are. He also mentions how the media is misleading and trying to fool us by feeding us “B.S” as he calls it. I believe he is completely right about this as we are fed everything but the real truth. What we see is only a little part of the whole story as it is modified for us to be exposed and knowledgeable about what those in power want us to be aware of. Through his very powerful lyrics, NAS tried to open our eyes to the truth about the media and the information it shows us. He tries to teach us that we should not believe everything we see and we should go beyond that by critically thinking and questioning.
After watching this video, i was not surprised at all by the message NAS was rapping to us, but that is because i took a class in CEGEP that focused on the corruption of the media. Anyways NAS chose to focus on FOX, but the reality is that is its more then just Fox, it is also ABC, MSNBC, CBS (but i think he mentioned that in the song) and all the major networks everyday people watch. Their are alternative news and media people can turn to, just by searching on their computer. Its just more convient for people to turn on their tv, watch and listen, internalize the story that the media feeds us, rather then actually searching for the “raw truth”. Not only NAS, but Noam Chomsky is a person that has been trying to fight against the media and the corporations for quite some time now and wrote many books about this subject (Just google his name). Many do not realize, but it is important for the public to get involved in the media, rather then just let the major corporations run it, otherwise we are stuck with what they want to tell us, and hide other aspects of events and stories that they wish to.
After listening to the NAS song “sly fox” i feel as though he actualy had the guts to say what others would only think to themselves. Yes people are influenced by the media all around them. They could be mislead by the news, music they listen to, tv shows they watch and so on. As a viewer myself of tv shows and the news i find that i sometimes get “pulled in” by what i am watching. i don’t think i necessarily get “influenced” by all that i see and hear but that is my own opinion and i feel i should be a strong person to not believe all the media around us. i find alot of the “celebrity” stories are made in a way to make them look bad. often i see magazines whith pictures of celebrities and a mean saying below it…they’re real people with real lives why should we even buy these types of magazines. it’s only going to provoke the writers and papparazi to do it even more. i know, i know its juicy and fun to read but its not right!! media should be a place where the truth is told and there are many places where as Rebecca K said the “raw truth” can be found. i give alot of respect to NAS for standing up for what he believes andhopefuly people will actualy listen to him. this is when believing in the media comes to play…
After watching the video, i have to say; i’m impressed. NAS was able to be honest, speak his mind, and let others hear him. In today’s world, with our technology, it’s sometimes hard to face the truth, and NAS not only faced it, he expressed himself on the topic. I think if more people got involved and stood up against these “corrupt” forms of media, then the media would have to change. Maybe I’m naive in thinking that this is possible, but something has to be done because the fact of the matter is – our society is spiraling out of control. Rachel S mentionned tabloids, and i’ve got to say that i think its ridiculous that these magazines pay these AWFUL photographers millions of dollars for a photo of the lates celeb with celullite. And what’s worse, is that we read them. I’ll even admit to reading a few – but thinking about it, why should spend my money on these people who make money putting celebs down? Im only endorsing their actions. I think NAS taking a stand against media and fox is brilliant. I hope others do the same. however, does anyone know how fox reacted to the attack…because that would very interesting to know!
I really happy seeing nas standing up for something real although this is not the first time you see people standing up for things other than “bitches and hoes” in rap. We have ludacris standing up and raping about Obama and saying how Obama should win.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnglbGr6g-k
We always have artist in rap trying to rap about real things but the problem is the tarnish in the hip hop culture we have “fake” artist like fifty cents gggggg unit. This give the culture less relevance but we see artist like tu pac jay z nas ludacris k-os trying to get real things out their like election , hood life, and elections but then we got people like lil wayne and his lollipop , and 50 cent with his candy shop.
The last thing I would like to say about elections is it just me or is the media including Canadian media more focused on the American election that they are about the Canadian election that is happening in 4 weeks. Why in our own culture is our election being side lined for the great American race to tell you the truth who cares what they do our political leader is about to get a leader and i almost don’t know anything about the people ruining
After viewing this mini clip, I realized that this song is portrayed by two types of music: Rap and Hip Hop. Rap is “a form of popular music emphasizing spoken rhymes over heavily rhythmic backing tracks” and Hip Hop is “a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos”. These genres of music are very interesting to a general audience and especially to the youth, but do they have a negative affect in today’s society? The main observation can be by looking at the lyrics. If throughout the song you see nothing else but nonsense and swearing in every sentence, like Eminem, then that could have a bad impact on the population. I personally can not stand the image that rap songs portray. For example rappers just talk about sex, drugs, jail, the hood, money, women (in the dirty way) and killing people. Kids or children in a better situation may be able to look at the music and see it for what it is, like it, recite it, dance to it, but not go so far as to make it a lifestyle. Many of these rappers “represent” the hood or the inner city and that’s why these teenagers are seeing and they are idolizing these dudes. This is bad because these guys aren’t sending out positive messages to the society. Overall young ones should be careful to what they listen to, because just by hanging on someone’s lips for a song, it can change the life of a child in no time later on. Despite the fact that exceptions may exist, I believe that the majority of rap and hip hop songs may lead to aggressive behavior. Teenagers who listen this kind of music are more likely to use drugs and alcohol and act more aggressively than those who favor other kinds of music.
When dealing with art (which believe or not hip-hop is) there will always be some who do it the right way, and others, the wrong. Nas happens to use his talents and ability to speak up for what’s right and for what he believes in. Most others are satisfied with putting out the same stuff over and over knowing that this is the easiest and most secure way of making a buck. Why risk upsetting major corporations and political entities? These are the people with the most money, power and influence. They also have a heavy hand in saying what gets put on the air and what doesn’t. Nas obviously doesn’t care what they think and strives to speak the truth (or at least what he perceives as the truth). I question whether or not other hip-hop artists: A.Know anything about this subject. B. Would have the guts to put out a song like this. and C. Care at all. There are of course exceptions to this rule. Some artists do indeed speak their minds about these types of subjects.The problem is that those who do don’t seem to be able to maintain their ability to top the charts, which leads naysayers to talk about “sticking to their music”. I wonder if this lost popularity should be attributed to the fans who are turned off or something more sinister. Is it possible for corporations to sink an artist if the corporation feels threatened by the artist? I would say that it is absolutely possible and that most artist are not willing to take that chance.
First of all let me start by saying that Nas as always been an activist and a proud poet when it comes to rapping. It’s true that today’s youth associates with hip hop artist and celebrities everywhere. I believe that it’s a other means of getting some kind of message accross to people. As for the Fox Network, they don’t have the same idea of entertainment as the other major networks. They go with what sells the most, without really being concerned with the content. In his song Nas talks about the fact that people are buying in to what goes on at the Fox network, and forget to make up their own minds. I just want to add that in the past years, medias have been all over rappers for promoting drugs, sex, easy money and alcool. I see this move as a way for Nas to stand up for rappers everywhere and jab at the network, that is for me the easiest to jab at. Public figures blasting medias is just a great way to sell albums and make sure people tune in in masses.
I had a media class in Cegep and it just got me so angry how just a handful of companies own the majority of news stations and other forms of media in the U.S. Nas is making a statement against just that point. The back door deals that companies make to own the information being fed to the people. “Watch what you watching” is his way of saying how untrustworthy Fox has become. For the most part, it does not report objective reporting. Rap and hip-hop are extremely popular in today’s society and using that as a way to get people involved and informed is creative and really good use of his talent. His message to think outside the box tells people not to rely on the easily accessible media coverage that may be lacking in many ways. Fox has been bashed many times but it continues to distort reality and put their personal spin on news. Celebrities are given an opportunity to have the world listen to them, especially musicians. Nas has taken this opportunity and I applaud him for that. Its a creative form of media literacy. Not everyone agrees with his politics or his message and no one has to, but using his lyrics is a brilliant way to express himself and make his stand.
FIrstly I would like to state that I totally agree with Daniel in the previous statements about Nas standing up for something real rather than the party life,as well as his concern for Canadian elections.
Moreover, I’d like to emphasize on artists and/or songs that are similar to Nas’ song. It is indeed unfortunate that too many rap and hip hop artists express too much irrelevant stuff such as how gangster they are and how their click is watching their back so don’t mess with them,etc. However, as most students have stated already, this kind of “trend” is not just unique to hip hop and is actually very common in other genres of music(for the sake that this is a blog and not an essay,let’s stick to hip hop).
“Crappy” hip hop songs talking about their 24inch rims,their 9mm,the bitches n hoes down at the clubs wit mah thugs arent necessarily of no use though. Most of these songs are used in clubs and parties,and it’s not like they are of no use to hip hop culture development. To whoever else is reading my blog other than shirley,I’d also like to draw to your attention an artist called Immortal Technique,a rapper than raps (if i’m not mistaken) only about political issues and moralities,and he’s a rapper who has been through the ghetto life.
It seems as though Nas is urging us to be aware of the media and be critical about what we see, read or hear. There is a lot of garbage in the media and so he makes a good point. We have to realize that Nas’ music is media and so we must think critically about what he says as well. Nas wants us to beware of hype but he himself is hype. I think that “sly Fox” is a song that offers a significant message to hip hop fans, but this does not mean that all rap songs give off this positive vibe. Many of Nas’ songs have nothing to do with being critical of media and some even contain negative messages in them. I am not saying that Nas is a bad person or rapper; I am trying to say that his message is not real. I am no savant when it comes to rap so I am unsure about all of Nas’ songs but I get the impression that the majority of Nas’ songs do not have the same critical overtone as “Sly Fox” and so it seems like this song is meaningless. The song sends a strong message but I do not think that Nas himself believes it or follows through on it, or else ideas like this would be expressed in more of his music. It may also be that Nas really does hate Fox News and that he really wants to make a difference in the world. In any case this song sends out a positive message to listeners of rap who usually receive negative ones and so no harm is done when listening to it and it may even encourage positive behaviour.
I agree with the comment above as well. Although I do respect Nas for coming out with a song that attacks the mass media in a way that is shown to be quite obvious, and how many hip-hop artists are stereotyped as always talking about “hoes, pimps and sluts”, but I find that to be a very biased assumption. There are many artists like Nas out there who come out with songs that have a very positive impact on issues dealing with the media, like Kanye West for example.
Although, my only issue is that Nas is also being very hypocritical in his lyrics. He states “They say I’m all about murder-murder and kill-kill”, and that is not entirely true, but Nas does also have a great deal of songs who’s lyrics can be seen as very offensive and brutal to some people. I am not saying that I do not respect Nas as a rapper, or that I do not admire his choice to write meaningful lyrics on the awareness of the media. My only judgment is that he is quick to rebut all the stereotypes he has been given throughout his hip-hop career, when it is quite evident that he has not always been preaching about these sorts of issues in the majority of his songs, by any means.
All in all, I think it is very courageous of Nas to against the typical “hip-hop” lyrics, and take a stand against an issue that I think is very prevalent in our media today. Although there are probably a great deal of people out there who disagree with his lyrics and find them to be biased in some sense, or just simply false. By writing this song he creates awareness and it shows he is also open to criticism, which shows he is true to his lyrics, which I respect in general.
Like many of you have mentioned, hip hop and rap music is often related to negative messages. Many adults fear these styles of music and try to avoid it from their children. I do agree that many songs in these genres send bad messges and are completely inapropriate. Some of these songs are also beeing listened by children in elementary school. I remember my little brother comming home from school singing these songs that I knew were completely inapropriate for someone his age. The worst part is that he didn’t understand half the words of the song. I was just shocked that kids his age listened to songs like that.
The Nas song is quite different from most hip hop and rap songs because it actually does have a message. This message is a lso a good one. It is true that many children and teens have to watch what they are watching because the messages that are beeing sent to them can be misleading. They always need to look at media critically and analize it properly.
As I was taking a look at other peoples blogs, Daniel said something that really stood out to me. It isi true that it seems like Canadians are more focussed on the American election than on the Canadian one. I didn’t even know that we were haveing an election until a few days ago. The Media is focussing very little in our elections to the point that we are not informed about the different candidates and who to vote for. This is going to be my first election and I am totally clueless. On the other hand, the media greatly focusses on the American elections. I probably know more about the American elections than I do about the Canadian elections. It is true that this coming American election is important for all Americans and for everyone else in the world because for once there is a great chance that an African American becomes president. I trully do hope that Obama wins.
There are many very interesting points and ideas that have been made in the comments above. This song may be seen as rough or too explicit for some people because of the use of language and people might be offended by the lyrics. However, I think it’s a perfect wake-up call for us all to realize that even major broadcast networks, such as FOX are in fact “misleading” their viewers. If people can get past the fact that its a hip-hop song, and stop focusing on the negative thoughts often associated with this type of music, they might be able to see the real positive meaning behind the message. People who are unwilling to get past this, are too close-minded to consider different types of media literacy, and what does that tell us about our society?
People often have one fixed opinion about certain matters and as soon as they are asked to consider different possibilities, or in this case, think about how FOX is really presenting news to its viewers, they don’t want to face the fact that they could be being mislead. I personally think that Nas has raised an important point for people to be aware of, so that they can start realizing on their own that the media is sometimes biased and we need to keep an open-mind. Unfortunately, sometimes news is portrayed with a particular angle in hopes that viewers will take a side rather than being given the actual facts. I think that this was a very courageous move on Nas’ part, and if we can look past the criticism associated with this kind of music, we can see that he is raising awareness about an important issue and opening people’s eyes to the possibility that networks often control the news and how we think, and not the other way around.
What a great song! I’m very happy to see more and more rappers pushing the boundaries of hip hop and challenging preconceptions about what hip hop music is or can be. Canadian rapper, K-os’s experimental pushed hip hop musically by blending musical categories and integrating reggae, rock and other genres with old school hip hop. Mase’s “Welcome Back” has recently helped undermine notions that rappers all support excessive drug and alcohol consumption by stating that “I’m just a bad boy gone clean / I’m the diamond chain choker, always remain sober/ Don’t drink liquor and all the games over.” And now Nas’ latest song is encouraging media literacy, urging listeners to “watch what [they’re] watchin’” and to be wary that the “media is misleadin’ ya.”
Traditionally, hip hop has grappled with political issues and positions (as Public Enemy did) or examined difficult social issues (such as teen pregnancy in Tupac’s “Brenda’s got a baby”, as Theodore mentioned). I have been waiting, however, for a contemporary rapper to attack the truly corporatized nature of many modern rap songs, in which alcohol companies and car companies “gift” the song-writers with large sums of money to include references to their products in their songs. As the documentary, the Merchants of Cool, has pointed out, MTV was devised as a covert advertising channel, and a lot of contemporary rap music has taken to injecting advertising into lyrics, just as films have taken to incorporating favouring product placement. Alas, NaS does not specifically address these issues in his song, but he does call attention to the corporate-media nexus that Donaldo Macedo mentioned and to the way Fox’s political biases colour its programming, even when the latter poses as “objective news” as in the case of FOX News.
In a few succinct lines, NaS manages to sum up how the biases of seemingly “objective” news infect the political views of listeners, when he says “They monopolizing news, / Your views/ And the channel you choose.” There is a certain bit of irony to these lines, however. News Corporation is the large corporation that owns Fox and is one of the five massive transnational corporations that Pepi Leistyna mentions in “Critical Media Literacy for the Twenty-First Century” as controlling American television. However, NaS’ own record label is owned by Viacom, as NaS himself says in “Sly Fox”—“I use Viacom as my firearm”—and Viacom is also one of the five majour transnational corporations that Leistyna mentions. So there does seem to be a bit of irony here, in that NaS’ source of income is ultimately one of the same corporations that he criticizes in Sly Fox. However, I think NaS overcomes this irony by emphasizing that he uses the corporation as a “firearm;” he uses his music, even though it is managed by such a big corporation, as a means of attacking abuses by large corporations. So in this way, what might otherwise be interpreted as irony can be read as intentionally subversive, a reading which I think saves the critical value of NaS’ song.
Besides being important for its message, I think the song has great artistic merits as well. The flow of the words is amazing, the use of alliteration in the first two lines of the chorus (watch-watchin’ and fox-feedin’) is very forceful and effective, and the use of a live band rather than pre-recorded beats is also very well done. I’m happy that hip hop still has people like NaS, and that NaS is still using his music to face hard issues as he did at the beginning with the Queensbridge Mixtape’s “Ghetto Children.”
I’m not sure if this is where im supposed to leave my comment but it’s about the movie we say in class…
It is my opinion that the media is a direct product/ advertisement of what the Government “sells” to us; what the government would have us believe and think. It is depicted in movies, newspapers, magazines etc. When we see episodes on TV about how “happy” and “comical” the Ghetto areas are, it is not really depicting the sacrifices and hardships that some families endure living under those kinds of circumstances. In doing so, these types of television shows give people the impression that “Ghetto” areas aren’t that bad, which is not true. This mockery of certain peoples living conditions is absolutely disgraceful. The whole notion of “class” might have become a derogatory term over the years, but to turn hard living conditions into a comedy on television for people’s amusement and entertainment is just as disrespectful. It is a very natural thing to encounter people from all different walks of life whether they belong to “the haves” or “the have nots.” Not everyone in life will acquire the same amount of wealth but regardless of social standing every human being should be entitled to fair/equal treatment and respect. Unfortunately, the media does not depict this. A prime example would be the constant portrayal of black people working under white people in the earlier days of television. Black people were never the central characters nor where they self accomplished individuals. Black people were almost always “the help”/ the workers who had the worst of jobs. Granted, these depictions probably did reflect the common way of life known to people back then but, nevertheless, these reflections had a negative connotation. Seeing as the we all know the media to be so powerful we should make it a point to use it for the greater good and not to profit off of it by showing people what they want to see. Who knows, if television shows had depicted people of all races on an equal bases with black lawyers and judges etc perhaps society would have been able to grow faster in progressing away from its racist attitudes which, many can argue are still an issue today.
Again im still commenting on the video and i really hope this is the right place lol…
I also find that the media tends to camouflage what is really going on. For example the Medias depictions about working class men being illiterate and stupid is absolutely ridiculous. Is it entertaining? -Yes I admit it is but, it should not be taken literally. Not all of the working class is uneducated and the medias message that none of them are for education is absurd also. If anything, it is the members of the working class who would encourage their children to continue with their education in order to ensure them better job opportunities than the ones they had. As a parent, is it not logical that you would want better career opportunities for your children than the one you had? As a parent, is it also not logical that you would want your children to have a better life than you did? I’m not saying that having a better job and more money and defines a better life but, being educated and qualified in something does somewhat take away from the hardships and worries about a persons (as well as a families) financial situation. This is exactly the reason why the working class fought for education in the first place which the media conveniently leaves out for entertainment purposes. It strange really how easily the media can deceive us because even though I know all the things that I have just mentioned to be true it never actually hit me until I saw the video in class and realized that “yeah the media really does do this.” This just proves how strong the influence of the media is because often many people (such as myself) do not even realize just how many subliminal messages the media is actually getting through to masses.
After watching the Nas video and also reading the media text book I realized there were some key ideas that were the same. Nas repeats in his song how we need to “think outside the box” and our textbook talks about how we need to come together as a community and try and bring in “alternative media” which they called “non-profit”. The problem with the Fox channel and other channels like it is they only show you what they want you to see, and I think that is why Nas says you need to “think outside the box” basically think outside of what they are showing you, look into the other side of the situation (the parts they are not showing you); that way you can really make a decision or opinion based on reality and not what they the media perceive reality to be. In the textbook and in the video they mention how the television companies are monopolizing, this means that a lot of the other companies are owned by the major companies. This could be a bad thing…… our textbook explains how even though you think you are seeing different sides of a situation because you are watching it on another station or channel….. Your really not, you are basically getting told the same thing but in a different way and maybe with different images. The point is you are really never getting the whole picture and you are never really getting the chance to decide based on your own perspective because your perspective is always being persuaded by what the media wants you to think. So maybe the textbook has some good ideas maybe we should bring in non-profit media so that we can see the other side of things or in Nas’s words so that we can “think outside the box”
In my opinion, I thought the NAS video was excellent. I loved his play on words using corporate names and the like. I think it is really important for people to stand up to institutions or even just voice their opinion through different means such as music, poetry, documentaries, writing, dance, etc. I have been meaning to write on this blog about a song that I have always really liked as it loosely pertains to the topic of expressing oneself and their beliefs. The song is called “Water” by Blue King Brown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJVoslo_xdM
This band is a very small band and the video was made with only $200..They are not the average commercial, flashy group but they had a message to deliver in this song and it really got to me. I was taking political science course last year called ‘developing areas’ and the issue of colonialism and its effects was the basic theme of the whole class. This song really stood out to be at that time. I mean how many millions of people have been affected and are still affected because of the repercussions of colonialism?
I know that in India, colonial influence is still very prevalent. People still have the mindset that the whiter somebody’s skin color is the wealthier, prettier and better of they are. I mean just take a minute and think about this..how ridiculous is that? to be judged by one’s own people on the basis of if you are light brown, chocolate brown or dark brown? They are all still brown at the end of the day. Unilever still feeds on this notion of whiteness and mass produces whitening products such as Fair and Lovely, whitening pills, soaps, bleaches all in the name of advancing oneself. The saddest part is that this colonial imprint can be found everywhere, from Haiti to Hong Kong.
Back to the song, my best friend is African American. It is interesting to me that she still resents ‘those imperialistic swines’ (this is her talking) for her lack of identity. She still feels at a loss of her roots, her background, her land. Take for example the book ‘Roots”..why would a man who has grown up in the United States still go back to a place that is foreign to him in search of roots, to essentially find himself? Land, culture, language are all things that mold our personalities, define in a certain way who we are. Imagine being an entire lost generation..having no idea of yourself because of men who were greedy, cruel and unjust.
I was looking for a chapter in the textbook to be the topic for my power point, so I read parts of several different texts and I found them very striking. It is actually quite scary, to become aware of all the hidden messages that we receive and absorb without even realizing it, while if we knew, we would disagree with most of them. Some comments above are about the video that we watched in class. I found it very good and effective at showing how stereotypes are reproduced and diffused by television, and I really think that I will never be able to watch a television show “innocently” after that. I feel like I will keep looking for misrepresentations of gender, race, and class, jumping at every stereotypical, inaccurate or negative image and thinking -triumphantly or disappointedly: “ah, one more!”
It is disturbing, but in a good way, because it allows me to be more critical about the things I see and hear, and to think twice before agreeing that something is totally transparent and accurate. Another important thing is that media shape not only the way we see others, but also the way we see ourselves, and this is perhaps even worse. The images diffused by the media are so powerful that they can even make us believe false things about ourselves, while we should know that they are not true. They are especially good at making us feel guilty about who we are and the things that we should supposedly have been able to acheive easily – being slim, tall and beautiful (or fit, strong and handsome), being popular, making money and moving up in society, etc. It is scary to become aware of all that, but it is also very valuable, and probably one of the most important things that children and youth need to learn – either from their parents or from their teachers.
First of all, I’d like to say that it’s encouraging to hear a hip hop artist singing about something meaningful, really trying to make us think about what’s going on in the media. It all goes back to the fact that we really need to think critically about the messages the media provides us with.
I’ve respected Nas and thought of him as a great influence, ever since he released the song “I Can,” while I was in high school. The song encourages children to work hard in school, because one day their dreams will come true and they can be anything they want to be. The music video features children singing: “I know I can, be what I wanna be. If I work hard at it, I’ll be where I wanna be.” Nas raps: “You can be anything in the world, in God we trust. An architect, doctor, maybe an actress. But nothing comes easy it takes much practice.” He encourages them to stay in school and work hard at it. The song also deals with important issues, like taking drugs. He raps about the serious effects drugs can have on a person, and encourages children not to take drugs. “Young boys, you can use a lot of help, you know. You thinkin life’s all about smokin weed and ice. You don’t wanna be my age and can’t read and write.” Finally, he raps about young girls who try to imitate what they see in the media, going to clubs with their fake ids for example. He tells them to act their age, and to be themselves. He warns them to be careful of older men who might take advantage of them. “Whatever you decide, be careful, some men be rapists, so act your age, don’t pretend to be older than you are, give yourself time to grow.” The song is actually really fun to listen to, if anyone is interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrQIBAsrQ2s&feature=related
People often judge rap and hip hop as being bad, because of negative messages in the lyrics and videos (drugs, nudity, vulgarity). Although sometimes these assumptions are accurate, the reality is that not all rap is bad, and some songs actually provide us with good messages. However, in my opinion, I think that when rap was created, it was to speak to people about the violent living conditions the African-Americans were living through. Now, the content of the rap songs is becoming more and more meaningless. To me, talking about drugs and sex isn’t exactly inspiring.
I loveedd the message in this song. First of all I completely respect Nas as a rap artist, because I think he is such a concious rapper. He’s aware of politics and world issues, and manages to integrate these very serious issues into his songs (and usually on a catchy beat too!). I think his Sly Fox song is incredibly clever. Nas is trying to bring awareness to his potentially uninformed audience about propaganda and potential control that the media has of us. He speaks of ignorance and being deceived by all sources of media, even referring to the TV as an idiot-box. He encourages us to think for ourselves and not be blindly led by the messages portrayed in the media. Personally, I find these types of rap songs a LOT more informative and meaningful than people give them credit to be. Like Audrey mentioned, Nas’ song “I Can” should definitely be categorized as inspiring. So Thanks Dr. Steinberg, I have a new song for my iPod now !
It’s amazing to see an artist going beyond the usual and regular topics used for songs these days to bring forward an intelligent message. My immediate thought is that this song would be great to use in a class where Media Literacy is being taught. How fun would it be to come to class and get to listen to rap? Teachers are constantly trying to find new ways to keep their students interested and I definitely feel more inclined to pay attention when movies are being shown or songs are being played. Nas’ song seems almost like it was made to be used in a classroom. It might not be understood if it was used in grades below say Grade 4 but the many different shows mentioned as well as points about the destructiveness of the media can potentially open up so many discussions. Students may feel more interested because they are discussing a famous artist’s song. It makes the class seem cool while important issues are being brought up. Students can discuss why we should call television the ‘idiot-box’, learn that what is shown to you is chosen for a reason, and discuss their perceptions of a show as opposed to what the media wants the show to mean. The take home message should come from the line “I pledge allegiance to the fair and balanced truth. Not the biased truth. Not the liar’s truth.” We cannot believe everything we see on TV, it is what our class is about and we definitely want this message to be taught in every classroom worldwide.
After listening to the song and reading most of the blogs, I can honestly say that as soon as someone stated their position I leaned towards that point of view, until I read a following statement that commented on an opposite point of view from which that point on I was torn. I think that the contradictory issue of hip hop culture today and for most artists is that even though they may want to have their opinions of political standpoints and social injustices voiced, they can’t help but be pulled the opposite way by record labels and endorsements. The truest of an artist would have to be one who is not paid by money grubbing corporations. Yes, Nas does state that “I use Viacom as my firearm” but I truly doubt Viacom’s true intentions of endorsing Nas and allowing him to put out this kind of song was because they wanted to have his message heard without profit. What I mean is that they know like most large corporations know that Nas being the popular hip hop artist that he is will generate a lot of publicity with this type of song and therefore will create a large income. Not to say that I disagree with Nas and his lyrics, quite the opposite, I think that Nas has done a terrific thing by putting out a song like slyfox, it demonstrates the importance of media literacy and I feel that people especially teens should take this song and move forward with their thinking on media and the role it plays in their lives. I just wish that the “big man” wasn’t profiting from intelligent and thought provoking songs such as this one.
I am someone who is unfamiliar with the rap and hip-hop culture because it always gave me a negative impact. I seldom listen to rap songs, but whenever I do, it is full and swearing and violence or other forms of negative ideas. I believe that there are certainly some good rap songs out there that deals with more important values and issues happening around us but I think the negative ones seems to be more popular because everytime I go to work, my co-workers are always blasting the most inappropriate songs in the store! I work at retail store downtown, and for nearly fifteen hours a week I listen to rappers swearing and talking about money, looks, sex, violence, etc. non-stop which completely annoys the heck out of me leaving me with a severe headache by the end of the day. I watch them dance, and sing along with the songs, enjoying every word of it while customers come up to me telling me that the music is too loud or too vulgar. ><”
Songs are played everywhere, in almost every store and I feel that ones with swear words and violence in it should not be played in public because it affects the customers, and in a way it helps promote the negative ideas behind the songs. I think that it is certainly one’s choice to choose the genre of music to listen to, but in a retail store or any other public places, I think that it sets a healthier environment if songs with negative messages are banned.
I’m not trying to ban all rap and hip-hop with swear words and violence in it because some people might enjoy them, but I’m only trying to ban them in the public. Since the media is a big influence to our society nowadays, I wouldn’t want younger children to have the wrong perception of the world from listening to these songs while shopping. We can not control what one listens to, but we can at least make an effort not to promote the obviously inappropriate to others. =)
As someone who registered late for this class, it has taken me an admittedly long time to acquaint myself with this site. However, after viewing the Nas video and reading chapters 1,5,46 and 47, i was reminded of a particular high school teacher who was somewhat overt about his distrust of media outlets – specifically referring to CNN as Certainly Not the News. At the time he said this I had the perception that CNN was one of the better news agencies. I suppose this was largely based on the fact that in North America CNN always seems to be on – at airports, large hotels, seemingly every office building, in every business district of every city. I suffered from the misconception that if ‘important’ people endorsed it, it must be a quality channel that reports the facts as they are. My teacher’s words sparked a curiosity in me that led me to google CNN and do some very basic research into the quality of their reporting. Through this I became more critical of the news I read and see. However, with time, I began to forget to be so critical – I guess it’s just easier to take things as they are presented. Through completing the first few readings and viewing the Nas video, I have again been reminded to view media with a critical eye. I suppose this just underlines the importance and need of continued edcuation, especially in regards to media literacy.
This is not a response to the video, but rather to the reading. I am not sure where to post it so I’m sorry if this belongs elsewhere!
Upon reading chapter 46 I can say I agree with the value in the messages being sent by non-profit media, but must concede that I do not truly believe non-profit media has the power to counter the messages being sent by the major corporations. The fact of the matter is that everyone needs money and endeavours which have money behind them tend to be higher quality with regards to entertainment. The big corporations have better funding and thus their equipment, their writers, their actors, their directors and so on are probably of a higher calibre than that found in non-profit television. As such, it is likely that corporately funded television is more entertaining. When people come home at the end of the day most of them want to be entertained, not necessarily enlightened. Is this wrong? Maybe. Probably. But I believe it is the reality. Even if a select few choose to view non-profit television for political reasons, said individuals probably watch popular television as well purely for the entertainment value that is lacking in television with less funding. Now, as a result of watching unfunded media, these individuals may be able to catch some of the power manipulations the big corporations employ, however I imagine there are a whole host of subliminal messages that these people still do not catch and are ultimately affected by, even if subconsciously. The fact of the matter is that most people watch television to be entertained, regardless of the political implications. For example, as someone very involved in drama and the arts, I feel I SHOULD support Canadian television by following the various programs on the air. In reality however, I find these shows to be of much poorer quality relative to American programming and so I consistently choose American programming over Canadian programming. If people want to raise awareness about the biases presented by corporate television providers then they cannot just send a message- they have to jazz it up, otherwise most people are not going to tune in.
I was watching CNN last night and, while I hesitate to make an issue out of nothing, I noticed that they played “Palin Revealed” before “Biden Revealed”. I know that one obviously had to be played first, but I’m annoyed at how unsurprised I am that they chose that order. Everyone is going to have some sort of bias, I believe it is human nature. The problem exists when people refuse to acknowledge their bias and then make a conscious effort to balance out their actions/words.
CNN recently came close to admitting their bias in an article about Biden, saying “Sen. Joe Biden faces a paradox: He offers the most unfiltered contact with the media of any of the big four. But he’s the least likely to be covered.” and contrasted this with “Journalists descended on Alaska to cover Palin’s first visit home since being tapped. CNN covered her arrival live.” But instead of taking this to heart the author (Rachel Streitfeld) goes on to blame Biden for not being interesting enough.
As far as I’m concerned, it is pretty easy to see where CNN and FOX news stand, but I am a second year university student with very liberal leanings. I am afraid that younger people, or even older people who just haven’t given it any thought, will not notice media bias and will not think critically about where their news is coming from. As teachers I suppose we will have to take it upon ourselves to help our students in this area.
Here’s the link to the article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/12/biden.palin/index.html
Watching the video and listening to Nas’ words literally gave me chills. I love the fact that someone is finally talking about how unfair and unbalanced the media is. Obviously there have been numerous documentaries, such as OutFox, which have highlighted the biases of media, but seeing as how Nas is a celebrity; it helps get the message even more across. The words that he uses to describe Fox news, such as “propaganda” and “visual cancer”, really makes one stop and question how polluted are minds have become. Nas even states that we should “start thinking”, and this an important aspect, for if we let the media change the way we think, the idea of democracy will cease to exist. Nas also brings up the name of Murdoch, who happens to be the owner of Fox News. What is interesting though is that Murdoch doesn’t only own Fox News but he owns other forms of media as well. In Chapter 5 of Media Literacy it is written that there are 5 corporations which have power over American television. If one were to just stop for a moment and skim through the channels on the T.V., one would notice that there are hundreds of shows, and all these shows are owned by 5 corporations. What this means is that we as a society lack diversity, for many corporations will often try to project the same message in all their shows. That is why often times we see the same types of shows over and over again. I have literally lost track of how many shows there are about teenagers going through the struggles of high school.
While looking through the other blogs, I felt like Mitchell makes a very good point. Nas tries to inform people that the media is trying to corrupt our minds, but one cannot help but notice that it is because of the media that Nas is a celebrity. He is literally criticizing how bad it is, but the reality is without the media he would not be able to sell records or promote his songs. Therefore, to a certain extent he cannot live without the media and honestly neither could we. All we can do as individuals is not let the media control our lives and we should try to make it a priority to educate our children that the media isn’t what it’s cut out to be.
The influence of hip-hop music on the younger generation of deprived children is almost horrific. For those kids raised in good homes, with good parenting, who understand right from wrong can easily disregard the negative elements of the music. However for kids dealing with poverty, empty stomachs, lack of education, and complete lack of guidance in their lives rap music becomes their source of identity. The idea that an individuals worth is somehow related to his jewellery, cars, and women is simply misleading and tragic. In the case of Nas and his seemingly more positive approach to lyrics, lets just remember that he has a fan base, and there is a Market for his music. He has agents, promoters, managers and everyone else from his label pushing his product for the bottom line…money. And as far as Fox is concerned Nas had a run in with Bill O’Reilly concerning a free concert he was giving at Virginia Tech. Since Nas has a criminal record for possession of a firearm O’Reilly (Fox News) denounced VT’s decision to have Nas give a concert considering the schools history of shootings on the campus. I try to believe what I see with my own eyes. Every story has 2 sides as they say. No matter where you live in the world you are going to watch and read what that countries media wants you to believe.
After listening and reading the lyrics for the song “Sly Fox” by NAS, i really admire the way he promotes and stands up to the media based world. I like the way he keeps the lyrics raw and straightforward. You know exactly what he is talking about with the sole message of being media literate and being careful with it. I would like to analyze and show how well he portrays the media and how dangerous it may be.
In the intro he says [It's-it's on the islands, it's on the continent, it's here: it's everywhere!] which states how media is literally EVERYWHERE and these days the media is shown through the television and the internet, something that is easily accessible EVERYWHERE. In his first verse he says [Slave culture
Game's over/What's a Fox characteristic?] and [The Fox has a bushy tail, And Bush tells, Lies and Foxtrots,So I don't know what's real] which i believe he means how we are all becoming slaves to the media culture, we imitate what we see without even knowning what is truly right or realistic. In his second verse he says [Network for child predators, settin' 'em up....Tryin' to track us down with GPS] which shows how the internet these days is the easiest way through the most dangerous and illegal things like child pornography, private information such as someone’s location and phone number. It just shows how the internet can have both a positive and negative aspect. I believe however that knowing that there are these negative things online, why can’t somebody or some world organizations like the U.N do something about it.
In his final verse he says [They say I'm all about murder-murder and kill-kill; But what about Grindhouse and Kill Bill?] which shows how movies in today’s generation, for the sake of entertainment show nasty things such as killings and gore, which in some minds can promote wrong ideas. And then the people wonder how they get these ideas? I love the way he says how the shows on FOX involve black minorities in jail or dead -> [Only Fox that I love was the red one;Only black man that Fox loves is in jail or a dead one!] This i find is very true and very STEREOTYPICAL. As the song ends, you hear a memorable line and message:
Me-Me-Media
Misleading ya
Watch what you’re watching
This is the most important message of the song because being media literate will help you combat the misleading media assault on today’s generations. Also, in relation to HIP HOP CULTURE, even though it can be vulgar, i think that all rappers have a message/poem/rant/rave they want to express and in this song, i think he did a great job expressing it !
I myself love hip-hop and rap music for the primary reason that when they are not talking about money, sex or drugs, they send powerful messages like in Nas’ song. It’s true that the media is owned by major companies like Fox and they show us media from their own point of view. They are creating a bias in the stories they tell, which we end up seeing the event form their point of view. Even though Nas is primarily attacking Fox, he is trying to tell us that all the news networks are corrupt. For example, the Iraq war is being broadcast through American media, which is showing the Americans as the saviours of that nation and the bringers of peace. However, my friend has the Al-Jazeera news station and the Americans are not the saviours, but rather the evil tormentors of that country, who killed countless of innocent people. This demonstrates that even if we live in a democratic society and are free to speak our minds, the major media stations are censoring what we are allowed to see on tv and also on the internet. Nas is trying to bring to attention this fact that the media is misleading and even though it is our main source for learning about the news, we should be aware that there I always two sides t a story.
The most interesting line in the whole song for me was [Ya'll exploit rap culture, then ya'll flip on us].the TV stations broadcast music videos, award shows, entertainment segments which are generated by the interest in hip hop artists.they air shows targeted towards the same audiences as those involved in hip hop music yet as soon as there is gang violence, increasing drug usage or decaying moral values they instantly blame the violent lyrics or the pimp lifestyle portrayed.they profit off the artists yet do not take any of the responsibility for the outcomes of their airtime choices.Eminem has always said not to blame rap lyrics for social problems but rather the structure of the social system we have allowed to take root.
Just a quick comment about what George posted above. Yes the American media portrays the soldiers as the heros who are saving the country and it is a very biased view, but I personally have seen some clips from the Al-Jazeera news station and they often portray the soldiers, and many times all Westerners, has devils and the root of all evil. But negative slander in the media is nothing new.You can go all the way back to the monarchy and see evidence of propaganda flyers and posters (a famous quote we still use today and that Marie Antoinette was given credit for was actually a lie made up by the media!) As long as we teach our children,through things such as media literacy classes and important family discussion, to know that there are two sides to every story and not everything is always true I am sure the media will remain exactly what it is meant to be:entertainment.
I agree with the above comments. I really enjoy any type of music that is well written and some thought is put into the lyrics. Especially when it is a song that delivers a strong message. NAS does a great job of delivering his message in a tasteful and entertaining manner. The song is so true. Media does control everything we the general public get to see and year. It is sad but so true. Something that has caught my attention in the media lately are all the commercials for the up coming Canadian Election and all the commercials that bash all the opposing parties. I can’t believe how these are allowed. They are so sad. They come off like little kids fighting. Instead of spending so much time and money on making commercials to bash other parties, how about use all that money and time to think of a couple of great commercials representing your own party. On another note, i find it so crazy that all we have being seeing and hearing in the media for over the last year is the Presidential race in the US, but yet ours here in Canada is less than a month away and we still here little about it here in Canada compared to the american presidential race. Back to Nas, he is just trying to bring our attention to the fact that media is misleading and we should be aware of it and i couldn’t agree with him more “Watch what you’re Watching.”
I have been wondering what to blog about all weekend long, I finally got my inspiration tonight at diner.
I was over at my older brother’s house when one of my other brother called to announce that him and his girlfriend of two years we going to have a baby!! Everybody was really excited except for my eight year niece (Daniella)… she quickly grabbed the phone and asked to speak to my sister-in-law, Daniella looked very concerned before asking her if she was sure that my brother was really the baby’s father. Once Daniella gave the phone back to her dad, she looked at me and she still didn’t look too sure. By talking with her, I later found out that in a show that she watched this summer, one of the main character was having an affair and she ended being pregnant and she told her husband and family that she was having her husband’s baby… I was shocked to realize how much my niece superimposed television with reality. This brought me back to one of the first lines of chapter one in Media Literacy, “media culture is a form of pedagogy that teaches proper and improper behavior, gender roles, values, and KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD”.
This really got my thinking; if my eight year old niece is wondering about the real paternity of my brother’s future baby, what else can she be wondering about that she doesn’t ask us about? Is it fair to be disillusioned by the nature of humans and of truth at that age? I really don’t think so. But can I blame Daniella’s dad for installing a television in his daughter’s room so that she could feel more like a grown up and indirectly not being about to supervise what she watches? On one hand I don’t think it was a bad idea but the consequences for Daniella of having access to this media are going to change her life forever.
Does that mean that I think television is bad for children, not at all. But tonight I realized along with everybody else that supervision is key because it can truly affect the life of our little loved ones.
I agree with tv having a negative impact on today’s children if they are allowed to watch it unsupervised. I remember when i was growing up, my parents didn’t really supervise the shows my brothers and i would watch They never checked ratings for movies or shows. As a result, I found out things such as violence, sex, etc from quite an early age. I also think how this impacts children is based on their maturity level. I did know about these things from an earlier age but I never associated ‘tv world’ with the ‘real world.’ I somehow always assumed that these were fictional characters doing whatever and didn’t get that influenced by it. But it is true that my naivete and innocence were long gone as i already knew what was happening in the world. I almost considered tv characters wrong or immoral people. On a different note, tv taught me alot of things too. There are a lot of educational shows out there that were very good influences for me. In any case, I know that as a parent, I will control what my children are exposed to when they are young but i will try my best to let go of that when they are a bit older to understand life and make their own choices, I feel that it an important thing for a child to develop their own views.
I can actually relate to what Andree-Anne is saying. (Sorry i dint like any of the other topic, so i decided to respond to yours! =D). Nowadays, media is such a big part of our lives that it does have a big effect on our lives. I think for the first time, I actually get the purpose of this course. To be honest, after the first class of media tech and education, I really did not see the relevance of the course to the profession of teaching. But now i understand. We need to be able to acknowledge and differentiate media from reality in order to promote positive media literacy to our future students. A lot of what the children sees in the media, they apply it to real life situations; just like your little niece. As sad as it might sound, television and media is actually an agent of socialization younger children. What they see on t.v shapes their own concept of reality. And if we do not learn to acknowledge this fact as educators, than how are we to promote “knowledge of the world” to the students that we will be teaching. Almost the same situation happened with one of my younger cousins not to long ago. He lives in the suburbs of the state of Texas; therefore, he does not necessarily see a lot of black people. He is 11 years old, and he watches shows such as “America’s Most Wanted”, “Cops”… When he came to visit during the summer, he saw that i have a lot of black friends. He actually asked my dad if i was a “gangster”, a criminal. When my dad told me this, I could not believe. I did not think that a kid his age, is still greatly affected by the media. I mean, he was entering his first year of high school in the fall, and still he held these prejudices. This just goes to show how much media has an effect on younger children. If we (as educators) do not teach them that not everything they see in the media is necessarily the truth.
I actually find what both Andree-Anne and Francis had to say quite interesting as well, especially regarding their personal experiences with young children, and media’s affect on them. As I was driving to work earlier on in the week, I was listening to CJAD – anxiously awaiting the traffic report. The radio hosts were talking about commercials and product jingles. One listener called in to tell a story about how one of their children is capable of coming up with the ‘catch phrase’ for virtually every mainstream product. For example, they would say “VISA”, and the kid would say…”it’s all you’ll ever need”, or whatever the applicable motto would be. The worst part about this whole scenario is that the child was only 3! Another (possibly equally frightening) part of the exchange was that the parent was actually proud, and thought that it was adorable, and apparently funny. Personally my jaw dropped, and I immediately thought of our Media class. Shocking how so much emphasis is put on products and marketing, that it just becomes part of us, of our everyday lingo, and we aren’t even all that well attuned to it. My then obvious reaction was to personalize this moment, and reflect on how much I have unknowingly been affected by these messages that are becoming a part of us. I would clearly like to think that I have come through the years relatively unscathed by the media and it’s selfish messages, but to honestly think that would be hypocritical and naïve…because what # immediately pops into my head when I want to order a pizza?…343-0-343.
I must agree, most television shows have always had exaggerated story lines, warped depictions of everyday life and people including over the top typecasting for entertainment purposes which, over the years have only been getting worse. However, I am against the idea of depriving or excessive filtering of T.V. viewing for today’s kids. Parents or guardians should merely be aware of what the child is watching. Being selective of the programs kids are exposed to is key.
That said, being a T.V. addict myself from an early age, I must say that there are certain sitcoms, series and movies that I feel shaped me into who I am today. Jim Carey’s circa the 90’s, Seinfeld, Fresh prince….. All of witch I feel a certain sense of nostalgia whenever I revisit, and that is something I am glad to have and as pathetic to some people as it may seem, hold dear to my heart.
Nonetheless, my T.V. viewing was at all times to a certain extent being monitored. When I was a kid having a private television in my own room was as unfathomable as having a license to drive. This made that half hour a night and Saturday mornings all the more special. I still remember the exact chronological order to the Friday night’s T.G.I.F. line up and how it made for the perfect end to a long school week. How memorizing all the word + moves to the backstreet boys’ videos were at the time my biggest priority . These are all common memories shared by western kids of my era that when brought up among us can spark hours of reminiscence.
Being aware of current pop culture is important, it defines one generation from the next. Indulging in age appropriate media of the moment I feel is harmless and something that no youth should lack.
It’s true that media is very misleading. Many of the reality shows don’t portray reality but rather what the public wants, which is scandal for the most part. However I agree with Faye, that even though these shows may not always be suitable for children, and contain a lot of unreality they are still fun to watch. However, like Faye said; it’s about selection. There are reality shows like America’s Next Top Model, The Bachelor(ette), Beauty and the Geek, The Simple Life, Growing Up Gotti and others, which all portray scandal, money and sex. But there are other reality shows such as So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, America/Britain’s Got Talent,; and others that are more suitable for children. These shows allow children to see a variety of talent without the scandal behind the scenes. Also I enjoy these shows more because of the fact that what goes on behind the scenes is not shown, and I think because of that the contestants do a better job participating and the shows are a lot more fun to watch.
I was babysitting this weekend and the girl is nine. Her new favorite show is Total Drama Island, which is a cartoon animated reality show for young children. She was so into it that unless you covered the screen, you could forget her listening to you. I watched a few episodes with her and the show is basically like Survivor, but for children. Even though this girl is only nine, I forget that often because she acts as though she is older, not in a negative way. But by watching that show and others she is a lot more mature for her age than I think she needs to be. She knows more than she should and wants to do more than she can.
Since I am not a huge fan of Rap and Hip Hop music, I wasn’t too sure as to why I would want to watch the video of Nas. However, I figured if it’s getting such a so many comments as it has, then, I guess there is no harm in checking it out. And check it out is what I did. I was actually having trouble viewing it in cbs.com, soi went to our favourite website to watch the latest happenings, youtube, and searched it there, and within seconds I was watching Nas perform Sly Fox, on the letterman show. I have to say, i found it quite entertaining. his creative use of the lyrics and how the words really carried an interesting message was really cool. As I mentioned before, I am not a fan of rap and hip hop and when Dr. Steinberg mentioned Nas’ reputation and the kind of rapper he is, i felt out of the loop for not knowing this and that perhaps since I don’t enjoy that kind of music, I was missing out on the potentially good point that was being “discussed” in his song. I’m not about ready to go out and buy all the Hip Hop and Rap albums out there just because I realized that from time to time rap artists produce more than just the kind of music where you hear about drugs sex and rape. However, I will be more open-minded to the fact that there is often a good point being broadcasted through this genre of music and as long as when I choose to listen to it I focus on the subject matter being discussed rather than the “melody” or beats associated with the song, the I might become more enlightened but such a type of music. Who knows!?
“Watch what your watchin’”
This was a very cool video. Nas’ work has always been a bit controversial. But to me it is interesting that he challenges fox news in this song, and a few years ago he released “Hip-Hop is Dead,” which criticizes the hip-hop industry for selling-out.. On the other hand, despite many challenges to “the man,” Nas often has had rapper feuds. The most notable feud was with Jay-z, which seemed almost staged because just after the feud “finished,” Nas signed to Jay-z, Def Jam records.
Nas has also claimed to be the new Jesse Jackson, and represent black people, because Jackson “doesn’t help the hood.”
While I enjoy hip-hop, and even some on Nas’ work, I think it is a bit convoluted to claim to be the replacement of Jesse Jackson…no?
Does he seem angry or what? I love the song and the way he wrote it. I will be honest though I have not listened to the song yet but I have read the lyrics. I thought it might be important to read the lyrics first so that nothing flies over my head. I love how he has used the names of TV shows and news networks and incorporated it into his song. He makes a great point that the media does tend to represent black people in a negative way. He says how “the only black person Fox loves is in jail or dead”. It kind of struck me when I read that because I sit back and think about success stories of black people and I really do not hear about them. Honestly though I am not that naive and I know they are out there I just do not recall hearing about them. Anyways, thinking back on the song his message is very strong. We should move “outside the box”, because we need to “watch what we’re watching”. We cannot give in to the “biased truth” that is presented to us every day. It is misleading, because we do tend to have a misconception of the world. It is sort of like when you go to florida and you stay where the resorts are and everything. You do not realise it until later that you aren’t even with the florida residents. You come back and you were like man that place was perfect and then it hits you that there was something missing. That something was the reality. It was too good to be true. The resort area is too good to show the poverty that every city has. You just couldn’t see it because you were surrounded by what they wanted you to see.
I’m an academic in New York City at an urban institution, so of course Hip Hop is a big way of communication between and among my undergrads and I. I’m really interested in the topic, and appreciate the various posts, but I’m torn. I don’t know whether to praise Nas or condemn him in the same garbage can as I throw Lil’ Wayne’s Lollipops. I can appreciate when any artist be it Hip Hop or Heavy Metal that is not bound by rules and exposes truth for what it is. Indeed Fox is crap, but Nas isn’t innocent. He’s a great lyricist, he is-undeniably. However, to me, he’s not bringing any kind of “new” consciousness unless a good portion of the population he’s addressing, are sleeping with their eyes open. Let’s not forget “Oochie Wally” and “Hate Me Now.”
I’m not a prude, nor do I fault artists for writing what’s in their heads, hearts, minds, or what will get them their next sale, but I refuse to buy into this idea that he’s outing something and taking a political stance. After some rappers and Hip Hop artists stop subjugating my body, and the bodies of my sisters, then maybe I’ll stand beside them and pump my fist in solidarity. Until that time, please hold the extras.
Not to mention in “Sly Fox”, he still uses the “N” word. So, it’s not okay for Fox News to depict us that way, but Nas can use it in defense of that same depiction? How does this make sense? Not so long ago, Nas depicted himself as Jesus complete with a blinging “Jesus piece” and claiming that people were jealous of his Fendi this and Gucci that.
It’s great when you can inspire, and send a message of warning to those who look up to you, or need inspiration, but there are artists that do this in better ways, and started doing it in the 1970s. While he calls us to “watch what we watch” some of us are doing one better and continuing to listen…from the time they hit the stage until the time they find the need to “get political.”
Anyway, this conversation is amazing, with such great postings – sorry for being a blog hog, just thought I’d share.
I think Nas raises a really interesting point when he questions why all the blame has been put on him and the rest of the hip-hop community for today’s obsession with violence. The media has never had a problem blaming rap culture for the crime of today’s society, when we have governments that are invading other countries, ending thousands of lives daily. Who has a bigger influence on society? A type of music, or the government ruling over it? Michael Moore confronts this issue as well in “Bowling for Columbine”. The shooting that happened in Colorado sparked alot of interest in Marilyn Manson, since the two young men responsible for the shooting were fans of the very controversial singer. Moore examines the fact that at the same time the shooting was taking place, the US was in the midst of bombing another country. Moore interviewed people who openly placed the blame on Manson’s music and none of them seem to agree that there was a stronger connection between the high school massacre and our international massacres, it is easier to use the singer as a scapegoat. I think that people tend to overlook the fact that our governments have a long history of violence, we choose to place the blame on rap and/or rock music, or videogames instead. We tend to give governments a free pass on the violence and destruction that they cause, instead of examining it a little closer and figuring out what effect it has on our society.
Being a fan of hip-hop and rap music, I truly appreciate a song by such a visionary artist. Nas is lyrically one of the greatest rappers of all time, and focuses a lot of his music on what is going on in today’s society. Listening to the lyrics and seeing the images throughout the video, I can see what he is coming from. As Scott previously said, he also talks about how the hip-hop industry is dying and is no longer about the music with his song “Hip-Hop is Dead”. It’s a shame that they criticized the guy for making a song with the words “shoot em’up and murder” in it, yet they don’t say what the context of the song is. For all we know these lyrics could be talking about the problems in today’s society, rather than just talking about killing someone. Fox News provides us with propaganda more than anything else, and I respect Nas’ work on this song because he is bringing them down, and saying how they run the way our media-friendly society operates. They should not be criticizing someone who sang after the Virginia Tech shootings because he uses the words kill and shoot in it, in today’s music industry the average group/singer uses those words but we fail to mention the context all the time. They should be thanking him for giving hip-hop a voice that does not involve using profanities and half naked girls with Cadillac Escalades to prove who is more “gangster”. As Nas says in his song our society is too focused on television and the media, it’s as if “we locked in the idiot box”.
I think it is wonderful that NAS is willing to be honest and express his opinion in the song “Sly Fox”. I feel it is important to bring attention to the media and raise awareness to the notion that it is important to question it (“watch what you’re watching”).
Although, I am not a huge hip-hop/ rap fan it is a very influential genre of music because it is so popular. I was rather shocked that this hip-hop song had such a strong meaning because the hip-hop that is heard in the vernacular is usually superficial and glamorizing.
Fox is a corporation that has widely been criticized for being misleading. A popular example is found in the film The Corporation, when Fox news asked two reporters to re-write a story concerning rBGH, a controversial synthetic hormone widely used in the United States (to increase cows’ metabolism and boost their milk production). Therefore I was glad to hear a song that suggests that this corporation is misleading.
His attack on reality T.V was particularly interesting. Although, I am a huge fan of reality T.V I feel it is important to be aware that it is the farthest thing from reality, and to question what goes on in the creation of these shows. I think his song does a good job in sending the message to be media literate. As well, it refreshing that he writes how everything is controlled and tracking “GPS”. I liked the comment, “Make a nigga wanna invest in PBS” stating that PBS is something that can be trusted yet at the same time is seen as boring.
I agree with Theodore way up at the top of this disscussion. It is hard today to think of rap or hip-hop music having anything to do with things other then sex, drugs or violence. It is really a shame too since the earlier msuic produced from this genre was not only poetic but strong in it’s messages of moral standing.
Though don’t get me wrong by thinking I’m saying that it was all sugar and roses. But the violence they encapulated into their music was what they had seen, grown up in and wanted the world to know about to enlist a change. Nowadays it seems that there should be no change since then what else would these rappers have to tell us about. Yet not all music has to have a global message behind it. For example Rihanna sings wonderful music that is fun to listen to and doesn’t cause eyebrows to raise when listened to. Disturbia, her lastest hit, has no moral, social or ethical concept. It is just litterally music to enjoy for what it is Music. Perhaps this is where rap and hip hop should head as to many of the “messages” they try to send are redundent or simply stupid.
In the spirit of talking about TV stations like Fox that play a range of different shows, I have a very interesting observation to share with you all.
The other day, I was at my mom’s house playing with my 18 month old baby brother when my stepfather asked me to come to living room to see something on TV. The show was called ”Living the Lowlife” and it was something on the lines of ”Pimp my car” only these gangsta looking homies were modifying cars to make them hop (yes… ”hopping” as in the car is moving forward while the front of the vehicule bounces off the pavment!). My stepdad and I just watched these so called ”lowriders” … completly amazed at what kind of crazy things people can come up with these days and decide to broadcast on television. The show was very stereotipical, with the bootylicious host (who’s really just there to look pretty next to the hopping cars) and the ”lowriders” who all came from the hood.
Now the interesting part of my story is that my baby brother was also watching in astonishment these pimped out rides bounce there way onto the streets. And being a huuuuuuge fan of cars, he just couldnt believe his eyes… these cars were hopping! So from that day on, instead of playing with his toy cars making them cruize along the hardwood floor, he would make them bouce all over the place and simply repeated the word ”lowlife”! I know! Its really kinda cute when he says it! And he even makes his little stuffed animals hop around the house and calls them ”lowlifes”! Amazing how even at the young age of 18 months, we still cant escape the omnipresence of the media!
I like the last Nas quote written a few comments above..”we locked in the idiot box”. It’s interesting because it seems like there are many people who are aware of the true nature of mass media (superficiality, propaganda, unrealistic stereotypes) and yet they still continue to watch it…they are still “locked in the idiot box” to a certain extent. I would include myself in that category sometimes. For example, although I know that some of the shows that I watch have gender stereotypes, I still continue to watch them with the excuse that it is just a guilty pleasure and doesn’t mean that I agree with the show’s ideals. lately, however, I’ve been wondering if more needs to be done. Should I be taking more responsibility for what I’m watching? It is one thing to be aware of an issue and another thing to take a stand against it.
A few comments earlier, it was mentioned that Nas is not rapping about anything that we aren’t already conscious of. I think it is wonderful that he is bringing awareness to the issue of propaganda in the American media. I’m sure some people were not thinking about it until he performed that song. However, I’m sure there were a bunch of people who were conscious of media propaganda and If that is the case should we be thinking about the next step?
I have always compared rap artists to drunken men cursing in the street blatantly. The modern artists are being stigmatized by society that does not tolerate sex, violence, drugs and all earthly wrongdoings. Although rap /hip-hop artists may appear rebellious and incompliant to social norms, they are evidently very influential.
The rap “Sly Fox” by NAS may be written in plain English but the message stunningly creates awareness as to information fallacies seen in Fox News channel. I eventually appreciate the boldness of NAS as he took advantage of his popularity in order to make known globally the disrespected right of people that is the right to be correctly informed by the media.
The popular culture may have a touch of stigma but it also has a captivating aspect. For instance, the famous rapper, NAS, represents democracy a positive value, simply by freely voicing out his personal opinion (based on the readings) about Fox News. Although, the lyrics of “Fly fox” contain curse language to my surprise it tells nothing but the truth about Fox News channel. Also, Farhanna mentioned that Fox News is politically Republican. According to the book “Media Literacy”, the Republicans comply with the interests of the powerful media corporations, such as Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, Murdoch’s News Corporation, Viacom and Bertelsmann (Bagdikian, 2004, p. 3), instead of the interests of the people. Thus, the power is in the hand of the few undemocratic media companies. Furthermore, the misleading information and the undemocratic media actually challenge one’s mind to react and analyze information.
I’ve heard numerous times, from a myriad of casual sources, how American culture is a culture of fear. How the media uses scare tactics to promote war/political propaganda. Fox is notoriously known for it’s bias media and conservative propaganda. The fact I find interesting is that everyone in a position of power (or trying to get into a postion of power) uses propaganda. Even Anarchist Alexander Berkman discussed the importance of propaganda in his prison memoirs. Propaganda is everywhere, and has been for a while. The problem is large amounts of people stopped caring about deciphering the messages of propaganda, seeing it for what it really is:a shadow of truth. These people have been discredited by media sources like Fox and pushed into silence and away from the people….like lepers.
I’m really impressed by NAS’s video promoting media literacy; it’s so refreshing to actually see someone go out there and just state clearly all the things that people in the dark little edges of society have been whispering about. I think it’s so important to bring media literacy and critical thinking back into the light of mainstream culture.
But is one video enough? Is one artist enough to combat the propaganda behemoth that is Fox? I’m not sure. For some reason I don’t think this song will be a huge chart topping hit like a lot of other hip hop and rap songs which everyone knows is offensive. How many people will actually ever be exposed to this message? It actually reminds me of the commercial that Much Music used to play promoting media literacy. It showed clips from music videos with catch phrases saying “Sexy?or Sexist?”… and various other messages promoting critical thinking in media. The parallel I’m trying to strike between the two I guess is although the message is great, the audience is limited…kind of the whole if a tree falls in the forest, and their are a few witnesses, but the rest of the world doesn’t believe them, does it matter that they saw and heard the truth?
I am also not sure where to leave my comment, but I am responding from the media literacy book on chapter 46…
The authors from the article “The need for critical media literacy in teacher education core curricula” written by Myriam N.Torres and Maria D. Mercado point out that some literacy’s are not included in the school curriculum, even though they impact everybody’s lives and critical media is an important one that is left out. The central idea to critical media literacy is to recognize the distinction between the use of the media for public interest versus the for profit interest that drives the media. For example, the authors are not against mass media communications, they are merely concerned with the power that the media holds to control and abuse the general public. Electronic media such as the internet, phones, and all of the latest technology can be used as tools to communicate and voice opinions. Like anything in our world, if used properly, the media can be a great way to be expressive and ultimately liberated. However, if these advances are abused, they can be used as a source of power and manipulation to the masses. A perfect example of the corruption of power and control in the media is that the focus of media is distributed to a handful of owners who speak on behalf of the people thus making the media owned and controlled instead of democratized. Today, the media has now dropped from fifty media corporations to only five. This means that the power is becoming even more controlled than before. I agree with what the authors are saying completely. I believe that the media can be such a positive new advancement for voicing opinions, can be used to represent the masses, and can be used to serve the people’s interests. However, since the media is controlled by such a small representation of our population, we do not have a fair democratic media culture.
Public media brings power behind peoples words and events. Many Americans and Canadians will watch fox news and immediately believe what they heard simply because it was on tv, and since news is reviewed it must be ‘true’. Through the song Sly Fox NAS displays many of his negative feelings towards fox news and repeats that it is important to look deeper into the media and not to be blinded by what everyone in power wants you to hear.
While watching NAS preform this song i was happy to see someone use their media power to inform people that there are many corrupt powerful people and companies in our world. Whether one agrees with NAS about fox news being ‘sly’ or not, we must learn to pay attention to all media, from music, news, to daily shows and make sure we take the time to understand their message and not be easily influenced by them.
Unfortunately news channels have much of the power when it comes to important facts about what is going on in our neighborhoods, provinces/states and countries. People depend on these channels as well as newspapers to keep up with world events. We must be careful with what we believe when watching or reading. Whether it be fox, cbc, the gazette or new york times we must remember that these large companies are under the eyes of government whether we like to think so or not and have the power to decide what makes it public and what doesn’t.
“Stop sleeping, start thinking” it is about time someone told the youth of our time to do something. While I think it is important to note that rap and hip-hop culture have changed into something that today seem degrading and negative, it is also important to understand that it is not only rap and hip-hop sending the wrong message. We need to take a look at all forms of mass media and consumer culture that are affecting the youth of today. Whether it is pop music, which is also sending an unhealthy image to youth, or magazines, such as InTouch, People, and Star. These forms of mass media are creating a mass movement among young people today. The upcoming elections are what got me thinking about it, about how young people these days have stopped thinking. I think that this is the most important message that NAS is sending to the youth. He is not only trying to change the media that the youth are flocking too, but he is also trying to show us that even what we call “news” today is corrupt and untrustworthy. As I was speaking to some of my fellow students about the upcoming elections I was surprised to learn that not only did a lot of them not plan on voting, but they did not even understand their own countries political process. I feel that mass media has corrupted young people into being lazy and self interested. They do not care about what is going on in the world. We, as a generation, have become mass consumers. More artists and other media outlets need to speak up as NAS did and get our generation out of bed, and on their feet. Working their minds instead of their wallets. It is unfair to point the finger solely at rap and hip-hop. These are not the only outlets polluting our mind with talk of ‘bitches and hoes’, Gwen Stefani is also singing about ‘if she were a rich girl’ and the tabloids have us caring more about what store Paris is shopping at instead of who is going to be the next Prime Minister. So instead of picking up Star magazine, we should think about picking up an Adbusters, and learn how the media, including the news, as NAS so brilliantly pointed out, is corrupting our generation.
Many of the above comments have been great and I agree with the view that people should re-examine the genre and give hip hop another chance.
As a fan of hip hop music and the one and only Nasir Jones, I am extremely pleased to see this kind of message presented to the youth and to all listeners of music. This is the type of action is needed to take hip-hop music back to its roots when the music was about sending a message for change. I think that many people today often blur the line between hip hop and pop music. In my opinion, artists like Soulja Boi and Flo Rida are NOT MC’s, as they are no different from Hilary Duff or Miley Cyrus. That is because they are there to be marketed to ‘tweens’ and teenagers alike, producing catchy songs with no real substance or quality.
But, there are still many MC’s who stay true to the foundations of hip hop. Artists like Nas, De La Soul and KRS-One are all true MC’s because they make positive music in hope for social change. The song “Sly Fox” is a great example of a hip hop song which calls for social change, in fact Nas’ entire new album, “Untitled”, touches on a number of social issues including class and race. As long as artists like Nas are making songs such as “Sly Fox”, I believe it is possible for hip hop to survive and differentiate itself from the pop music of today. Further, I believe Nas and others like him can provide the public with a positive image for hip hop, one which does not focus on the glorification of violence, drugs and a thug lifestyle.
Hip hop music is not just about violence and selling drugs, nor are all MC’s complete clowns like Soulja Boi; there is a lot of great music in the genre which has a positive message. If you don’t like hip hop give it another chance and do a little research about its history and you will find that songs like “Sly Fox” are what hip hop are about. And who can argue with that.
It appeared quite clear to me that though all the comments seemed interesting in themselves, their number was an obstacle to my motivation to read them all.
Don’t you think that this tendency to read the blog entry, then the last comment to “save some time” is sort of common? It’s like if since there is so much information, the reader doesn’t want to take the time to analyse all of it. Be it for time economy or simply by laziness the reader will take as little as possible to have the largest view possible. Sadly, by doing so, he is missing an incredible quantity of different and pertinent information the kind of which could have completely changed his point of view.
This is the new media Censorship… There was a time when something that the State or the Church did not find acceptable would simply be destroyed or censored. Now that it doesn’t exist anymore, there is a new phenomenon doing the exact same thing and that would be the overwhelming quantity of media. It’s just like Joline said in the above comment, the medias are omnipresent! But since they are everywhere, you see so much of it that it all becomes indistinguishable and the important things are lost in the sea of stupid gibberish.
It then comes back to censoring, one of the great reasons that censorship doesn’t really exist anymore, is simply because it is of no use anymore. Controversial or scandalous things can easily be drowned in stories about what happened to Mr. Smith and all the opinions of their neighbours of even by the next episode of Big Brother…
Nas and Hip Hop. A really good topic. Nas, for those who are not fans of hip hop music, is probably one of the smartest and political rappers out there. His song is simply amazing. Hip Hop, even if it is still not well seen by a lot of people is an interesting type of music. Hip Hop started as a form of popular music that developed through social and political incidents. Hip Hop gave the chance to people (at first in the Bronx – NYC) to express their thoughts and their lives through this type of music. Nowadays, it is still the same, and Nas’ new song focusing on Fox TV station is a great example of what Hip Hop does.
Moreover, I think this topic is closely related to this week’s readings, which I think were also extremely interesting and will constitute most of my blog entry. This issue of corporate for-profit media is raising anger in me. I truly believe in our right to be objectively well-informed. These two chapters show us just how we are being manipulated by these huge corporations.
The one chapter that concerns me most, or that I am more engaged with, is the first one, the one on “the need for critical media literacy in teacher education core curricula”. In this chapter, it talks about how important it is for teachers, and for us, students and future teachers, to understand the importance of media in our lives, and the importance we must give it when teaching to children and adolescents.
This chapter explains the three dimensions of the authors’ view of critical media literacy, and the issues that are fighting against. Just like the authors, I am concerned with the conglomeration of for-profit media corporations and their alliance with the “federal government, the Federal Communications Commission, and other powerful institutions and corporations” (537-538) as this means that the information we get is less and less representative of the truth, or of diverging opinions. The more it goes, the more we only get to see “one side of the story” as their conglomeration means that they only portray what they want, and therefore have a better control on the population, on us. The more it goes, the more control they get, as the more their images, their ideas, their values are emerging in the media to brainwash everyone into believing it is how we should be, act, behave, dress, etc.
We say we live in a democratic country. After reading this, I am not even sure we can still call this democracy. People, to that point, do not even decide by themselves, as they are influenced by what is put in the media by these for-profit corporations, or by the government, like the California case about bilingualism highlighted.
This is sickening. How do we serve public interest after that??
There is seriously the need for critical media literacy in classrooms so people finally understand how manipulated they are. And as future teachers, we should definitely take seriously what was written in these two chapters. It’s time we fight back and outsmart those corporations and feds by understanding their game and becoming critical about it.
Contemporary mainstream hip hop is a perfect example of 1. the corporate media’s uncanny ability to market talentless entertainers and thus rake in ludicrous profit and 2. paradoxically demonize those same entertainers on misrepresented grounds.
Hip hop emerged in the 70s southside Bronx as a response to urban neglect and degradation, classism, voicelessness, racism, and poverty. With such spawning influences, the hip hop culture obviously arose with a burning resentment towards the modern urban oppression of the American power structure. With this in mind, it’s easy to see why white mainstream media cast hip hop initially to the fringes; labeling it a creative black fad. Yet as we know, hip hop gained a significant amount of ground and during the late 80s to mid-90s soared into mainstream popular eye. With the media fueled and perpetuated beef between rap giants Tupac (west) and Biggie (east), American corporate media secured rap as one of the most financially viable entertainment ventures in the world. With this change, we no longer have a mere rejection or denial of hip hop culture. With an enormous increase in the marketing of rap artists and all of the trappings rap stardom entails (clothing lines, movies, commercials), hip hop culture appears to have grown substantially since the days of DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa. But with this growth comes an incredible cost. As numbers and figures overshadow lyrical ability and catchy production drowns out MC innovation, we are literally witnessing the death of true hip hop in the mainstream. This death however, when you take into account the thriving underground scene with modern acts like MF Doom, Kool Keith, and Immortal Technique, might not be such a bad thing. But one cannot deny the significant damage that mainstream hip hop has done to the genre as a whole. With money, women, drugs, and violence as the highest media promoted images of hip hop, the genre has garnered a reputation as harmful and backwards. These images, however, have been with hip hop far before it ever went mainstream. The difference between today’s surrealist hip hop materialism and that of the old school’s is a subtle shift in ideology. Although old school rappers have frequently spoke of death, drugs, and sex, there persisted the goal of spreading the message from the streets. With death, drugs, and anger as direct symptoms of poverty and neglect, early rappers sought to speak of their lives and culture to the best of their abilities as such issues were often misconstrued if not ignored by mainstream media. However, as the mainstream influence set in, this unique exploration and expression of a particular socio-economic community was further and further packaged and marketed. So now we see rappers speak of drugs and violence and abuse without the political and social awareness of the early rappers, and they appear to be rewarded for this as record sales and general profit is through the roof. Not to worry, there are cats doing good work out there and true hip hop is definitely far from dead.
To end off I’d like to share my favourite rap lyric by the man himself, The Notorious BIG. Note the socio-economic commentary: “If I wasn’t in the rap game, I’d ‘prolly have key knee-deep in the crack game. ‘Cuz the streets is a short stop, either you slingin’ crack-rock or you got a wicked jump shot.”
It’s interesting to see how many have in depth knowledge about pop culture. I for one have heard a lot about hip hop music and the rap scene. I feel we associate this kind of music with a class of black getthowish poverty striken people. As our friend Warren mentions so eloquently that the “white mainstream media” have depicted these performers as marginalized citizens but ironically these performers have made fortune in the industry to be considered among an esteemed class of artists. I have listened in the past to a few rap and hip hop songs and couln’t help to sens a cry for freedom from the oppressive class and the deplorable state of poverty that it entails. The songs may glorify the decadent reality of sex , drugs and violence, but behind the anger and hostility the singers display, an underlying message tells us about the suffering and the lamentable state of affairs these people are enduring. Some rappers and hip hop artists have brought the negative aspects of living in destitution. There songs clearly seek to reach youth and warn them of the serious consequences of deliquent behavior and in the same token promote good values . They also subtily refer to the american establishement as being the culprits behind the sad predicament of street politics.
This brings the opportunity to discuss from chapters read which two where brought to my attention about critical media literacy and the relevency of media in educational programs. Our social and political system are supposedly based on democratic premises of the public being in charge of governing their own destiny. It seems to be an elusive utopian dream these days to talk of freedom of speech when it is so censored by the media.The authorof chapter one is right in saying how crucial it is to educate the population in critical media literacy “..that involves the politics of representation in which the form and content of media messages …”(Kellner &Share). I can,t agree more, how the media ,which is as we know are owned by corporate giants. How the corporations that control media deform and distort the reality and feed us with what they want us to know. People are slaves to the values delivered by the media who dictate our thoughts on issues that are political and social in nature. What about our life styles? They are commanded also by the media , they tell us how to dress , what to eat , how to behave , what places to frequent. Education in media can help us decifer through the amalgam of information that we take in and teach us on how to analyse this information and interpret the true meaning from questionable sources. Critical media literacy is being included in the educational curricula as mentioned in chap 46 which is a crucial element in the education of media in our information age and also the core of all the hype about media control. I’d like to give a blatant example of corporate exercising their influence on the media. Remember the 911 tragedy when the towers crumbled CNN showed muslums dancing in joy from the demise of thousands of americans, well think again, the footage you’ve seened had nothing to do with 911, the footage was taken from an islamic celebration where women, men and children are in a festive mood. the americans where duped in believing that palestinians where rejoycing from the aatack that symbolized the domination of an evil nation These images where forged in the minds of americans to create anti-palestinian sentiment.This is only one of many ways the media becomes a tool for political purposes.
I have to admit that as soon as I discovered I had a required media and technology class, I cringed. I have never been very up to date with the newest technological gadgets, and popular culture media has always just really annoyed me. I hate how magazines with all the celebrity gossip often dominate the topic of conversation among young teens. It just seems ridiculous to me. I never took to it all. I would much rather focus on my own goals and successes than read about who is pregnant now or who is dating who in the celebrity world. I also have to admit that I really don’t know much about media and technology and I feel like maybe that’s why I dislike it so much. Maybe my lack of familiarity with the whole subject has caused me to shy away from it all before having given it a chance.
In reading the first chapter of Media Literacy I came to a new appreciation of media and the importance of its incorporation in the classroom. “[...] it is not enough to merely understand media, students need to be empowered to critically negotiate meanings, engage with the problems of misrepresentations and underrepresentations, and produce their own alternative media.” (p. 19 Media Literacy) This excerpt really struck me and got me thinking about media education programs in a much more positive light. The misrepresentations and underrepresentations are what bother me the most in media. I am almost embarrassed to say that I had never thought of creating a media education program based on uncovering these misrepresentations. I always just threw away the notion of media as something uninformative and unnecessary. I am starting to realize that I am a living example of the need for media education programs in schools. Students need to be empowered from a young age to take media information and critically analyze its content. There needs to be some guidance in analyzing media otherwise there will be too many misconceptions and uninformed individuals like myself who simply end up not appreciating the whole subject matter. I’m really looking forward to broadening my horizons in this domain throughout the course!
This is a response to the film Class Dismissed.
This film covers a lot of problematic television trends; the one that I will elaborate on here is the depiction of gay and bisexual men in television and mainstream films.
According to the representations I’ve seen in shows like Sex and the City and Will and Grace, there is no such thing as a bisexual man and if he does exist he is an unstable threat. This was the case in Sex in the City, which once featured a subplot about Carrie dating a bisexual man. I watch a lot of queer representations on television [I'm using queer for GLBT and leaving the pomo out of this post], yet this is the only bi male character I can remember, despite the fact that there are bisexual women all over television.
With few exceptions, masculinity is promoted in cultural representations in such a way that no man who has sex with women could ever have a non-normative gender, so no one knows how to write bi male characters.. Carrie’s beau is mysterious and potentially dangerous because he passes as ‘straight’. Her imagination runs wild with nightmares of him running off with various men and in the end her ‘exotic’ flexibility is demonstrated in a conservative kiss with Alanis Morrisette during a spin the bottle party in some chic New York loft. Ultimately the bisexual man is a tad exotic but none of the serious male contenders could afford to loosen their heterosexuality. Carrie ventures into the queer world, kisses a woman and learns a few sex tips from a bi guy, and exits.
The other gay men on the show, her friend Stanford and the shrill wedding planner whose name I forget, serve to buttress the stereotype of gay men as fashion-obsessed accessories for the 4 women to tow around. They provide comic relief and are safe for heterosexual women to look at without questioning their own normative concepts of sexuality. The same goes with Jack from Will and Grace, and of course the de-sexualized homo mascots of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. This has had an enormous impact on straight women of my generation, many of whom maintain homophobic attitudes while wanting to have a gay friend just like Jack to go shopping with. When they meet gay men who aren’t streamlined with the stereotype they are disappointed much in the same way many Whites are disappointed when Black people don’t live up to the images they’ve internalized from Eddie Murphy movies etc. Gay boys watch these images and learn that they have to have particular clothing and hair if they are to live up to our culture’s expectations. While wanting a trendy gay man friend, a huge portion of the straight girls and women who embrace these depictions keep loathing queer women as they had before. At gay clubs these women have plenty of bisous for their fabulous fag friends, yet still glare at lesbians when they go to use the washroom.
I am still waiting for a home construction show hosted by a queer man with a flexible gender…
This is a response to the talkshow Ricki Lake. First and foremost, I would like to openly admit that I actually like the talkshow Ricki Lake. I think it is very entertaining, whacky, and amusing to watch. I like seeing all the new and different episodes that Ricki screens on the air. This talkshow never personally had an impact on my life in general, but I can easily see how it could have been a problem for younger audiences. It’s sad to say, but in today’s society younger children are more able to watch whatever they want on television without parental consent, and many of the parents are alright with the fact that their children watch these talkshows. Many of my close friends have relatives that are still in grade school, and they are aloud to watch talkshows that portray violence, swearing, nudity and sex. Jerry Springer, Rickie Lake and Maury are perfect examples of negative talkshows.
I just finished watching an episode of Rickie Lake. It was about girls who have low self-esteem because of their breast size, so in order to feel better about themselves they got breast implants. This episode definitely portrayed negative messages to younger audiences. It is basically telling children that if they ever don’t like something about themselves, or if they ever want to change anything, they could. With hard research and new technology anything can be done to make one feel better about his/herself. This episode also did a lot of other advertising as well. Chapter 30 of media literacy spoke about how talkshow hosts (alot of the time) put gifts under the audiences’ chairs, and how they air episodes with makeovers so that people buy the right kind of make-up products. I believe that not only children can be negatively influenced by this, but so can some adults. It depends what is being advertised. Going back to the Rickie Lake episode that I just watched, many things were being advertised. The doctor that gave all the girls breast implants actually visited the show himself, and he told other viewers that he was a very good and safe doctor. He also wrote a book called “Body Sculpture”, this book was said to have changed lives forever. At the bottom of the television screen while watching the show, the doctor’s website was posted, breastimplants411.com. How much more can the talkshow support changing your self image? Yes, I find the show entertaining because I think it’s funny and I don’t do as I am told, but for less mature, younger audiences you never know if the show will take a toll on their actions. In just one episode Rickie Lake advertised the website for breast implants, a book for breast implants, and the actual doctor himself. I think that some talkshows should be toned down just a notch. Although I don’t mind them myself, I do think they should be toned down for the sake of children and some adults as well.
About 5 years ago, in Mexico, I used to listen to a radio programme that presented different bands and music genres. Most of the groups they presented were not famous and just known by few people. The thing I liked about that programme was that they presented music that was completely different from what I was used to hearing (some songs were against the government, the church and media). One day they presented Mexican rap and hip hop. I was impressed as I had no idea there was a whole rap /hip hop movement in Mexico and how many Mexican bands existed! Also, I was impressed by their lyrics since they were completely different from the perceptions I had about this genre.
Listening to that particular programme made me reflect on the impact media has in our lives and in this case made me reflect on how my perceptions about rap/hip hop culture had been shaped (by tv, radio and other sources) without me being aware of it. I was able to see from another perspective when I listened to that programme and heard a little about their ideas and what they do. I’m still a non rap/hip hop person but I know that those cultures do not consist on what media has made us think. Media is only interested in those that will leave more profit than in those that have better things to say.
I recently watched some of the YouTube videos posted by Dr. Steinberg about different cultural issues. I was struck by many of them; however I found the cell phone/ipod zombies segment to be of interest. I have always wondered what our society will be like in the future and I have always said people will wind up deaf. Earphones are a fairly recent technological invention and I believe in the near future we will be seeing some negative ramification from these devices. This is my theory of the future, but I honestly only thought about the physical aspects of ipods and MP3s, never have I ever really put any thought into the social impact they have had on our society. They are giving people an excuse to shut themselves out from the world. I’m just as much of an addict to my MP3 as many others, but I don’t know how many times I’ve been stepped on or bumped into by someone who did not hear or see me. Bikers and even apse minded pedestrians could get seriously injured if they are not aware of their surroundings. It is scary to think of our world, in the not too distant future I might add, as an anti-social society. People are shutting out human interactions and relying on technological stimuli. But, human beings are designed to interact with one another, socially and intelligently. We need to converse, with one another, learn how to show emotions and interpret feelings, share and offer support for one another. Gone are the days when people tipped their hats to strangers and waved at neighbours. Very soon we may be living in a world so technologically advanced we will no longer need to interact with other human beings; now this is a scary thought to me!!
I have watched numerous talk shows : Montel, Rosie O’Donnell, David Letterman, Oprah Winnfrey, Dr.Phil, Regis & Cathie, Late night with Conan O’Brien and so on …I caught at least glimpses of every kind of talk show possible, not that i am a talk show enthousiast but i happened to be watching them randomly and viewing their content i have found that some content has made me more aware of our outside world and its decadence. take for example Oprah,show on childpornagraphy with sadly graphic details about the new trends in exciting pedophiles. Another new low that some humans have regressed to. Despite the corporate profite making discourse in chap 30 , many of these daily talk shows have unveiled compelling stories of human misfortunes such as crime and war, atrocities, unforseen injustices; these have been denounced thanks to the audiences compassion and some organisations that have been touched by these stories made possible via the media. The part on ”Vultur Culture” addresses the lame contents that was served to the public to enhance viewer ratings and dwelled on themes that offended the public that provoked an outcry for the dismissal of these types of shows. But the face of talk shows has changed in the new millenium, certain talk shows specialize in sensitive subject matters and are less reluctant in offering more adult and serious content in a comprehensive and toned down format because there seems to be a more educated and receptive audience.
One show i watch often is late night with Jay Leno, previously the Johnny carson show for those who are talk show buffs. Every talk show has a parody segment on political, social, technological or moral issues at hand. The general format for any talk show is as follows: presentation of the guests that will appear, an overview of the news by the host and their cynical views, a humorous section on everyday life , informal interviews , and a show case presentation. The talk show i watch is Jay Lenos late night show. I love his Monday segment intitled ”Headlines” which displays unintentional mistakes in news papers, typographical errors that completely modify the meaning of a sentence or a story; like this add in a paper for a new insect repellant wich read instead :” incest repellant” it generated cackles in the audience, but albeit, to the amusement of the crowd , this mistake also remind us of the reprehensive behavior of such acts. Nonetheless not all mistakes are tasteless ones but invite us to reflect on our human condition and brings us a different perspective on life. My favorite part of the show is the”Jay walking” on public knowledge where Jay leno goes on the streets to test the publics common knowledge. Last weeks show was questions about the Alaskan state and its governor, Sarah Palin. Many though that Alaska was situated down south, others thought that the eskimos owned the Alaskan state before its purchase by the U.S. How many responded by saying that Sarah Palin was a talk show host. These interviews reflect the sad reality of how american people have loss touch with there own culture ..and geography. It begs the question of what is learned in our school system. This show being what it is, an entertainment program filled in part by parody about the political and social arenas. Ironically we can learn from the hosts cynical comments, that a sad reality hides behind politics and the claims of social justice.
As i readin the chapter on the commodities of talk shows i realize that everything is translated into big profits. From the show itself to the coponents , to the audiences, profit driven motives just enhances our sentiment of being manipulated by the media. When the authors propound about the talk shows being a commodity, i understand the intricate economics behind the american dream. It’s sadly about making cash, the corporations hide behind false pretenses in using talk shows for profit making. I love the part on talk shows being purposely designed as advertising plateforms as it is put so eloquently by the authors: ”…talk shows’ intertextual commodities help blur the bounderies between program and advertisement…” in which the concept of taking an ad an turning it into a show in itself is to me brilliant business and economics in the making. But this misrepresentation by the media deceives the public into accepting this form of commercialisation of promotional material such as music CD’s, books and/or a variety of brand name products. It’s a deceitful and manipulative way of trapping consumers into buying. But hopefully people will realize the hidden agendas of these unscrupulous groups of people that manage these shows and boycott them. As Dr.Steinberg puts it ”…’watch what your watching!”
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I watched a talk show last friday on Radio-Canada (Une heure sur Terre) and they showed a video made by some 6th and 7th grade students from the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. Some of you might already have seen it or heard about it, but it case you still don’t know what it is, here is the link:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=iiJbs-JS3XQ
You definitely got to watch this. It’s a remix of TI’s hip-hop song whatever you like, where the kids are singing about the up-coming eletions on nov. 4th in the US. It is so nice to see some youngsters like them trying to explain older people the importance of politics. It really touched me
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