Black Pussy

While these white punks were able to return to their middle-class, financially stable lives, many minorities had no choice but to live in the cheap apartments they were offered at the time. Although the intention of the white punks may have been to unify all races under the label of ‘punk’, they actually reinforced clear differences between the two groups. The lifestyle became a desired object to white privileged punks into which they launched themselves head-on. The white punks desired to internalize the struggle rather than be contradictory by singing about it and not actually living it. White punks believed that by doing this, they were not only eliminating race within the punk subculture, but they were also furthering their own participation within the subculture by creating a “self-imposed minority”2 and an “appropriation of Otherness”2.

In Joan Morgan’s “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hos,” her feminist point of view addresses the problem of degradation and sexism in rap and hip-hop music. Through this passage, Morgan looks at the deeper meaning and connects rap and hip-hop music with the African American community. Between the beats, the lyrics of this specific genre of music show listeners various situations the African American community deals with, like crime, drugs, alcohol, relationships, and their day-to-day life in America. With Morgan’s feminist criticism, she states that the blame is not only on rap and hip-hop artists, but also other women because they should be speaking out against being called “bitches” and “hos”. Through the rhetorical strategies of description,

Satirical writing allows the author to express his or her opinion about a problem in society. A writing must follow three rules in order for

The voice of writers and authors are the key components to their inner thoughts. It is a way of actually portraying what a person is trying to say. However the case is that their words silenced and put in period of exile away from the eyes of the public. Author Charles Lawrence goes on to state that racist speech is wrong simply because of the drastic agony it puts on a victim’s perspective. In the article “On Racist Speech,” the author, Charles R Lawrence III, effectively establishes credibility, logic and emotional themes to supports his argument which infers that the use of harmful language should not be protected by the First Amendment Law in order to stop racism.

Art has undoubtedly become a decisive aspect of our culture; embedded in the way we learn and grow on a daily basis. Art forms such as music, television and dance dominate our society as an outlet of freedom of speech for humanity. The evolution of music has rapidly exceeded its original classifications, developing new genres with greater appeal to an audience, hence its influence on society has expedited. In recent times, lyrics (specifically rap lyrics) have been introduced into the court room as a form of documented confessional evidence, evidently challenging law’s authoritative nature. This essay will closely follow the genre of rap and its relationship with law, through cases based in the United States of America (USA). In addition, the trial of Simon Bikindi in Rwanda and Smith v The Queen will be used to form an acute analysis on the influencing factors of relevance, identity, freedom of speech and current constitutional law.

Modern society allows humorists to touch upon offensive topics without receiving much criticism. As Alain de Botton claimed in his 2004 book, Status Anxiety, humorists’ role is not merely to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” De Botton’s argument proves legitimate. Many humorists, such as cartoonists and television hosts, decide to use their humor as a tool to prove an idea or express a belief that cannot be voiced candidly in public.

Humorists are present through multiple mediums such as talk shows, blog columns, and political cartoons. The different platforms humorists’ use lends different purposes for their content. For example, political cartoon artists have the creative liberty to create offensive content on certain political issues. The political cartoons

The show Black-ish displays political humor and satire by using concepts such as confrontation, and discursive integration. Throughout this paper, I will be explaining how Black-ish displays these concepts, as well as proving that this text can be considered politically humorous and satirical. I will be taking examples from the texts Entertaining the Citizen and the article Let Us Infotain You, as well as the show Black-ish itself to help clearly provide evidence that shows that show Black-ish contains satire.

Censorship has long been an issue in Rock and Roll music. Although our American society celebrates “classic” rock that emerged in the 60’s and 70’s, today, artists such as: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Doors, The Sex Pistols, and Bob Dylan were harshly judged for their music and image they projected because some members of society feared they were too suggestive, or just completely inappropriate. These rebellious artists fought against their music being censored in the best ways for their bands.

Systematic racism continues to perpetuate the marginalization of people of color in the 21st century despite belief of living in a post racial society. This unfortunate reality is seen in many different forms of current culture. One of the ways systematic racism takes current form, is in the negative portrayal created by a single narrative, or the lack thereof, minority groups. This lack of representation or diversity of people of color in different forms of art and platforms, not only affects those subject to misrepresentation, but perpetuates negative attitudes and discriminatory behavior towards those subject to misrepresentation. It is necessary to look into the ways this single narrative in different art forms affects marginalized group, and the current move to dismantle the component power plays in who gets to tell these stories.

When I was very little, my dad would read “The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster to me. I was intrigued by the silly pictures and couldn’t care less what they meant. Later, when I was in middle school, I read the book again. I lived Milo’s adventure vicariously through the book, but I only saw the surface of the plot. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I read it again, and this time the satire, hidden meanings, and puns finally hit me. The book never changed; only the way I viewed the book changed. An image such as the one displayed on page 61 of the textbook can show how people’s interpretations of other people change over time. Painting the word “HERE” on all of the babies shows that racism is not inherent in people, but rather it is taught. The image of OJ Simpson on the cover of Newsweek is another example of using an image to change the perception of a person (Sturken & Cartwright, 23). Before looking at this image, people who do not follow sports-related news may not have heard of OJ Simpson; the first image they see is one with the words “Trail of Blood” plastered in front of Simpson’s mugshot. This will steer them to perceive Simpson as a threat and an example of violence. Before looking at this image, they just see a mugshot. After reading the article, when they look at the image again, they see the face of a man that has

Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” stirred controversy due to the bizarre nature of the music video. In the video, religious icons and the KKK appeared which angered Catholics. Yet, “Heart Shaped Box” is one of the most successful songs from Nirvana. Usually when artists or authors release workpieces that social identities as taboo, conversations reaching from coast to coast become debates of the decade. In this scenario, Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was the hotspot for discussing the brutality of slavery and the usage of the prohibited “n-word”. Despite that, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American classic novel. However, the extent of using the “n-word” is becoming a problem teaching and discomfort for the education system.

The corruptness of music today seems to be linked to the crude language and aggression found particularly in hip-hop and rap music. Some rap artists use vulgar language in their lyrics that are easily adoptable by teens (Holden). Not only have certain lyrics influenced the way teens speak but also their actions. An article on Headliners.org stated that “lyrics in the music are too violent and are to blame for many problems.” The problems range anywhere from suicide and aggression towards women to underage drinking and drug use. Lyrics are not only to blame, but also what people see in artists’ music videos can affect what they do (Doaks). The urge to emulate these rap musicians has escalated quickly causing a spike in rebellious tendencies among teens.

Most popular music today is driven by violence and sex. These musicians put out albums that glorify violence and promote causal sex. When the albums are being produced, the artist does not think of how it will affect the perspective merchant. When

Throughout history, music has been seen as a medium in which different people all over the world can relate. Adorno criticizes, however, that songs that have the most “hits” on the top music charts or are most listened to, otherwise known as popular music, are being produced for and consumed by the masses as a commodity. He identifies popular music as being a part of a culture used for capitalism, and that we as listeners, are falling into a trap in which we believe songs have individuality and that we have the freedom to choose what we listen to. He argues that in reality these popular songs are all standardized and made to seem different through various elements that are added. In this paper, I will display how Adorno’s critique of popular music being used for capitalism applies to the song,1-800-273-8255, by hip-hop and rap artist Logic, through its standardized elements in both its content and marketing; however, I will argue that although it contains these elements, the audience is actively listening and responding to the song as it brings awareness to mental health and suicide prevention that is changing and saving lives all around us.