So, this is it, after two semesters of blogging it looks like this is the last time I will be required to update this blog. So here goes...the post that I am most proud of from this quarter is...
"The (Insert Issue Here) Cycle"!
This is favorite post from this quarter for a few reasons. First of all, I took a theme that we have been discussing in class (gender discrimination), and I took that further and looked for a link to that topic today, rather than to the 1800s, the setting of the Kentucky Cycle. I found research that had recently been conducted at Cambridge, which talked about that exact subject. I not only learned a lot from the overview of the study, but it also led me to ask for an opinion from my readers. I only got one comment, but it was still very insightful!
Overall, I was pretty happy with my blogging this quarter. I was often at a loss for interesting things to blog about, but I always tried my best to keep my posts interesting. But every time I struggled to think of a topic for a post, it led to me think even more critically about our society, which is the greatest thing that blogging has taught me. This combined with the class has helped make this year so great. I have learned a lot, and I know that I will use the skills that I learned in American Studies throughout the rest of life, so thank you both, Mr. Bolos and Mr. O'Connor, very much for teaching me how to enter into a conversation and think in a way I had never even imagined about society.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Remembering Gil Scott Heron
Just last week, poet/musician/author Gil Scott Heron died at the age of 62. He was one of the earliest "rappers", who spoke his mind by putting his anger into song. Since this relates to my junior theme, I figured I would talk about this a little bit.Living in New York at a time when the inner city was just about the worst place you could be in, Heron was angry at the disparities that existed been whites and blacks as well as upper-class and lower-class. Because of these disparities, many youth in New York resorted to violence as a means of letting out their anger. Heron, however, had a different method. A talented young writer, he put poems and stories to a beat, hoping that somehow they would reach the attention of the world. His songs "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" and "Whitey on the Moon" are two of the best examples of these themes (and also his most popular).
His music not only became the roots of rap music, but he helped change New York. Because of music like this, kids began to express themselves in rhyme and song rather than using violence. Rap music became an escape for these kids, and, I think Heron would be quite happy to know that these stories have reached a mainstream audience. He started a revolution that not only changed how African-American kids in low-income areas view the world, but also how the world views them.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Coming Together
As most of you probably already know, a very deadly tornado hit Joplin, Missouri a few weeks ago, killing many people. It was a horrible event, but the events that followed caused me to think about something that seems to happen frequently here in America, and it is very interesting.
It always seems that our society is very separate. The different social classes don't really seem to interact with one another and people just seem very stagnant about where they are in life. However, whenever some sort of disaster happens, people from all classes seem to come together to help one another. In the case of the Joplin tornado, people from other states came to help the Joplin residents clean up and get their lives back in order.
The same thing happened in the days following 9/11. People came together, and the nation really seemed to be one connected country. It didn't matter what class you were from or your background, people respected one another and came together. However, not long after, things went back to the way they were before the events of 9/11 even occurred. I have just been wondering why this happens. People come together for a little bit after a tragic event, but then things go back to the way they are not long after. Is it because classes have a difficult time interacting with one another, and helping each other in times of need is their only true way of interacting and they feel that it is nice to help? I am really not sure.
It always seems that our society is very separate. The different social classes don't really seem to interact with one another and people just seem very stagnant about where they are in life. However, whenever some sort of disaster happens, people from all classes seem to come together to help one another. In the case of the Joplin tornado, people from other states came to help the Joplin residents clean up and get their lives back in order.
The same thing happened in the days following 9/11. People came together, and the nation really seemed to be one connected country. It didn't matter what class you were from or your background, people respected one another and came together. However, not long after, things went back to the way they were before the events of 9/11 even occurred. I have just been wondering why this happens. People come together for a little bit after a tragic event, but then things go back to the way they are not long after. Is it because classes have a difficult time interacting with one another, and helping each other in times of need is their only true way of interacting and they feel that it is nice to help? I am really not sure.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
The (Insert Issue Here) Cycle
Currently in American Studies we are reading a series of plays called "The Kentucky Cycle". Each play takes place on the same plot of land in Kentucky, and the play discusses how society has changed over time. I began thinking (not just because our final paper is about this i promise) about whether our society actually has progressed over the years or whether it is just a myth that we as Americans subscribe to. I did some quick research on modern-day gender relations. I know that in the past women were expected to work at home, get paid less if they did work, and everything like that, however I was quite surprised to find out about what is going on in modern times.
A quick search brought me to the University of Cambridge, where they are doing a study on just this subject. In the article it states that while there has been a general change in how males and females are viewed in society, some things have stayed the same. For example, women no longer are expected to work at home, and many of them are working the same jobs that men would have previously been expected to work. However, women are still being payed less than men overall. Why is this? I am really not sure. I can a guess though, and that is that our society is used to thinking of women as less than men. Even though we think that many things change in our society, it seems that some states of mind never do. Because we still think of men as the prominent workers in a family, it seems right in our minds that they should get payed more.
Looks like it is a cycle after all. But that's just my opinion. How about the rest of you, do you subscribe to the myth?
A quick search brought me to the University of Cambridge, where they are doing a study on just this subject. In the article it states that while there has been a general change in how males and females are viewed in society, some things have stayed the same. For example, women no longer are expected to work at home, and many of them are working the same jobs that men would have previously been expected to work. However, women are still being payed less than men overall. Why is this? I am really not sure. I can a guess though, and that is that our society is used to thinking of women as less than men. Even though we think that many things change in our society, it seems that some states of mind never do. Because we still think of men as the prominent workers in a family, it seems right in our minds that they should get payed more.
Looks like it is a cycle after all. But that's just my opinion. How about the rest of you, do you subscribe to the myth?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
It's All About the Benjamins Baby
Yeah, that's right, I quoted a P. Diddy song (or I guess we should call him Swag now...). But in all seriousness, this blog post has to do with making money. Being a junior, I've been thinking a lot about colleges, and not just where I'm going, but what I am going to study when I get there. I would love to study music composition, and hopefully be a professional composer, but my parents aren't so sure about the idea.
Of course I know that it is very very difficult to make it in the music industry. I would not only need talent, but I would also need connections. Because of this, my parents want me to make sure that I make a good living, and they want me to double major. Now I definitely understand this, but it just made me think about our society and our values.
We have talked in class a lot about the American Dream and what it means to people of different classes and backgrounds. Generally, the American Dream is that a person can always make a better life for themselves. They can earn more money, get a bigger house, and overall have a better quality of life. It seems that, because this is so engrained into the minds of people here, this is what is causing my parents to want me to make a living doing something that I may not be fully committed to. It seems that even if I am unhappy in a job, everything is great as long as I am making a good living. And while I agree (because it is engrained in my mind too), I have to say that it makes me wonder if having another job and almost securing earning a good living would truly make me happy. I could always keep music in my life and do it on the side (Mr. Bolos does this), but I am really not sure if that is what I want to do. Oh well, while I think about it, I'll be looking into more colleges!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Trying to Stay Focused
Today in class we had quite a long discussion about art, and how it has changed over the years, specifically in how people view it. Points were made about how movies are now more for entertainment, people watch them while doing other things instead of just focusing on them, and the same things about music and other art forms. I would just like to put in my two cents about this.
I specifically wanted to address a point that Doc OC made in class today, when he mentioned how musician Andrew Bird only listens to music when he is fully engrossed in it. He doesn't use it as background music at all, and we were debating on whether music should only be listened to in situations like this. I personally don't think that it's wrong to listen to music as background music, no matter how brilliant or complex it is. Being a musician myself, I know how when I truly sit down and listen through and album, I get a lot more out of it than when I listen to it as background music, however the music is serving a different purpose in each of the situations. It is still the same piece of art, however, when used as background noise, I use it more to focus (it sounds counter-intuitive but it helps me focus) and, honestly, to just have something there. Whereas when I really listen, I'm listening to specific chord structures, notes, the sort of things that require a lot more concentration.
Thus, I think that Andrew Bird is taking his music almost too seriously. While there is certainly a time (and a need, depending on the album) to sit down and fully examine the music, I would definitely go so far as to say that one cannot listen to music in any other setting. This leads to a similar point that was brought up many times in class today. The two types of listening serve different purposes, and neither one is right or wrong.
I specifically wanted to address a point that Doc OC made in class today, when he mentioned how musician Andrew Bird only listens to music when he is fully engrossed in it. He doesn't use it as background music at all, and we were debating on whether music should only be listened to in situations like this. I personally don't think that it's wrong to listen to music as background music, no matter how brilliant or complex it is. Being a musician myself, I know how when I truly sit down and listen through and album, I get a lot more out of it than when I listen to it as background music, however the music is serving a different purpose in each of the situations. It is still the same piece of art, however, when used as background noise, I use it more to focus (it sounds counter-intuitive but it helps me focus) and, honestly, to just have something there. Whereas when I really listen, I'm listening to specific chord structures, notes, the sort of things that require a lot more concentration.
Thus, I think that Andrew Bird is taking his music almost too seriously. While there is certainly a time (and a need, depending on the album) to sit down and fully examine the music, I would definitely go so far as to say that one cannot listen to music in any other setting. This leads to a similar point that was brought up many times in class today. The two types of listening serve different purposes, and neither one is right or wrong.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Stayin' Classy
As we start the F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", we have been talking a lot about class, as it is a major component of the book. I figured I would just add to the discussion a little bit.
On Friday, we looked at a "class calculator" put up by the New York Times. This calculator basically says that class is calculated by occupation, education, income and wealth. However, we talked in class that maybe those aren't the only factors. For example, behavior may be a major component. If someone is wealthy but is a bad person or just acts not like one would expect a high-class person to act, would they still be considered high-class? I began to consider celebrities who act like this. They are clearly very wealthy and have a lot of influence, however the ones who act in completely inappropriate ways are still seen as high-class by many people.
There really is no one way to define class. It is really just a matter of opinion, because class is different to everyone. Ones perception of it is completely relative to where they grew up, how their childhood was, and how they have been influenced by other people.
On Friday, we looked at a "class calculator" put up by the New York Times. This calculator basically says that class is calculated by occupation, education, income and wealth. However, we talked in class that maybe those aren't the only factors. For example, behavior may be a major component. If someone is wealthy but is a bad person or just acts not like one would expect a high-class person to act, would they still be considered high-class? I began to consider celebrities who act like this. They are clearly very wealthy and have a lot of influence, however the ones who act in completely inappropriate ways are still seen as high-class by many people.
There really is no one way to define class. It is really just a matter of opinion, because class is different to everyone. Ones perception of it is completely relative to where they grew up, how their childhood was, and how they have been influenced by other people.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
...The Research Never Ends...
I am currently sitting in my American Studies class, staring at the first draft of an outline which I hope will turn into a decent junior theme. I know that the previous sentence sounded angry, and while this paper is stressful, it is actually incredibly interesting.
While researching my question of "why has rap entered the mainstream", I have realized that I must research much more than just the sales of rap. I must research why some people welcomed rap with open arms, and why some didn't. My paper is essentially split into two parts: why rap became popular in big cities, and why it became popular outside of the cities in suburbia. Through this, I have had to do a lot of research on how the cities were at the time, how safe they were, and what went on there. For the second part, I have to look at why people are attracted to a sense of danger, when they know that they can get away from it at any time. Clearly not what I expected.
So while I have to do more work than I initially thought, I must admit that I enjoy it. I have learned that the destruction of the Bronx and Harlem was due a man named Robert Moses, who wanted to make a more connected New York. Because he would bulldoze through houses to build his superhighways, people began to move out, and the streets became deserted and dangerous.
Yeah, that's not a lot, but that's what I've learned thus far since realizing I had to do all of this extra work. I'm reading two books ("Can't Stop Won't Stop" by Jeff Chang, and "The Big Payback" by Dan Charnas) as well as reading many scholarly articles and historical newspapers. Either way the story of how hip-hop became a major part of our culture is incredibly interesting, and I will be providing you with an update next week (hopefully I will have made more progress by then...)!
While researching my question of "why has rap entered the mainstream", I have realized that I must research much more than just the sales of rap. I must research why some people welcomed rap with open arms, and why some didn't. My paper is essentially split into two parts: why rap became popular in big cities, and why it became popular outside of the cities in suburbia. Through this, I have had to do a lot of research on how the cities were at the time, how safe they were, and what went on there. For the second part, I have to look at why people are attracted to a sense of danger, when they know that they can get away from it at any time. Clearly not what I expected.
So while I have to do more work than I initially thought, I must admit that I enjoy it. I have learned that the destruction of the Bronx and Harlem was due a man named Robert Moses, who wanted to make a more connected New York. Because he would bulldoze through houses to build his superhighways, people began to move out, and the streets became deserted and dangerous.
Yeah, that's not a lot, but that's what I've learned thus far since realizing I had to do all of this extra work. I'm reading two books ("Can't Stop Won't Stop" by Jeff Chang, and "The Big Payback" by Dan Charnas) as well as reading many scholarly articles and historical newspapers. Either way the story of how hip-hop became a major part of our culture is incredibly interesting, and I will be providing you with an update next week (hopefully I will have made more progress by then...)!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Choosing a Theme
This week in American Studies we started working on a little project known as Junior Theme. This paper will take up much of fourth quarter and is a major part of our grade, thus it's probably a good idea that we choose a topic that we're really interested in. Personally, I knew that the general topic wouldn't be very hard to choose. Two things that I am really interested in are music and technology, thus I quickly narrowed my search for a question down to these two topics.
From there it got difficult. I had no idea what my "why" question should be. I thought that I could do something about music technology, electronic music, rock music, Apple computers and how they're taking over the world, but I just couldn't think of a question that would not only be interesting to me but also had a history in America. After thinking some more, I finally came up with one topic that is truly one of the most controversial topics in pop culture right now: hip-hop music.
Portraying themes of violence, sex and excess, hip-hop was the perfect topic. It had its roots in race music, such as jazz, blues and R&B, yet was a modern topic that has two very distinct sides to the argument of whether it is healthy for our community or not. Because of this argument, it led me to the perfect why question: Why does hip-hop influence people's perceptions about African-American culture?
While it was a difficult process, I found a topic that I am really interested in and I cannot wait to research it further.
UPDATE: Turns out my teachers didn't like that question, they wanted something more honed in and focused, which makes sense. I have now changed my question to "why did hip-hop become part of mainstream music?" This will be very interesting to research and I am very excited to write this paper.
From there it got difficult. I had no idea what my "why" question should be. I thought that I could do something about music technology, electronic music, rock music, Apple computers and how they're taking over the world, but I just couldn't think of a question that would not only be interesting to me but also had a history in America. After thinking some more, I finally came up with one topic that is truly one of the most controversial topics in pop culture right now: hip-hop music.
Portraying themes of violence, sex and excess, hip-hop was the perfect topic. It had its roots in race music, such as jazz, blues and R&B, yet was a modern topic that has two very distinct sides to the argument of whether it is healthy for our community or not. Because of this argument, it led me to the perfect why question: Why does hip-hop influence people's perceptions about African-American culture?
While it was a difficult process, I found a topic that I am really interested in and I cannot wait to research it further.
UPDATE: Turns out my teachers didn't like that question, they wanted something more honed in and focused, which makes sense. I have now changed my question to "why did hip-hop become part of mainstream music?" This will be very interesting to research and I am very excited to write this paper.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Why is it Only the Drama?
This week in American Studies, we have been talking about racial tokenism, and specifically how it applied to major network dramas. Our teachers have even said that tokenism is only present in network dramas, because other types of shows (sitcoms, reality shows), follow different rules.
I began to think of what those different rules were. I mean, all types of shows are for the purpose of entertainment, not just network dramas, so shouldn't they all follow basically the same rules? Well, in the same way that we looked at cast pictures of network dramas, I looked at a cast picture of the ABC sitcom "Modern Family".
This clearly would never be the cast picture for a network drama. In the photo there is a gay couple, a family where the husband is twice the age of the wife (and the wife is hispanic), and what we would call a "traditional" family. However, when one watches the show, it really pokes fun at all of these topics. It pokes fun at the fact that the families are different or dysfunctional, and that one of the women is latino.
We also looked at the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, which does the exact same thing. They make fun of tokenism and all of the elements that you cannot just make a joke at in a network drama.
So is that the answer? The difference between the two and tokenism is that one can make fun of it and the other one can't? I am not sure but it is a very interesting subject.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The Future is RockMelt
A major theme in AIS this year is the media, and how it affects our lives. We all have Facebooks, some of us may have Twitters, some of us blog regularly, or follow blogs and other feeds, however we usually have to make at least some sort of effort to check them - whether it be physically going to the web page or using the app on your phone.
Well, not anymore. I recently started using a web browser, built off of the Google Chrome developer channel called RockMelt, and it has completely changed how I follow websites. On the left side of my browser, I have all of my news feeds: Facebook, Twitter, I even have multiple blogs and a YouTube app. On the right side of my screen I can update my status on either of these social networking sites and I can quickly see which of my Facebook friends are online and chat with them. I can do ALL of this without closing out of my current webpage. Plus, it alerts me when something new is added to my feed, so I always know what is going on.
It's overwhelming, weird, and scary, but it's so awesome. It is still in beta, so it's not perfect, but this is where I see social networking going. Even just staring at this blog post, everything is right in front of me. This is just an example of how the world is becoming a truly "globalized society". I am connected to everything, and everything is connected to me.
Well, not anymore. I recently started using a web browser, built off of the Google Chrome developer channel called RockMelt, and it has completely changed how I follow websites. On the left side of my browser, I have all of my news feeds: Facebook, Twitter, I even have multiple blogs and a YouTube app. On the right side of my screen I can update my status on either of these social networking sites and I can quickly see which of my Facebook friends are online and chat with them. I can do ALL of this without closing out of my current webpage. Plus, it alerts me when something new is added to my feed, so I always know what is going on.
It's overwhelming, weird, and scary, but it's so awesome. It is still in beta, so it's not perfect, but this is where I see social networking going. Even just staring at this blog post, everything is right in front of me. This is just an example of how the world is becoming a truly "globalized society". I am connected to everything, and everything is connected to me.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
What are the Grammy's Leaving Out?
So, the 53rd annual Grammy awards are tonight. I am very excited to watch for a few reasons. First, I enjoy all of the performances and collaborations that occur throughout the night, I really want to see who wins best alternative rock album, and I want to know who isn't going to be televised.
In case you didn't know, many of the awards are not televised. This is because there simply isn't enough time in the show to televise them, and that not as many people would be interested in "best engineered album" as opposed to "best new artist".
I did a little bit of research on last year's winners that weren't televised, and I found some pretty interesting things. We all know that most of the show is based around pop music, so it wasn't much of a surprise to me that many of the non-televised awards were for best albums in rock, jazz, bluegrass, and gospel. However, I am not completely sure why this is so. Throughout the year in AIS, we have been discussing the media's "secret messages" and how everything has some sort of implication or meaning. I wonder if it means something that people are assumed to not care about categories like "best traditional folk album" or "best historical album", in the same sense that MTV only plays music by Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Ke$ha. It makes me wonder if this censorship is purposefully done.
So when I watch the Grammy's tonight, I know that I won't get to see Wolfgang Gartner win an award for best remix (how many of you guys actually knew he was nominated?), and I won't get to see Deadmau5, or any major electronic producer, even nominated for best electronic album (how does that happen?!?!). It seems as if the Grammy's are sending us secret messages.
In case you didn't know, many of the awards are not televised. This is because there simply isn't enough time in the show to televise them, and that not as many people would be interested in "best engineered album" as opposed to "best new artist".
I did a little bit of research on last year's winners that weren't televised, and I found some pretty interesting things. We all know that most of the show is based around pop music, so it wasn't much of a surprise to me that many of the non-televised awards were for best albums in rock, jazz, bluegrass, and gospel. However, I am not completely sure why this is so. Throughout the year in AIS, we have been discussing the media's "secret messages" and how everything has some sort of implication or meaning. I wonder if it means something that people are assumed to not care about categories like "best traditional folk album" or "best historical album", in the same sense that MTV only plays music by Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Ke$ha. It makes me wonder if this censorship is purposefully done.
So when I watch the Grammy's tonight, I know that I won't get to see Wolfgang Gartner win an award for best remix (how many of you guys actually knew he was nominated?), and I won't get to see Deadmau5, or any major electronic producer, even nominated for best electronic album (how does that happen?!?!). It seems as if the Grammy's are sending us secret messages.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Our Thirst For Knowledge
I just read this morning that two of NASA's STEREO probes have finished revolving around their respective halves of the sun, and humans will now have a complete, 360 degree view of the sun. You can read the full article here.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this article was how humans' thirst for knowledge is never ending. We are always trying to make everything predictable so that nothing is a surprise anymore (this is even mentioned in the article). Thus, I related this to Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Huck used to like surprises and anything out of ordinary when he was living with the Widow and Miss Watson. He got bored with the daily routine and wanted something more, which is why he would have adventures with Tom. However, as the book progresses and Huck sees the world as it really is by traveling on his raft, Huck begins to dislike these surprises. Instead, he wants to know when things are happening, and at times even regrets getting into this situation in the first place. He hates that fact that he will not know what is going to happen to Jim when he is left alone, or even what they will do if the raft is lost. I guess this is a way of Mark Twain commenting on human nature. Humans are naturally curious, however, as we discover the dangers of the world, we begin to want to foresee them more and more. This is what NASA has done.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this article was how humans' thirst for knowledge is never ending. We are always trying to make everything predictable so that nothing is a surprise anymore (this is even mentioned in the article). Thus, I related this to Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Huck used to like surprises and anything out of ordinary when he was living with the Widow and Miss Watson. He got bored with the daily routine and wanted something more, which is why he would have adventures with Tom. However, as the book progresses and Huck sees the world as it really is by traveling on his raft, Huck begins to dislike these surprises. Instead, he wants to know when things are happening, and at times even regrets getting into this situation in the first place. He hates that fact that he will not know what is going to happen to Jim when he is left alone, or even what they will do if the raft is lost. I guess this is a way of Mark Twain commenting on human nature. Humans are naturally curious, however, as we discover the dangers of the world, we begin to want to foresee them more and more. This is what NASA has done.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
A Little Reflection #2
It's time for my second quarter blog reflection. Blogging was a little more difficult for me this quarter. I am not completely sure why, but I was just having a lot more difficulty coming with new and interesting topics to discuss. However, because of this, my posts seemed to get a little more interesting and exciting.
For example, in my post titled "Because I Have To", I discuss how I could not think of a topic to blog about, but I was still blogging because it was a major part of my grade. I related this to school in general and how I have to do things that I am not interested in just so I can meet graduation requirements. I thought that this was a very interesting post.
My favorite post of this quarter, however, was probably the one titled "He's Livin' in the 21st Century". We had been discussing in class whether Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be censored. In the post, I not only gave my opinion on this question, but also related it to a musician and raised an interesting question for people to think about. And although only four people commented, the comments were very insightful and answered my question directly. This is why I feel it was a successful post. I brought up a topic that people cared about, and posed a question that I knew people would want to state their opinions on.
Overall, I am pretty happy with my blogging this quarter. Although I had more difficulty blogging, I felt like, for the most part, I wrote some pretty interesting posts and made my peers think a little bit about the topics that I was bringing up.
For example, in my post titled "Because I Have To", I discuss how I could not think of a topic to blog about, but I was still blogging because it was a major part of my grade. I related this to school in general and how I have to do things that I am not interested in just so I can meet graduation requirements. I thought that this was a very interesting post.
My favorite post of this quarter, however, was probably the one titled "He's Livin' in the 21st Century". We had been discussing in class whether Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be censored. In the post, I not only gave my opinion on this question, but also related it to a musician and raised an interesting question for people to think about. And although only four people commented, the comments were very insightful and answered my question directly. This is why I feel it was a successful post. I brought up a topic that people cared about, and posed a question that I knew people would want to state their opinions on.
Overall, I am pretty happy with my blogging this quarter. Although I had more difficulty blogging, I felt like, for the most part, I wrote some pretty interesting posts and made my peers think a little bit about the topics that I was bringing up.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
He's Livin' in the 21st Century
Earlier this week in AIS, we read an article on an NPR news blog about a new version of Mark Twain's classic book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that is going to be published. It is going to replace every instance of the "n-word" with "slave". You can read the whole article here.
I personally do not believe that this is the right thing to do. Yes, the n-word is a very offensive word, but one must remember why it is in the book in the first place. Mr. Twain made his characters use this word for a reason. It is a source of irony in the book, as well as it reflects on culture in America during that time. Taking it out would make the book lose some of its power and meaning. For me, at least, "slave" brings out less emotion in me than the "n-word", thus, when Mr. Twain uses the use of this word to describe a flaw in our society, it would not seem as powerful.
Speaking of power, I would like to relate this to Kanye West's latest album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Upon first listen, you notice a few things. First, this album sounds completely different from any other rap album you've ever heard. Musically, it is much more intricate and complex, and it just sounds amazing. Second, you notice just how offensive the lyrics are - and how many swears they contain.
However, Mr. West is using these words for the exact same reason that Twain is using them. Kanye is a great lyricist, and the album truly just feels like poetry set to a great beat. If these words weren't in the song, the song would not only lose its impact, but also its meaning. He, as well as Twain, uses irony to bring to light what he is actually feeling. Just listen to the song "Power", and then tell me that those lyrics had no use being in the song.
Interestingly enough, nobody has even talked about censoring Kanye, but people will change a book which is truly a classic just so kids can read it without their parents having to worry about what it says? Just something to think about.
I personally do not believe that this is the right thing to do. Yes, the n-word is a very offensive word, but one must remember why it is in the book in the first place. Mr. Twain made his characters use this word for a reason. It is a source of irony in the book, as well as it reflects on culture in America during that time. Taking it out would make the book lose some of its power and meaning. For me, at least, "slave" brings out less emotion in me than the "n-word", thus, when Mr. Twain uses the use of this word to describe a flaw in our society, it would not seem as powerful.
Speaking of power, I would like to relate this to Kanye West's latest album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Upon first listen, you notice a few things. First, this album sounds completely different from any other rap album you've ever heard. Musically, it is much more intricate and complex, and it just sounds amazing. Second, you notice just how offensive the lyrics are - and how many swears they contain.
However, Mr. West is using these words for the exact same reason that Twain is using them. Kanye is a great lyricist, and the album truly just feels like poetry set to a great beat. If these words weren't in the song, the song would not only lose its impact, but also its meaning. He, as well as Twain, uses irony to bring to light what he is actually feeling. Just listen to the song "Power", and then tell me that those lyrics had no use being in the song.
Interestingly enough, nobody has even talked about censoring Kanye, but people will change a book which is truly a classic just so kids can read it without their parents having to worry about what it says? Just something to think about.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
It's Not Weird to Go to Disneyland When You're Sixteen...Right?
This past winter break, my family and I took a trip out west to San Diego to escape the cold weather and get away from the stresses of school and work. While we were out there, we drove up to Anaheim for a few days to go to Disneyland, which we had never been to before. The first thing I thought to myself was, "aren't my sister and I a little too old for this?" You always hear that you are never too old for Disney, however I wasn't so sure.
Once I got there, however, everything changed. As soon as we stepped into the park, the atmosphere was one that I hadn't experienced in a long time, and my sister and I were soon going on all of the rides, watching the fireworks, and of course eating the funnel cake.
Somehow, Disney does something that no one else can. It truly feels like another world, and no matter how old you are, there is something for you to do. There were entire groups of just adults who were entering the park! So next time you say you're going to Disney and you're friend snickers and says it's childish, remind yourself that you're getting one of the best experiences of your life.
Once I got there, however, everything changed. As soon as we stepped into the park, the atmosphere was one that I hadn't experienced in a long time, and my sister and I were soon going on all of the rides, watching the fireworks, and of course eating the funnel cake.
Somehow, Disney does something that no one else can. It truly feels like another world, and no matter how old you are, there is something for you to do. There were entire groups of just adults who were entering the park! So next time you say you're going to Disney and you're friend snickers and says it's childish, remind yourself that you're getting one of the best experiences of your life.
Gazelligheid!
A few weeks, I saw Andrew Bird perform at the 4th Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago. It was the last of his five "Gazelligheid" shows, a concept created to make his shows more intimate. It was, in one word, beautiful. I had never heard Mr. Bird's music performed like how he did it there and I am not sure I ever will again.
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