The chapter asks the question "When young people go home and turn on the television, what kinds of things do they see"?
The author decides to spend a full day watching music videos, to find out what ideas, images and messages were being sent. They were particularly interested in the Role of Women, specifically African American Women in the role of hip hop and R&B music.
The first video discussed was by DMX. This song displays DMX and Sisqo singing and rapping. The women in the video have hardly any clothing on, looking very sexy but saying nothing. Dmx lists the names of women who "seemed to have given him some pretty intense sexual memories". They are flashed on the screen for less than 15 seconds as their name is mentioned.
The second video that is discussed is "How Many Lick's by Lil Kim. This video has Lil Kim portrayed as a doll on an assembly line. Lil Kim is the main character with other female dancers grabbing themselves and dancing around her. Throughout the video she is dressed differently, with different color hair and make up. This doll can be dressed however you want her because she is a fantasy.
"young black women are present more as ornaments and objects than as human beings. They are often in the background and virtually never have anything to contribute besides big breasts and butts"
Effects:
The videos and more specifically the girls in the videos represent a lifestyle that blends money, power, respect, materiel wealth and beautiful women. - this is the lifestyle that mainstream media considers the essence of the American Dream.
The videos do not depict normal healthy relationships. They promote stereotypes of African American men and women regarding who they are, what they do, how they make money, what they care about and even how to have a relationship with them.
"The videos teach young black women to aspire to be the trophies of powerful men".
The dreams in the videos are materialistic and individualistic, not the collectivist tradition of the African American community which has been historically important to their community. The American Dream was not created for or by African Americans and with all of the systems (educational, justice, society as a whole)that are racist, sexist and classist.... focusing on these dreams increases the likelihood of Black people finding alternative ways to achieve these outrageous dreams.
What priorities should we be promoting?
1. encourage children to be critical consumers rather than passive consumers
2. give opportunities to discuss the content
3. be realistic about how powerful and enticing these images are and SHOW them ways to have their needs met and what to prioritize
4. understand that young people want and need advice, understand the influence we have and use it to make a difference.
Take-Away:
This chapter focuses on African American women for very real and important reasons.. I feel that these lessons are beneficial for all young people. Especially today with media being at their fingertips. Anyone can view anything at anytime. With phones and tablets our children are more immersed in this culture than ever before. Social Media only adds to these outrageous expectations and stereotypes. As adults it is more important than even that we lead by example, have the conversations, open the floor for our youth to speak freely and teach them how to be critical consumers.
You are right Crystal. We need to teach young people how to be critical thinkers. These images, and so many more, will not be going away. Instead of denying them we need to teach young people how to look at them and critique them. We need to teach them their worth and show them that they can change the status quo. They need to learn to speak freely and question what is presented to them.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Crystal! My first-year MSW internship was at a local public high school and several of my female clients decided to take a break or "cleanse" from social media — or at least from certain sites at times in which they were particularly struggling with self-image and worth.
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