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Mass media racial stereotypes
Mass media racial stereotypes
Racial stereotypes and the media
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In today’s music industry, the convenience and custom of using racial stereotypes are still ubiquitous. Whether it be obvious stereotypical depictions of minority races or the reliance on numerous racist tropes, these race issues can be found in a considerable amount of songs. The song "Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky plays into the overused stereotypes of Asian Americans, African Americans, and even White Americans. In the midst of all the humor and parody, "Freaky Friday" shows that race is still a joke and should continue to be made fun of as it is good material for a song and a music video.
Barely into the first ten seconds of the music video, an uninspired and cringe-worthy joke is made about how the Chinese waiting staff does not speak English. In that same scene, Lil Dicky asks the two Asian waiters what he should order. “So I’m pretty torn between the General Tsao’s chicken and the chicken lo mein. What is your preference between the two?” One of the Asian waiters simply responds
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“yes”- obviously not understanding a word Lil Dicky asked. The three white guys at the table with Lil Dicky smirk and Lil Dicky politely says “thank you.” Noticeably, Lil Dicky can be pictured in this scene as a wholesome and a worldly white man. But in reality, Lil Dicky is being offensive. A minute into the music video, the same Asian waiter who didn’t understand Lil Dicky, is seen in the background looking mysterious and elusive. Lil Dicky breaks open a fortune cookie and the Asian waiter raises his hands to cast a spell. This is a typical stereotype: the mystical Asian stereotype is seen as denoting the eastern Asian culture as a place of exoticism and also a contrast to Western civilization. The outcomes of orientalism involves the “othering” of Asian people. White culture perceives the Asian cultures and lifestyles as “exotic,” contra to the cultures and lifestyles of Western society. While Western societies are seen or trusted equipped for change and modernization, "Oriental" societies are regularly viewed as ancient. The racial stereotypes of Asians are seen only in the music video, but the social construction of African Americans is heard in the beat and in the lyrics of the song.
Moments after Lil Dicky and Chris Brown switch bodies, the song begins. The first couple lines of the song, Lil Dicky realizes he is Chris Brown’s body. Chris Brown is an African American rapper, so Lil Dicky wonders and asks “Wonder if I can say the n-word (wait for real?) / Wait, can I really say the n-word?” (11-12). Lil Dicky takes advantage of being in Chris Brown’s body in order to use the n-word in a song. The desire of wanting to use the n-word is wrong because it ignores the historical context of the word and how it is still a demeaning word for African Americans. Lil Dicky apparently believes that there are no repercussions for reappropriating a hateful slur. This misuse and misunderstanding of the n-word is something as a civilization we see all too often; there is no sense of sensitivity in this
thinking. The continuing themes of racial stereotypes in the song “Freaky Friday” vex the song. The continuation is seen in the line “I’m balling on the court, oh my God I can dunk” (48). In the context of this line, the common stereotype is that black people have the ability to jump higher than white people due to genetic and environmental factors. Because of this stereotype, Lil Dicky includes this in his song as it is a well-known theory and it connects to the theme that his life is better because he is now black. Lil Dicky is looking at being black at face value. He is forgetting that African Americans are still fighting for equality. Even if Lil Dicky were to try to defend himself by stating that his song is full of satire and entertainment, his defense would be irrational because the root of satire requires a verifiable objective in order for it to be legitatment. Through extensive analysis of the song “Freaky Friday” by Lil Dicky, it is clear that this song is harmful to society. The song and the music video builds upon stereotypes of Asian and primarily African Americans, neglecting to find a new and politically correct way to look at race. Despite the humor and the big name celebrities featured, “Freaky Friday” portrays racial narratives. People who continue to listen to these kinds of songs will continue to support the racial gaps and generalizations. As a society, people must end the popularization of songs that damage racial equality. By not listening to this kind of music, the popularity will significantly decrease. With less exposure, racist songs like these will be nonexistent and they could stop contributing to the glorification of race.
As Kennedy explains “used by black people amongst themselves [the N word ] is a racial term with undertones and good will--reflecting a tragicomic sensibility that is aware of black history” but how could such a contradiction exist (Kennedy 5)? How could the most “noxious” of words also also be used to show comradery and brotherhood for those who have been in the struggle. “He is my nig” or “That guy is my nigga”, phrases like these are uttered by black men to each other to express their most public form of masculine endearment towards one another. Note that it is uttered between black men, to black men, and from black men; Black bodies participate and engage with the “N-word” much more differently than any other non-black person would. The word must come from colored mouths to have a “positive” significance, if I, a Mexican woman, or for instance Nate, in Bernard’s class, say it--we change the meaning entirely. As quoted by Randall Kennedy, Jarvis Deberry states, “[the n-word is ‘beautiful in its multiplicity of functions. I am not aware…of any other word capable of expressing so many contradictory emotions” and I cannot help but to agree that the “N-word” is more messy and complex then we would anticipate it to
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
Naylor implies that derogatory terms have a twist and are a disguise of acknowledgement to her race. Although it was initially created to humiliate and dehumanize African Americans, ‘the n-word’ develops into a word that admires men of that race.
The video “White and Nerdy” by Weird Al Yankovic is a parody of the original song “Ridin’ Dirty” by Chamillionaire. The parody provides the viewer with a descriptive exposition on the nerd stereotype. Several aspects of the video including the title, lyrics, and parody of the hip hop style all contrast the ‘white identity’ to the particular view of ‘black identity’. Particularly, the props, costumes, and settings shown in the parody video help convey Yankovic’s message.
The “N word” as some people call it, is an age old name for people of African American descent. Now where in tarnation did this monstrosity of a word come from? Well of course we look to Latin American Language as the culprit. The word “niger” is Latin meaning “black” and at the time was only used as the name of a color. Eventually, the word “niger” was turned into a noun, a noun being a word for any person, place or thing. The noun formed from the adjective “niger” was “negro”. Which coincidently enough is the word for the color black in Spanish and Portuguese. From these words, the French developed the word “nigre” meaning a black man and “negress” which referred to a black woman. Now I bet you’re wondering how the word “nigger” originated from the word “negro”. Well it is believed that misinterpretation and mispronunciation from white southerners that led to the development of the word “nigger”.
In an article published by “Journal of Blacks in Higher Education” Lawrence states that “even though I am always troubled by public use of the term nigger, the most uniquely hateful words in the American vocabulary. And yet I would never criticize Chris Rock for when, where and how he uses it” (Lawrence 84). The reason why the writer in the article stated the he do not criticize Chris Rock for using the word Nigga he fell as if American is ‘censoring and policing black creative and expression” (Lawrence 84). Racial slurs can be positive in the African American culture because it is an image that project how black can become better parents for their kids at home and role models, how education is very important and good work ethics. “On the other hand the significance of Mr. Richards’ upheaval is about more than terrible drama strategy. Jamie Masada, the proprietor of the Laugh Factory, and Paul Mooney, a black humorist who used to compose for Richard Pryor, have joined legislators and activists, including the Democrat of California, in requiring a conclusion to the utilization of what they call the N word by everybody including blacks” ( Allen 1). This is why individual in America looks at racial slurs differently because its interpretation black culture and black entertainment depending on how they perceive the jokes.
Not all African Americans are thugs and people that do not work. A lot of them have successful careers and have put in the time and effort to have good work ethic and be good people. African Americans have had a difficult history in the American film industry. During the early 20th century of filmmaking, blacks were stereotyped as not worthy of being in films, and they were only certain types of characters such as servants, mammies, and butlers. From several decades of filmmaking, African Americans have been sought out to be trouble makers, incapables, intellectually limited, and also lazy. Although blacks have won Academy Awards for acting, screenwriting, and music production they still find trouble in getting quality roles within the film industry. (Common Black Stereotypes)
It is a day in the summer of 1974 on the block of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, NY. The grass is blazing, the air is fresh, and the kids are shrieking with joy. This is where it happened. DJ Kool Herc popped in his new record playing smooth rhythms of jazz and blues with the integration of Jamaican sound creating a new genre that would soon sweep the nation. He called it Hip-Hop. Some would call it “black noise”, but to urban African Americans it was music they could own; music they could learn to appreciate and adore. As they faced afflictions like racism, oppression, drugs, and much more, they used this new found hip- hop to express their thoughts and feelings. Today, we try to understand where this passion and substance in rap has escaped; if it was left to wither in the blazing grass, or blow away in the fresh air. Today, we try to understand what is hip hop, and why it’s becoming the “black noise” we once denied it to be. Ever since rap officially emerged in the 1970s, critics had a negative reaction; even when rap had meaning and substance and consisted of people telling their stories. Now that rap has become more contemptuous, critics have began to question what rap is really about. It is clear themes have changed: But at what point? And how? Furthermore, how has this impacted blacks and their image, who dominate the rap industry. Conclusively, while themes in mid 20th century rap have been known to revolve around aspects like politics and unity, currently rap has underwent a dramatic change now producing themes that promote violence, among many other things, and has ultimately painted a negative image of African Americans.
A race issue that occurs within the rap and hip-hop musical genre is the racial stereotypes associated with the musical form. According to Brandt, and Viki rap music and hip- hop music are known for fomenting crime violence, and the continuing formation of negative perceptions revolving around the African-American race (p.362). Many individuals believe that rap and hip-hop music and the culture that forms it is the particular reason for the degradation of the African-American community and the stereotypes that surround that specific ethnic group. An example is a two thousand and seven song produced by artist Nas entitled the N-word. The particular title of the song sparked major debates within not only the African-American community thus the Caucasian communities as well. Debates included topics such as the significance and worth of freedom of speech compared with the need to take a stand against messages that denigrate African-Americans. This specific label turned into an outrage and came to the point where conservative white individuals stood in front of the record label expressing their feelings. These individuals made a point that it is because artists like Nas that there is an increase in gang and street violence within communities. Rap and hip-hop music only depicts a simple-minded image of black men as sex crazed, criminals, or “gangsters”. As said above, community concerns have arisen over time over the use of the N-word, or the fact that many rappers vocalize about white superiority and privilege. Of course rap music did not develop these specific stereotypes, however these stereotypes are being used; and quite successfully in rap and hip-hop which spreads them and keeps the idea that people of color are lazy, all crimin...
Many believe and have charged that these lyrics promote racism and violence and show contempt for women. Those in the mainstream have long considered rap music controversial. However, its controversy escalated to a whole new level when the world was introduced to “Gangsta Rap,” where violent acts and suggestions are graphically portrayed (yale). The notorious rap group responsible for the introduction of gangsta rap was NWA (bomp). Gangsta rap has been criticized and debated over for its graphic sexual content, and violent imagery (yale).
The oppressive picture displaying the sexual objectification of women that most hip-hop artists paint while rapping can only be described as appalling. Many artists imply that a woman?s sole purpose is to gratify a man?s every sexual desire. For instance, ?Nelly?s ?Tip Drill? goes as far to portray scantily clad women as sexual appliances? (Weisstuch). Though Nelly is relatively mild when contrasted to other hip-hop artists, his actualization of women cannot be ignored. By calling women ?sexual appliances,? Nelly essentially promotes the idea that it is customary to view all women solely as sexual objects. Moreover, the generic ?sex appe...
Krohn, Franklin B., Suazo, Frances L. “Contemporary Urban Music: Controversial Messages in Hip-Hop and Rap Lyrics.” ETC: A Review of General Semantics. 52 (1995): 193-54. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Hip hop has multiple branches of style and is a culture of these. This essay will examine Hip Hop from the point of view of the following three popular music scholars, Johnson, Jeffries and Smitherman. It will delve deeper into their understanding of what hip hop is and its relation to the different people that identify with its message and contents. It will also identify the history of Hip hop and its transition into popular music. In particular this essay will focus on what hip hop represents in the black community and how it can be used as a social movement against inequalities faced by them. This will then open up the discussion for the how this has influenced society, and the impact it has had in terms of race issues which hip hop itself often represents through music.
Hip hop has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its crossover appeal, it is a great unifier of diverse populations. Although created by black youth on the streets, hip hop's influence has become well received by a number of different races in this country. A large number of the rap and hip hop audience is non-black. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Because it has become the fastest growing music genre in the U.S., companies and corporate giants have used its appeal to capitalize on it. Although critics of rap music and hip hop seem to be fixated on the messages of sex, violence, and harsh language, this genre offers a new paradigm of what can be (Lewis, 1998.) The potential of this art form to mend ethnic relations is substantial. Hip hop has challenged the system in ways that have unified individuals across a rich ethnic spectrum. This art form was once considered a fad has kept going strong for more than three decades. Generations consisting of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians have grown up immersed in hip-hop. Hip hop represents a realignment of America?s cultural aesthetics. Rap songs deliver a message, again and again, to keep it real. It has influenced young people of all races to search for excitement, artistic fulfillment, and a sense of identity by exploring the black underclass (Foreman, 2002). Though it is music, many people do not realize that it is much more than that. Hip hop is a form of art and culture, style, and language, and extension of commerce, and for many, a natural means of living. The purpose of this paper is to examine hip hop and its effect on American culture. Different aspects of hip hop will also be examined to shed some light that helps readers to what hip hop actually is. In order to see hip hop as a cultural influence we need to take a look at its history.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .