I feel that there are some aspects of both beliefs that i agree with and some that i disagree with.
Hegemonic model has the belief that the audience is brain washed and minipulated by the powerful groups of society such as the government, media institutions and the rich. I feel that this is true to an extent as there is some evidence to suggest that vulnerable groups of people are likely to be influenced by and sometimes immitate things that they see. On the other hand, i feel that audiences are far more aware of how the media and powerful social groups operate. This could be due to things such as the introduction of media studies as a subject which educates people about how audiences can be shaped to conform to certain models, therefore allowing them to have a more active mind and way of thinking. Also the fact that there is a very diverse range of texts available today. I think that on the whole I cannot say i agree with one more than the other as i support some of the ideologies in both Hegemony and Pluralism.
Friday
5 main points from Essay
1."Women are supposedly rising in status throughout the media due to the use of naked, explicit and suggestive photo spread and images"
2."The scantily dressed females represent women as sex objects and exhibit an overpowering masculinity to the audience and therefore re-enforce negative stereotypes in the media"
3." It enhances the stereotype to men that women are only objects of their sexual desire, and should therefore conform to what they view as attractive. This relates to the 'hyperdermic needle' theory"
4."A dominantly male audience reflects and enforces the theory of 'Laddism' and the winning formula has been defined as "Beer, Sex and Babes'"
5." The magazines Loaded and FHM both feature women on the front cover scantily dressed or even naked as their sales lure, a common convention followed by most pornographic publications."
2."The scantily dressed females represent women as sex objects and exhibit an overpowering masculinity to the audience and therefore re-enforce negative stereotypes in the media"
3." It enhances the stereotype to men that women are only objects of their sexual desire, and should therefore conform to what they view as attractive. This relates to the 'hyperdermic needle' theory"
4."A dominantly male audience reflects and enforces the theory of 'Laddism' and the winning formula has been defined as "Beer, Sex and Babes'"
5." The magazines Loaded and FHM both feature women on the front cover scantily dressed or even naked as their sales lure, a common convention followed by most pornographic publications."
Monday
Textual Analysis
The text ('Make It Rain') has been created in the form of a music video featuring famous rap/hip hop icons Lil Wayne and Fat Joe as the main stars. It is just one from a range of music videos that I will be analysing in an attempt to explore my hypothesis and gain an in depth understanding about womens roles in Rap/Hip Hop.
From the outset of this text there is a glamourised emphasis being placed on materialistic things such as cash and jewellery, but more so the exploitation of women is amplified in a way which believes that women also fall in to this category of 'material objects', suggesting that they're no more than meaningless posessions or belongings. The use of slow motion shots panning along the 'greased up' bodies of women who have been intentionally made to appear as promiscuous as possible are the most obvious indications of conventional Hip Hop stereotypes. There is deffinately evidence in this video which supports the ideologies of a patriarchal society. For example, the blatant lustful representations of women combined with low-angle shots of the male rappers holding cash carries connotations of power and dominance for the male who is presented as the breadwinner, where as the female is shown to have no real purpose but to please the man.
This unrealistic portrayal of men and women is being forced upon teenagers, a group in society who are targeted by media institutions, fully aware of how easily they can be influenced. It is the power of these institutions and the effect that their texts have on audiences that may support the beliefs of the 'Hypodermic Needle Theory'. This theory implies that the mass media have a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. This video especially relates to the hypodermic needle theory as it has been created with the intention of attracting young, teenage boys to a fantasy-like lifestyle in which they can gain an identity and power through exploiting cash and women. Universal Records could be criticised for moral and political irresponsibility as a result of the negative ideologies that they impose on their young and passive audiences.
The lyrics 'I make it rain on them hoes' repeated throughout the chorus carry negative and degrading connotations for women. They are being referred to as 'hoes'which suggests that they are promiscuous and offer acts of a secual nature. Women are exposing their bodies and dancing in a sexual way while they hold the rappers money which almost portrays them as the rappers property as they are satisfying the male protagonist in exchange for his money. This portrayal of an unequal relationship between men and women is being forced upon teenagers who are easily influenced by what they see on TV and in music videos.
Women are seen to be holding rappers money and shaking their bodies in a seductive way which encourages young people who watch these music videos to believe that they must exploit women, money and themselves in order to gain an identity. Materialistic values are very strong in this particular video with the amount of emphasis placed on cash, jewellery and flash cars in most shots.
del.ici.ous tags
http://www.mysistahs.org/features/hiphop.htm
Article called "The Exploitation of Women in Hip-hop Culture". Looking into the representations and sexism that hip hop is accused of. Directly related to my study.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ7mmMe4klQ&feature=related
Youtube clip about a woman called Sara Baartman, the first black woman in known history to be exploited for her body in a sexual way. Vital piece of historical information to consider when writing my essay.
http://www.hiphopfeministnation.org/
Hip Hop Feminist Nation is an organization that uses hip hop culture to inspire social and civic action. It encourages to promote a positive image of hip hop and its primary focus is women, our environment. This positive and clean approach to hip hop is interesting to look at as it challenges the stereotypes. Also allows me to gain a better understanding of a feminist opinion.
http://www.blastro.com/
Helpful source for my study containing a vast databse of hip hop/rap genre music videos.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301/NEWS/703010476/1006/SPORTS
Interesting article about a dramatic decline in sales for the rap industry after 30 years of growing popularity. This article has put it down to the negative effect on society which rap has so often been accused of being responsible for. Relative to my topic as my hypothesis suggests that the industry exploits women and glorifies drugs and money in order to boost sales, however this suggests that these things have resulted in a decrease.
http://www.rapcointelpro.com/The%20Rap%20Industry.htm
Article called "The Financial Realities Of Rap (Or Why Rap Has Become Boring)"
Article looking in to how the industry works and why they seem to re-use the same old stereotypical conventions time and time again.
Article called "The Exploitation of Women in Hip-hop Culture". Looking into the representations and sexism that hip hop is accused of. Directly related to my study.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ7mmMe4klQ&feature=related
Youtube clip about a woman called Sara Baartman, the first black woman in known history to be exploited for her body in a sexual way. Vital piece of historical information to consider when writing my essay.
http://www.hiphopfeministnation.org/
Hip Hop Feminist Nation is an organization that uses hip hop culture to inspire social and civic action. It encourages to promote a positive image of hip hop and its primary focus is women, our environment. This positive and clean approach to hip hop is interesting to look at as it challenges the stereotypes. Also allows me to gain a better understanding of a feminist opinion.
http://www.blastro.com/
Helpful source for my study containing a vast databse of hip hop/rap genre music videos.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301/NEWS/703010476/1006/SPORTS
Interesting article about a dramatic decline in sales for the rap industry after 30 years of growing popularity. This article has put it down to the negative effect on society which rap has so often been accused of being responsible for. Relative to my topic as my hypothesis suggests that the industry exploits women and glorifies drugs and money in order to boost sales, however this suggests that these things have resulted in a decrease.
http://www.rapcointelpro.com/The%20Rap%20Industry.htm
Article called "The Financial Realities Of Rap (Or Why Rap Has Become Boring)"
Article looking in to how the industry works and why they seem to re-use the same old stereotypical conventions time and time again.
10 KEY WORDS
Feminism: political movement to advance the status of women by challenging values, social constructiosn and socioeconomic practices which disadvantage women and favor men.
A feminist point of view is one which supports my hypothesis.
Male gaze: term used by Laura Mulvey in her essay "Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema" to describe what she saw as the male point of view adopted by the camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience.
A theory which ties in with my study as rap videos portray a male point of view adopted by the camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience.
New ladism: term applied to the male backlash against feminism and girl power, as exemplified by the values represented in magazines such as Loaded, FHM and Maxim.
This attitutde towards women is also shown in rap videos through exploitation of women.
Uses and gratifications theory: an active audience theory, developed by Jay Blumer and Elihu Katz that focuses on 'what people do with the media' rather than what the media does to people, arguing that audiences are free to pick and choose from a range of media products to satisfy their own needs.
Audiences of young male teenagers have been known to copy and become attracted to the fantasy lifestyle that is represented through rap videos.
Gender: Male/Female
Although my study is based on the exploitation of women, i have to remember to also focus on the male representations and aspects of hip hop.
Hero: The principle male or female protagonist in any narrative, with whom the audience identifies with; there's always a hero in every rap video.
Censorship: The practice, exercised by elite groups in society of monitoring and controlling media content by removing elements deemed offensive.
Censorship is something which people argue there is a lack of in rap. Important to find out why such explicit content is not censored more.
Institution: The organisation responsible for the production,marketing,distribution or regulation of media texts.
Important part of my study to research why, what, where, who and how they go about marketing and promoting their artists as they are so often accused of being morally irresponsible for exploiting women simply to generate more sales.
A feminist point of view is one which supports my hypothesis.
Male gaze: term used by Laura Mulvey in her essay "Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema" to describe what she saw as the male point of view adopted by the camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience.
A theory which ties in with my study as rap videos portray a male point of view adopted by the camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience.
New ladism: term applied to the male backlash against feminism and girl power, as exemplified by the values represented in magazines such as Loaded, FHM and Maxim.
This attitutde towards women is also shown in rap videos through exploitation of women.
Uses and gratifications theory: an active audience theory, developed by Jay Blumer and Elihu Katz that focuses on 'what people do with the media' rather than what the media does to people, arguing that audiences are free to pick and choose from a range of media products to satisfy their own needs.
Audiences of young male teenagers have been known to copy and become attracted to the fantasy lifestyle that is represented through rap videos.
Gender: Male/Female
Although my study is based on the exploitation of women, i have to remember to also focus on the male representations and aspects of hip hop.
Hero: The principle male or female protagonist in any narrative, with whom the audience identifies with; there's always a hero in every rap video.
Censorship: The practice, exercised by elite groups in society of monitoring and controlling media content by removing elements deemed offensive.
Censorship is something which people argue there is a lack of in rap. Important to find out why such explicit content is not censored more.
Institution: The organisation responsible for the production,marketing,distribution or regulation of media texts.
Important part of my study to research why, what, where, who and how they go about marketing and promoting their artists as they are so often accused of being morally irresponsible for exploiting women simply to generate more sales.
GUARDIAN ARICLE ABOUT EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN IN RAP FROM A FEMINIST POINT OF VIEW
Attack the rap:
Sick of being called ho's and bitches, a group of young women in Boston has set up a new radio station to fight rap's misogyny. By Diane Taylor
Stephanie Alves: 'They disrespect women; all that matters to them are the guns and sex and money'
In the poor Boston neighbourhood where 18-year-old Stephanie Alves grew up, words such as bitch and ho are part of everyday male conversation. This slang is not used to pass judgment on a woman engaged in a particular activity but to describe any female.
Rap has been criticised for its negative portrayal of women right from the start. Artists such as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Ja Rule have attracted particular criticism - both were charged for use of indecent language back in 2001 at the SunFest festival in Jamaica. Lyrics such as "Game is the topic/ And what's between your legs is the product/ Use it properly/ And you'll make dollars bitch," from Ja Rule's Bitch Betta Have My Money, continue to incense women.
As Alves puts it, some rap music has tapped into feelings of male powerlessness as a result of poverty, racism and fractured families and made it not only fashionable but also empowering for young men to demean women in this way. "At school guys go around saying things like, 'She gave it up to me in two weeks, she's a ho'," says Alves. "They disrespect women; all that matters to them are the guns and sex and money that feature in so much rap music."
Scantily clad 24/7 sexual availability is the gold standard for womanhood. And yet this is the same quality that earns women the derogatory labels, viewed at worst as lowlife sluts and at best as fashion accessories. "Things got so bad that even the girls were going around calling each other bitch and ho," says Alves.
So Alves got together with a group of like-minded girls and young women in Dorchester, a Boston suburb with high levels of crime and deprivation, with the idea of setting up the first radio station dedicated to countering the negative way women are portrayed in rap. They approached a local headteacher, Larry Mayes, who recalls, "They came to me and said: 'We have a serious problem, we're tired of being referred to as bitches and ho's and we want to do something about it."
"The criticism of the way rap music portrays women is nothing new," says Alves. But instead of just talking about the problem we decided to take positive action."
The mayor of Boston loved the idea. "When we went to him he jumped out of his chair he was so enthusiastic," says Mayes. "He promised to get the most powerful women working in media in Boston to be advisers to the girls - and he did."
Private funding was secured and a couple of weeks ago, broadcasting from a women's centre in Dorchester, the radio station hit the airwaves. A sign pinned to the studio door reads: "Only positive attitudes beyond this point."
For now, the station, called Radio Log, is on air on weekday afternoons in the Dorchester area but Alves hopes that both the amount of time the station is on air and the area it covers will expand. Eight teenage girls between the ages of 13 and 18 are involved. Over the next few months more will be recruited and trained. The girls are African-American and Hispanic and they hope to get white and Asian girls involved too.
To promote an alternative, positive image of young American womanhood, they play a range of carefully vetted music - rap, hip-hop, reggae, soul and country - along with interviews and phone-ins open to both sexes to discuss music, relationships and burning issues of the day.
"We don't ban particular artists but select music on the basis of the lyrics," says Alves. "For example someone like Ashanti has some music that reflects women positively and some that reflects women negatively. We don't play the negative stuff." Artists who have so far made it on to the playlist include Mary Mary, Alicia Keyes, Faith Evans, Usher, Boyz-II-Men and B2K. Banned are certain songs by artists including Snoop Doggy Dogg, Lil Kim, Juvenile and Tupac Shakur.
Choosing which music is on the playlist and which is off can lead to animated discussions. "There are lots of grey areas," says Alves. "We like to play love songs but so many of them have derogatory references to women when sex is mentioned so we have to be careful."
Female African-American rapper Ife Oshun is sympathetic to their cause. "What sort of personal values do little girls in our hip-hop nation develop when they are constantly bombarded with images of their future selves as little more than rump shakers? What do our little boys learn when a disproportionate number of rap videos portray their sisters, mothers, future wives and future daughters as little more than eye candy?" says Oshun.
In the UK, young women are feeling just as bruised by the fantasy world of their male peers and are now looking to emulate their American peers. Gemma Gibson, 22, from west London, is trying to get funding to set up a similar radio station here. She is involved with Yes Studios, a music charity that gives socially-excluded young people hands-on experience in all aspects of music production.
"I've always loved singing and I think it's time to show young people there is another perspective out there. Gun culture in London is so big at the moment and I'm tired of guys calling us just a piece of ass. Music is so influential and it's made this stuff very fashionable, but now it's time for a different fashion."
Back in Boston, Radio Log has so far received nothing but praise. "I haven't had any negative comments from guys about it but they know better than to speak in a disrespectful way around me," says Alves. While there are no plans to take on the offensive male rappers directly, Alves hopes that word will reach them via the radio station of the errors of their ways.
She is optimistic that the rap that has led popular culture for the past 25 years is going to change. "We've been hearing about sex and drugs and money for so long. How much more is there to say? Surely now is the time for something new and positive to take over."
Sick of being called ho's and bitches, a group of young women in Boston has set up a new radio station to fight rap's misogyny. By Diane Taylor
Stephanie Alves: 'They disrespect women; all that matters to them are the guns and sex and money'
In the poor Boston neighbourhood where 18-year-old Stephanie Alves grew up, words such as bitch and ho are part of everyday male conversation. This slang is not used to pass judgment on a woman engaged in a particular activity but to describe any female.
Rap has been criticised for its negative portrayal of women right from the start. Artists such as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Ja Rule have attracted particular criticism - both were charged for use of indecent language back in 2001 at the SunFest festival in Jamaica. Lyrics such as "Game is the topic/ And what's between your legs is the product/ Use it properly/ And you'll make dollars bitch," from Ja Rule's Bitch Betta Have My Money, continue to incense women.
As Alves puts it, some rap music has tapped into feelings of male powerlessness as a result of poverty, racism and fractured families and made it not only fashionable but also empowering for young men to demean women in this way. "At school guys go around saying things like, 'She gave it up to me in two weeks, she's a ho'," says Alves. "They disrespect women; all that matters to them are the guns and sex and money that feature in so much rap music."
Scantily clad 24/7 sexual availability is the gold standard for womanhood. And yet this is the same quality that earns women the derogatory labels, viewed at worst as lowlife sluts and at best as fashion accessories. "Things got so bad that even the girls were going around calling each other bitch and ho," says Alves.
So Alves got together with a group of like-minded girls and young women in Dorchester, a Boston suburb with high levels of crime and deprivation, with the idea of setting up the first radio station dedicated to countering the negative way women are portrayed in rap. They approached a local headteacher, Larry Mayes, who recalls, "They came to me and said: 'We have a serious problem, we're tired of being referred to as bitches and ho's and we want to do something about it."
"The criticism of the way rap music portrays women is nothing new," says Alves. But instead of just talking about the problem we decided to take positive action."
The mayor of Boston loved the idea. "When we went to him he jumped out of his chair he was so enthusiastic," says Mayes. "He promised to get the most powerful women working in media in Boston to be advisers to the girls - and he did."
Private funding was secured and a couple of weeks ago, broadcasting from a women's centre in Dorchester, the radio station hit the airwaves. A sign pinned to the studio door reads: "Only positive attitudes beyond this point."
For now, the station, called Radio Log, is on air on weekday afternoons in the Dorchester area but Alves hopes that both the amount of time the station is on air and the area it covers will expand. Eight teenage girls between the ages of 13 and 18 are involved. Over the next few months more will be recruited and trained. The girls are African-American and Hispanic and they hope to get white and Asian girls involved too.
To promote an alternative, positive image of young American womanhood, they play a range of carefully vetted music - rap, hip-hop, reggae, soul and country - along with interviews and phone-ins open to both sexes to discuss music, relationships and burning issues of the day.
"We don't ban particular artists but select music on the basis of the lyrics," says Alves. "For example someone like Ashanti has some music that reflects women positively and some that reflects women negatively. We don't play the negative stuff." Artists who have so far made it on to the playlist include Mary Mary, Alicia Keyes, Faith Evans, Usher, Boyz-II-Men and B2K. Banned are certain songs by artists including Snoop Doggy Dogg, Lil Kim, Juvenile and Tupac Shakur.
Choosing which music is on the playlist and which is off can lead to animated discussions. "There are lots of grey areas," says Alves. "We like to play love songs but so many of them have derogatory references to women when sex is mentioned so we have to be careful."
Female African-American rapper Ife Oshun is sympathetic to their cause. "What sort of personal values do little girls in our hip-hop nation develop when they are constantly bombarded with images of their future selves as little more than rump shakers? What do our little boys learn when a disproportionate number of rap videos portray their sisters, mothers, future wives and future daughters as little more than eye candy?" says Oshun.
In the UK, young women are feeling just as bruised by the fantasy world of their male peers and are now looking to emulate their American peers. Gemma Gibson, 22, from west London, is trying to get funding to set up a similar radio station here. She is involved with Yes Studios, a music charity that gives socially-excluded young people hands-on experience in all aspects of music production.
"I've always loved singing and I think it's time to show young people there is another perspective out there. Gun culture in London is so big at the moment and I'm tired of guys calling us just a piece of ass. Music is so influential and it's made this stuff very fashionable, but now it's time for a different fashion."
Back in Boston, Radio Log has so far received nothing but praise. "I haven't had any negative comments from guys about it but they know better than to speak in a disrespectful way around me," says Alves. While there are no plans to take on the offensive male rappers directly, Alves hopes that word will reach them via the radio station of the errors of their ways.
She is optimistic that the rap that has led popular culture for the past 25 years is going to change. "We've been hearing about sex and drugs and money for so long. How much more is there to say? Surely now is the time for something new and positive to take over."
VALUES & IDEOLOGIES
Provocotive females portrayed as sex objects who appear to be motivated by only money, this video can be seen as very degrading towards women. Sexism is heavily present in this video, as is the emphasis on materialistic items, especially cash, but also jewellery and sexual favours from women. The two aspects of this video (women and money) when combined together with a popular rap icon can come across as being very morally incorrect. Lil wayne is a very popular artist amongst youngsters and he fits within the criterea of a stereotypical black rapper. However this is not necessarily a good thing as many would say his morals and values are negative and irresponsible.
AUDIENCE
The rap industry is known for targeting teenagers. Adolescent boys are heavily influenced by music and the media today. The glorification of cash, power and women in this video could be seen as innapropriate for such a young audience to be viewing. By promoting these values, the industry may be responsible for leading youngsters to believe that they can be involved in this fantasy lifestyle.
REPRESENTATION
The mise-en-scene contains blatent explotation of women and expensice materialistic items such as, alcohol, money, fancy mansion, cars and a busy lifestyle consisting of partying and making money. However, there seems to be an obvious lack of moral values being displayed? The women are degrading themselves, often just posing for the camera in lustful positions, wearing revealing clothing which makes them appear to be groupies, almose sex objects and are simply an accessory of the rappers in the video in order to make him seem powerful. Sadly, the audience of prodominantly teenage boys tend to believe that this is reality rather than fantasy and therefore emulate the way in which rappers behave. This link between women, money and power becomes more consistant and apparent within the genre of rap videos which provides more evidence to support my hypothesis.
GENRE
Rap/Hip Hop Music video which follows the stereotypical conventions of masculinity, exploition of women, and power.
MEDIA LANGUAGE
Close up shots of typical objects that are seen in rap videos, cash, women and jewellery highlighting the artists wealth and power. Fast cut shots of premiscuous women in provocotive costume, often posing next to the protagonist(Currency and Lil Wayne) in a lustful way which has connotations of sex and wealth. A few low angle shots of the rappers which represents them as powerful. Alcohol is present in the video alongside premiscuous women.
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