Category: Blog 10/7

“Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Good Kid, mAAd City’: A Lesson In Storytelling” by Joe Dana was an eye-opening read to say the least. In his review, he analyzes the album’s storytelling by breaking it down to its elements, from it’s album cover all the way to the meticulous order of the songs. To begin with, Joe gives us some insight on what is going on in the album cover. Baby Kendrick is seated with his grandfather and two uncles, one of which is throwing up a gang sign. Everyone’s eyes are censored except Kendricks, thus leading you to stare at his “innocent eyes” which are “tryna figure out what is goin’ on”, which in turn is the theme of the album. The album tells a coming of age story in the form of a “short film” as mentioned on the album cover. This short film, however, is played through the listener’s mind, as Kendrick does an excellent job telling the story and setting the scenes. Each song brings up its own idea, however pieces of an overarching skit are spread throughout the album and as Joe said – “they’re what pull the story completely together”. In addition to the tying of the songs through the use of the skit, Joe also commends the album sequencing which allows the story to flow. More times than not, the following song will build off the previous by either presenting an alternative perspective or the next idea which furthers the coming of age. Examples of such can be seen through the pairing of songs such as “Backseat Freestyle” and “The Art of Peer Pressure” where the transition from one to the other depicts, as stated by Joe, “a major development in this narrative”. The storytelling which is involved in this album is what makes it so special and Joe Dana’s fascination with it only amplified my liking for the album and its production.

 

Florida Project Article

In the article, a key point that the author made which sent of bells and whistles in my mind was that while Moonee is aware of the poverty she is living in and maneuvers around it, she has no awareness towards the lack of care she is receiving from her mother. Something I very much disagree with is the article’s interpretation of how motel society is portrayed in the film. In the article, it is argued that the director seems to have a disconnect to the harsh realities of the dangers a child could face, unsupervised in a poverty-ridden area. Since the entire movie is based on the youthful innocence that Moonee has, I believe that the director shows that every situation Moonee faces is morphed into a fantasy version necessary for Moonee to hold the youthfulness within her and not grow up too fast. An observation the author of this article and I both have made is nonetheless Moonee is seen to be beyond her years in the understandings of what goes on around her, attributed by her unfiltered exposure to the vices of the world.

This movie is very real, and I feel that in order for one to be able to make an analysis on it, certain parts have to hit close to home. It is really easy to nitpick in a review what aspects of poverty aren’t shown, or that certain characters should’ve been shows facing deeper struggles. The whole point is that we are seeing this commentary on child neglect, poverty, and sex work through the lens of a child, which will obviously produce diluted imagery of the harsh reality.

Snowpiercer and Social Revolution

The general intake acquired from the movie ‘Snowpiercer’ is the unjust behavior the lower class experience by the upper class. Further analysis of the movie ‘Snowpiercer’ comments on the social, political, and economic constructs of societies around the world and it’s problems regarding class systems.

I agree with this article’s interpretation of the train symbolizing the world and the ‘freeloaders’ being restrained by contemporary societies resulting in little social progress. An interesting point the article makes regarding the people from the tail section of the train is that they symbolize the “slums” of the third world and that the empty cars within the train indicates the great distance between the wealthy and the poor. The article continues to create connections between each section of the train to an aspect of contemporary society. Finally ending the segment on the engine at the very front of the train conveying the “perpetual motion” of contemporary society and how it will remain implemented through generations after generations if the structure is not destroyed. The article also comments on the significance of the main characters as well as the acts of revolution. Both the article’s and my interpretation have a similar understanding on the ‘Snowpiercer’ act in creating a parallel to the societies around us helping us “see” the harsh reality of our worlds.

I was reading another article called “How to Understand Snowpiercer” and an important piece of information that helped me gain a better understanding about the social constructs in the movie is to view it as a “parable of Darwinian economic and political determinism.”

Polo G is bringing notoriety back to Chicago rap

The author of the article, Mark Braboy, had a similar idea of what Polo G’s music actually meant. I am a big Polo G fan and I originally thought that his music was only talking about relationships and being heartbroken. As I listened more in to the lyrics, I realized that he is talking about how hard life can be sometimes but everyone must continue on and believe in themselves. Braboy views his lyrics very similar to how I do.

The article talks about how Polo G’s tough upbringing and being sent to Prison gave him a different outlook at life. Braboy states that when he went to jail he swore that he will never go back there and he never did. Polo G’s outlook on life changed a lot and he promised that he would be rich and that his music would be listened to all around the world. This backs up his lyrics and shows us that with the right mentality, a person can change their life around no matter how bad they situation is.

Although my original thought of his lyrics being only about relationships wasn’t entirely correct, it still contributes to the aspect of staying focused. Braboy also talks about how instead of going to college Polo G decided to be fully dedicated to music and promised he would stay focused through his entire journey. I guess the lesson we can all learn from this is be persistent and hard work pays off.

In the review I read about “Coach Carter” the author takes an interesting standpoint on the way the movie wants us to view the school system. In a world where it is obvious that some races are viewed as below others, the stereotype that black children are not meant to graduate, and make a educational pathed life for themselves out of them selfs, seems to be evident as shown in the movie. The review wants us to understand that this hypocrisy of teaching student, with out actually trying to help them learn and do well is the basis for a lower class black community. As Carter argues with the principle that he needs the players teachers to send in the players class assessment, the principle seems to be dumbfounded by Carter’s interest in these students academic path. She says that for some of these kids basketball is the highlight of their lives. He responds by saying that that is the whole problem. If teachers and schools stoped subjugating these kids to the false narrative that they don’t have the ability to be successful and get a college education, then maybe the stereotype of lazy black community will change. Maybe there will be a insurgence of opportunity for this minority community that lacks the incentive to improve their school systems. This is the standpoint taken by the author of this analysis.  I most certainly agree with this argument, as Carter is what those students needed. He was the only one who believed in their future and allowed them the opportunity for potential. In the end of the movie, we are shown the futures of the Richmond players. We are shown the extremely positive impact their Coach had on them as they are playing for school where scholarships are involved.  One of the main characters, Kenyan, had the privilege of getting a full ride to Syracuse where the school offered to help him with his pregnant girlfriend, Kira. When Carter first walked into that gym, college had not even crossed Kenyan’s mind, but because of Carter’s aspirations in him, Kenyan was able to go to college and make his own path, regardless of any cultural stereotype places onto him by society. The analysis by this author shows us how much of a disadvantage black minority groups are, in terms of schooling and treatment of children and how Coach Carter disregarded this and followed his heart.

 

 

Allen Almachar also watched Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, and we held similar viewpoints about this movie. He gave the movie a B+ on rotten tomatoes and found the message of the movie to be one that I also found. He saw that the message of the movie was, ” that we can accomplish amazing things if we set our minds to it. He also adds that the plot and story of the movie is straightforward and gets to the point quick, and that that is a good thing. He also adds that the fact that the main character of the movie is someone who millions of people watching the movie can relate to it. Adding, “Miles is like any normal kid: trying to stay focused on his school work, awkward socially (particularly with the opposite sex), and just trying to get by”. He also mentions that the movie is filled with vibrant and colorful comicbook-like animation that gives the movie even more life. I would like to add that this type of animation and choice of color adds to the message of the story. It uses creative imagery and emphasizes the viewpoint of being what you want to be in life and following your aspirations because it can lead to great things. I would have to disagree with his notion that the movie is too fast paced. I feel like this aspect helps with the energy of the movie and helps add a more feel-good, creativity inspiring experience.

My artifact was the film, “Hidden Figures” directed by Theodore Melfi. To give a little context about the film, the story follows three female African-Americans protagonists who greatly contributed to several of NASA’s space missions while bearing the discrimination and racism that prevented them from progressing further in their careers. The review I chose for this assignment was an article from The Guardian called “Hidden Figures is a groundbreaking book. But the film? Not so much”. In her review, the author Marie Hicks talks about how the film, while being enjoyable, failed to address the realities of an era where segregation and rampant racism still existed. In the film’s defense, it did portray the unfair treatment African-Americans received in the 60s; e.g. sitting in the back of the bus, colored section for libraries, coffee pots, court rooms, bombing of a bus full of protestors, and many more. However, in Hicks’s own word, the film “takes the stories of three of these women and gives them the Hollywood treatment.” And personally, I’d have to agree. By the end of the film, Katherine (our ostensible protagonist) is acknowledged by her white peers for her work, Mary became NASA’s first African-American engineer, and Dorothy became NASA’s first African-American supervisor. Yet this happy Hollywood ending, leaves much unanswered.  Was racism suddenly solved, at least in the confines of the NASA workplace? How did this small (but admirable) advance contribute to the removal of Jim Crow laws?

However, while I do agree with Hicks’s critique of the film, I believe the film still achieved a great deal with its natural limitations when compared to a book. The film, “Hidden Figure”, showed the discrimination many faced in their daily lives. At the same time, it also illustrated the ignorance of many (who aren’t exactly racist or sexist) of those living in the time. It didn’t fail to incite anger in the audience and cause them to relate to the leads, or at least for me.

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2017/feb/13/film-hidden-figures-nasa-black-women-mathematicians-book

 

 

Identity in the 21st Century: A lyrical analysis of Gorillaz’ “Plastic Beach”

This fan of the Gorillaz writes a massive comprehensive analysis of the album, digging into multiple layers of meaning and explains things I never understood. Their main claims about what the album has to say and why are super similar to what I observed through the lyrics and organization, though their analysis included much more of the Gorillaz lore which was pretty cool.

The writer, Syed, states that the album’s genre is a spacey-techno sound that is unlike anything they or their many many features have worked with before, but it allows for the seamless introduction of “a truly breathtaking set of feelings and attitudes toward a world that continues to become flashier on the outside and hollower on the inside”. Both Syed and I agree that Plastic Beach amplifies this claim, consistently describing our world as being ravaged by the malfunctions of modern humanity in both the natural sense and in the social, cultural one.

I plan on citing this blog when possible in my paper to reinforce the primary messages and how they are given throughout the tracks.

 

 In this article I’m only focusing on the “Consumerism” and “Environmentalism” parts, because they are the most crucial. The author of this article, Ross M. Hayduk, dives deeply into this cautionary tale about the environment and the consumers, which is called, Wall-E. The whole movie revolves around the company Buy N Large, and how they have monopolized the whole world, and even space. From the supermarkets, the gasoline, the banks, and the transit systems, they now have reign over everything. Doing so destroyed all small businesses and created mass production which now lead to mass waste. Leaving tons and tons of garbage for poor Wall-E to clean up. As Hayduk states, “Wall-E attempts to show that the human species doesn’t need aliens to destroy us and our planet.” Through our anti-environmental individual habits, such as growing dependence on machines, a largely indifferent attitude towards our societal and environmental issues as well as anti-environmental collective policies such as the corporate-dictated government policies whose sole motif is profit, without any real concern for environmental issues, we are walking straight into an environmental apocalypse. These points are the main reason I choose this movie, besides it being my favorite movie, it foreshadows our inevitable doom. Though the corporate dictated policies, and convenience of major companies are the main reason for our impending doom, regular citizens involvement (aka consumerism) is a huge issue too. It’s not fair that the government is trying to blame the consumer for these issues, but sadly that’s what is happening. In Wall-E, the technology provided by Buy N Large is so advanced that the consumers now have no need to think for themselves anymore. Honestly, I feel that is where we are heading today. Self- awareness is key, without it, like seen in Wall-E, humans will drown in the technology and convenience of large companies to the point where they don’t think for themselves ever again, like robots.

The Conflicting Ideology of “WALL-E”