Category: All-Star Blog Spotlight

“(1:23-1:30)- This scene is contradictory to it’s meaning. BTS is in this celebratory state, such as Jhope throwing the cake at RM, when in actuality this scene represents the attacks one receives from seeking justice similar to how society/government reacts when one is trying to confront injustice. (One example in American society: police brutality)

(1:32- 1:40) – All the other members, besides Jin, are going up the stairs. Jin represents the ones who have died due to the accident. He is at the bottom of the stairs watching the others climbing up and growing up unable to live life with them.

(1:43-1:47) – This scene shows Jungkook in front of a worn down Merry-Go-Round which symbolizes a loss of childhood. The lyrics keep saying “I miss you, I miss you.”

(2:00-2:12) – These collective scenes shows the daily lives of the survivors. The lyrics captures the empty feelings of the survivors, “how many sleepless nights do I have to spend to see you” as well as counting the days they can see their loved ones “until the days of the spring”.”

This excerpt is from the blog where we were supposed to dissect a music video that speaks to us and look for meaning and purpose of the art. This blog stood out to me because I remember spending a lot of time  watching the music video and writing down everything I saw and then researching a little bit. I was not disappointed. I found about a beautiful and tragic meaning that was conveyed through the music video and was struck by the visual metaphors incorporated in the video.

But I also love all my other blogs as well. I feel like every blog made me think about the society we live in and enlightened me about my surroundings for the better or worse. Reading my peers blogs was also interesting because they have different perspectives as you. Overall, these blogs really educated me and I feel more enlightened than before.

The Curious Grammar of Police Shootings

This post was my favorite as I believe that I was able to adequately describe the various effects of language. The article itself was very powerful, so it was only right that I used more impactful words to do the family of the victims some justice. To continue, it is important to write and self reflect on the silenced narratives as they too are unheard by the media. To take news channels and reporters at face value nowadays, is dangerous. There are many different people who are willing to shape their stories to benefit either themselves or a certain side. Hence, I think that my analysis was able to accurately pinpoint and reflect some even if a little, of the pain of the victims.

This article was very enlightening to read as it brought up a new aspect of news articles I haven’t considered before. When reading about police shootings, it seems very black and white since in theory, you were either correct in shooting them or not right? Balko introduces the idea that despite the justifications, the police always seem to be portrayed as the good guys. While it isn’t blatantly said, the wording used undermines the events and the purpose of the article making it lackluster at best. If Long Soldier maintained this type of writing style, it would have caused many sympathizers of “Everything is in the language that we use” to have a nonchalant attitude towards her article instead. To not use the needed grammar only signifies to reader that this story is not important or newsworthy to add literal effect. This heavily adds insult to injury to the victim’s family as their story is being poorly misrepresented by the media in an effort to soften the blow on affected communities. It is the responsibility of these various medias to educate the public of the ironies throughout our system of the very people sworn to protect us, committing murder. We can further extend this irony to whether the same people who are supposed to “educate” us, are  actually misleading us.

Introduction to the New Jim Crow
“Alexander’s introduction allows ample support of the claim “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.” She begins with an example of Jarvious Cotton’s exemption from voting and the fact that his lineage has suffered from the same issue. This immediately gives proof of how the racial caste is still present in modern America as the fundamental right of voting was restricted across multiple generations. Similarly, African Americans have suffered through the generational disadvantage of accumulating wealth. For example, there has been a specific instance in the past where black communities have became extremely successful in gaining economic freedom, but were destroyed by white mobs (Tulsa massacre). How are African Americans expected to succeed at the same rate as their white counterparts when the patriarchal lineage of white people were never restricted from basic materials needed to thrive (accumulating wealth or voting in elections)? Alexander also writes about the uncanny similarity between mass incarceration and Jim Crow segregation. Under Jim Crow laws, African Americans were expected to take a literacy test (practically impossible to pass) in order to vote. Today, after African Americans are released from prisons, “… they are often denied the right to vote, excluded from juries, and relegated to a racially segregated and subordinated existence.” and “they are legally denied the ability to obtain employment, housing, and public benefits—much as African Americans were once forced into a segregated, second-class citizenship in the Jim Crow era.” This correlates to the literacy test as it places unnecessary barriers that prevent African Americans from integrating into and succeeding in American society.”

This blog post stood out the most to me because I vividly remember being so proud of it the moment I submitted. In a personal academic sense, I’m pleased with my response because it showed my growth in writing from the beginning of the semester through my style and analysis of the text. Through Alexander’s writing, the discussion of racism includes a new voice that compares present day society to Jim Crow society and the uncanny similarities. The writing also proves that the ones who are purposefully silenced tend to have the most accurate statements about racism.

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.

I choose this because analyzing this movie was such a fun experience, it was my favorite thing I did all semester. This movie has been my favorite for a long time and analyzing it like I did was very surprising. I was basically writing down everything I’ve been thinking while I watched this movie occasionally throughout the past year. It related to the larger themes throughout the semester because it consisted of the major issue which is climate change, that is effecting everyone. This issue is becoming more and more widespread which is great, I became really involved when the rallies began in the city. But I still feel like a lot is being unsaid, and the public might misunderstand who’s to blame for this issue.

Reflecting back on the reading, “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans” by Claire Jean Kim, one particular quote stood out to me. This quote is: “Before the civil rights era, racial triangulation occurred open, in cultural-racial terms; during the post-civil rights era, racial triangulation has occurred in a coded fashion, in cultural terms decoupled from overtly racial claims.” Looking at this quote, before the Civil Rights Era, Americas openly participated in racial triangulation. There was no need to hide it and deny that it was happening. This is because of all the other acceptable racial ideas that occurred at the time. Ultimately, it was acceptable for people to be racist and discriminate against other racial or ethnic groups. As time moved forward, these behaviors and thought processes were no longer acceptable. This is due to the new normal that came to be in our nation. No longer was it acceptable to deny Blacks the use of a water fountain or subject them to sitting on the back of the bus. Therefore, it prevented racial triangulation from occurring openly. Just because racial triangulation did not occur openly, it does not mean that it went away completely. Instead, during the post- Civil Rights Era the racial triangulation occurred in a “coded fashion”. You had to really look closely to see if racial triangulation was taking place because people tried to hide it since it was no longer aligning with the norms of the time. Similarly, people were no longer overtly racist due to the changes that occurred over time. 

This particular post stands out to me because it is very relevant to what is going on in society today. Racism is all around us, but sometimes it can be difficult to see. In my blog post, I mentioned that in the post-Civil Rights Era people have to examine events closely to see if racial triangulation is taking place. Reflecting on this post, something I did here that I liked was incorporating a quote that had meaning to me. This allowed me to develop my own personal perspective on the article. This post related to large course themes around inclusivity of all voices in a given conversation. A voice was given to minorities who are often shut out. It shows how minorities are silenced and told that racism does not exist or that people are colorblind. In reality, there is still covert and overt racism. 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAg3uMlNyHA

Notes:

0:20 – Macklemore walks into a gym (the one which the NBA shot their 2013 All Star commercial in, commercial link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEz5mycFcLw )

0:22 – camera zooms in and focuses on his Jordans

0:36 – stops in the middle of the court and looks down as if he is thinking about something

0:39 – starts to sing

0: 44 – transitions into scene with little boy in Jordans and a Jordan jersey in the driveway of his house

0:57 – kid jumps to touch the net of the basketball hoop and hits the infamous Jordan pose

1:07 – in his room trying on another pair of Nikes

1:18 – in class with his Jordans on as opposed to the other kids who are wearing “Four stripes, some Adidas”

1:44 – adult Macklemore in a child’s room with photographs of places where people were either robbed or killed for their shoes

1:55 – transitions back to young Macklemore as he stands in front of an MJ poster

2:07 – all sorts of people playing and practicing basketball in Jordans

2:32 – adult Macklemore sitting in front of kids with a book teaching and giving them a lesson on consumerism

2:41 – young Macklemore obsessing over his Jordans

2:52 – transitions back to adult Macklemore as he continues to talk to kids of all ages about the same topic

2:57 – young Macklemore cleaning his Jordans

4:00 – young Macklemore gets robbed of his shoes and has to walk home in socks

4:26 – shows other people and their Jordan collections

4:30 – people waiting in line for Jordans

5:00 – young Macklemore pulls out another pair of Jordans and puts them on as if to show that even such an incident won’t stop him from wearing Jordans, or maybe Jordans are part of his identity that he can’t take them off

5:23 – ends the song with “And now I see it’s just another pair of shoes”

“Wings” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis is a song which challenges and debates the two sides to consumerism, which is the “social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts”(Wikipedia). Through the music video’s narrative and storytelling style, the two sides to the issue are each being represented by an individual. Both individuals are supposed to be Macklemore himself, him as an adult and a younger version of himself, who is being acted by another child. The adult Macklemore takes the negative side of consumerism as the young Macklemore depicts the positive, more naive side. The music video and lyrics take on a roller coaster of emotions as they bounce from the pros and cons of consumerism. As young Macklemore depicts the joys that may come from material possessions, Macklemore himself takes on the role as an educator to the youth, informing them on the dangers of consumerism and how these corporations successfully consume our minds. Despite his continuing obsession with Jordans and Nikes which stems from his childhood, he concludes the song with “and now I see it’s just another pair of shoes”. He has grown to accept that he fell victim to buying a dream and understands that those shoes with an air bubble are nothing more than just a pair of shoes.

Context:

In this blog post, I mentioned that the NBA used this song in the 2013 All-Star Game commercial but I didn’t mention how it was used. This song is centered around the dangers of consumerism and how large corporations consume our minds by selling us a dream. However, what makes this song so catchy is its chorus. The chorus goes as follows:

“I wanna fly

Can you take me far away

Gimmie a star to reach for

Tell me what it takes

And I’ll go so high

I’ll go so high

My feet won’t touch the ground

Stitch my wings

And pull the strings

I bought these dreams

That all fall down”

For the All -Star Game commercial, the NBA decided to use the chorus, however chose to exclude the last four lines. Essentially, they pulled snippets from the song which went along with their intentions of advertising the game and the products that they sell. Judging by the commercial, you would think the song is about how great these products make us feel, but when you give the whole song a listen, you will understand that Macklemore is actually condemning corporations such as the NBA. It is quite ironic to see that the NBA would use this song, but as long as Macklemore’s opinion was silenced, the NBA got what they wanted. This case does a great job portraying the importance of acknowledging all perspectives to their entirety. Many times voices are silenced or reduced for the sake of proving a point. If we took “Wing$” for what it was in the NBA commercial, our understanding for the song would be totally incorrect.

I chose the blog post about analyzing your favorite song and its lyrics for the All-Star Blog Spotlight.

This post stands out to me because I really enjoyed getting the chance to analyze and get an ever better understanding of one of my favorites songs for a class. School work is much more enjoyable when you have many options and can choose to satisfy the requirements of a class by depicting a piece of work by your artist of choice.

I liked how I got an even deeper meaning of the lyrics and was able to write out what I think they mean towards the real world. You can learn a lot from music especially when it is so poetic like this piece so I had a great time learning.

The work I did here related a lot to the themes of this class. In the class we read a lot of great articles about the individual as a whole and peoples’ interactions whether it be good or bad. To summarize, this song also depicts the struggles individuals have with society and the sorts of interactions they have to deal with.

Lastly, this song really depicts how deadly the inner conflict in yourself can be. It shows how we all suffer on the outside but what is most important is how we take care of ourselves on the inside because that can either lead to happiness or doom. In conclusion, it is not discussed in the real world enough how important mental health is and the amount of people who suffer from it is severely underestimated.

^^ I think, for me at least, the uncensored version of this gives the listener a better understanding of what Eminem is not only saying, but thinking.

Just to get things straight… Stan is a fictional character who Eminem created. Stan is a portrayal of an obsessed fan  who will do literally anything to meet their idol. Stan has a mix of the crazy thoughts and experiences Eminem had about his idols growing up. These thoughts and motives generated from Eminem growing up with a lot of hate from peers around him, not to mention his dad leaving him when he was only six months old and his mom being an alcoholic who never showed him any attention. Eminem is very humble here and knows what it is like to come from nothing and then have everyone want to be your friend. Eminem’s story is very deep and can teach you many things. He gets away with a lot of the things he says due to his reputation and the fact this story was told 20 years ago. Eminem is scarred and emotionally messed up in many ways but this is what makes him one of the best rappers and lyricists of all time.

0:30 – Stan is dying his hair blonde in the bathroom on a rainy night as his pregnant girlfriend walks in. She does not approve of him going to such depths just to look like his favorite rapper. Her backlash causes Stan to get angry and rush out of the bathroom.

1:50 – Stan heads down to his basement where he has posters and different records of Eminem all over his wall. He starts writing a letter to Eminem. This isn’t the first letter Stan is writing though; Stan thinks his other letters either got lost in the mail or Eminem was too lazy to read them. Stan starts talking about how he is giving his daughter the same name that Eminem’s daughter has.  He continues to prove in detail how he is Eminem’s biggest fan.

2:10 – There is a consecutive chorus throughout the song of Eminem’s girlfriend, Kim, which contributes well to the melody.

2:45- Stan continues to aggressively write about how Eminem ignored Stan at the concert and made him wait outside in the cold to get an autograph for his brother, but Eminem ignored them.

3:10 – Stan even goes as far to say that he cares more about Eminem than his actual girlfriend. To justify this Stan cuts out a portrait of Eminem and puts it over a picture of Kim. Stan says she doesn’t understand how they are different from everyone else.

3:50 – Stan catches his girlfriend looking through his letters that he is going to send Eminem from his basement. Stan gets furious about this and decides that he does not need her and only wants to meet Eminem. Stan, then, takes his pregnant girlfriend and shoves her in the trunk of his car as he drives away and tries to send a message to Eminem over the radio about what he has become.

4: 10 – Stan, in deep agony, tells Eminem that everyone of Stan’s decisions up to this point in his life was due to him. Stan tries making Eminem feel bad by telling him he is going to crash his car into a bridge and end his mental pain.

4:40- Stan and his wife are dead from the crash into the water off of the bridge.

4:55- Eminem finally receives Stan’s mail and tells him how he meant to write him sooner. He is glad he is having a daughter and tells Stan he is sending his brother an autograph. Eminem says he is deeply sorry and never saw Stan at the concert. Eminem can tell Stan is going through severe mental challenges inside his head and recommends he gets some help but that he would love to meet him one day. Eminem says for Stan to calm down and appreciate what he has in life.

5:50 – Eminem hears about the car crash on the news and finally realizes it was Stan and that he is dead. It’s too late…

This song isn’t the typical song Eminem would make but rather shows his abilities as a lyricist. The song is not a rap really but is made by a rapper and more importantly just tells a very deep message. There is no specific genre.

The audience meant for this song is pretty much any person with an idol who they love. It is meant to teach them about what obsession can lead to.

This song doesn’t have any real historical context but it shows the audience the sort of social relationship they can have, or rather should not have with their idol.

Eminem is trying to teach us the importance of loving what you already have as well as understanding that deep down everyone is the same human being who needs to be able to live their life. Eminem can’t individually talk to everyone of his fans but is trying to show them how, in spirit, he is there to help them with the story telling in his songs.