Through The Telescope: Current Trends and Ignorant Minds Part 2

For those who haven’t already, please read “Part One” before you read the rest of this article.

For those unaware, Minstrel Shows were racist comedy shows that ran during the mid 1800’s that depicted how black people “supposedly” acted; which was generally done in degrading ways. Minstrel Shows lead to the white population assuming that this is how Black people acted, and once a black person deterred from how the “black face” performers portrayed them they were treated unkindly. So you’re probably wondering: “How does this fit into what you’re talking about?” Modern media and some of the rap it supports has twisted black performers into puppets, and in turn is still giving the same negative impressions that Minstrel Shows had been giving years ago.

The psychology is like this: We see the media perpetuate black figures as “gangsters” and “drug dealers” and instead of promoting this as a “sector” of the Hip Hop we see now, it’s a main focus; this spawns stereotypes such as “all black people are gangster” or “all black people are drug dealers”. In turn people who aren’t accustomed to the Hip Hop culture (this is for the older audience of course) and those who aren’t in racially diverse areas (younger audience) perpetuate these same stereotypes because they haven’t really been exposed to another ethnicity, a black person in this case.

So what happens when they are? I’ve been to a few places in the US and smaller towns around me, places where there was a much larger “white” population then any other race. I’d like to cite a town close to mine as a perfect example of what I’m talking about. In this town I had seen another group of kids at a movie theater literally become shocked when they realized a black person there wasn’t a “gangster” like the media portrayed “black” people as, and went on to crack jokes relating to what would have happened if he was a “gangster”; doing it as if they were justified because it was their “first encounter”, not realizing that what they did was a racist act.

Now, as a lasting result when someone dresses in “urban” fashions despite what ethnicity it’s automatically assumed they’re apart of some “gang”; keep in mind it isn’t fair to say everyone assumes this, but it’s assumed in the context of what I said above. Now there is a fine line between “too-baggy” and having a casual sense of urban wear, regardless I don’t think it is fair to assume you’re apart of a gang or a drug dealer because the clothing you wear happens to be worn by figures in the media who represent that.

To be honest, so far I’ve been looking mostly at the male perspective of this topic. Come on, it’s been assumed so far has it not? So lets take some time to delve into the female aspect of this. “Girls” (a word I’m using intentionally) are just as susceptible to the up rise of mainstream raps dominance in media. Whether it be through BET or Much’s bullshit programming, the influence is still there, however it works in a remotely different aspect.

A thing I see biggest with “girls” in context of Hip Hop influence is their willingness to cater to a males taste, in turn disrespecting themselves in order to be considered attractive. If you haven’t pieced together the why already, It’s clearly because of low confidence. Considering this though, there are two examples I’ve seen that seem almost completely opposite, yet both intertwine: The “quiet” gangster girl being the first, and the “loud-mouthed” gangster girl being the second.

Lets start with the quiet gangster girl. This is the type of girl who dresses quite provocatively, chances are they’ll either have a circle of like-minded friends or they’re hanging out with some “wannabe-gangster” kid who they’re trying to “get with”. Their iPods probably have 50 Cents “Candy Shop” on repeat, with a slew of trendy RnB hits. They’re the type who watch Much and disregard school in favor of trying to be with that “wannabe-gangster” in their Science Class, hoping that being with someone they consider “powerful” (quite the opposite by the way) they’ll feel more secure about their insecurities. Despite having their own opinions they stay silent in favor of hoping this way people will like them.

Now onto the loud-mouthed gangster girl. Just like the quiet girl, she’ll end up dressing provocatively and like the quite girl hangs out with either a group of like-minded friends (with similar mannerisms), or be with a group of “wannabe-gangsters” that chances are she’s trying to “get with”. Also, just like the quiet girl, she’s very into catching the eye of some boy she likes apposed to being involved with the main focus of school. Their iPods are probably the same as the quiet girls. The main difference however, is they “appear” to look pretty confident when in reality they’re the exact same as that “quiet girl”; they’re more tomboyish however, but speak with heavy slang hoping their supposed “outspokenness” will build their self worth.

As you can see from both paragraphs, there are obvious similarities. The main thing that molds both these mindsets listed is that they both take from the social trends and media trends they see in mainstream rap videos and culture surrounding those videos. They feel because the women dress the way they do in those videos if they dress that way too, men will like them; because other girls are dressing like this they feel more reassured when they put on their clothes (or lack of) and apply their makeup. In turn, you get these “drones” who lack confidence. Keep in mind, this isn’t all attributed to mainstream Rap, and I emphasize this because logically there are several other factors that equate to this, such as childhood, past friendships and schooling, etc. However, mainstream rap certainly helps perpetuate - shall I say it? “sluttyness”.

This concludes part two of this three part look into the mindsets of trend-goers, check back later this week for the final part! In the meantime - as always - discuss in the comments box below! Trust me it’s easy (just fill out the boxes and post), and ANY comments are encouraged as long as they’re pertaining to this discussion!

---

Posted by LostMoniker on October 13th, 2008 :: Filed under Through The Telescope: Hip Hop and Society
Tags :: 50 cent, boys, gang, gangster, girls, minstrel shows, racism, rnb, thug, trends
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

---