"The Miseducation of Hip-Hop- Discrimination in Education"

After reading Jamilah Evelyn’s “the Miseducation of Hip Hop-Discrimination one could understand the meaning behind Jason Hinmon’s and Dr. Thomas Earl Midgette’s thoughts.  Jason Hinmon feels as if he has been discriminated against due to his fashion style.  “They took one look at me and thought that I was some hip-hop hoodlum who wasn’t interested in being a good student.”  (Evelyn, 2008)  Dr. Thomas feels as though students should change their appearance when they are in a professional environment.  One can agree that most people in the American society will “judge a book by its cover”  Jason was most likely judged due to the experience society has faced when dealing with most people who were dressed in baggy clothes, and had dreadlocks.  It seems as though Jason wants to express who he is without feeling judged.  He might be a decent hard working student, but at first glance, his professors may have seen him as a lazy thug.  “I used to wear bell-bottoms, but I learned to dress a certain way if I was negotiating the higher education maze.  I had to trim my afro” (Evelyn, 2008)  It appears as though Dr. Thomas is expressing his views from his own experience.  One would assume in his younger years, Dr. Thomas had trouble being understood as a serious student and professional.  Dr. Thomas made the decision to change his appearance from his “hippie” look to a more “professional” look, in order to be taken serious and not shunned because of the stereotype.  There are some professions that allow people to dress and look like however they feels is expressing themselves.  On the other hand, in most of corporate society there is a dress code or expectation of what their associates are to look and dress like. 

References

Evelyn, Jamilah. (2008). The Miseducation of Hip-Hop-Discrimination in Education. In

L. Gray-Rosendale, Laura Gray-Rosendale (pp. 559-565). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Neil Postman and Steve Powers "The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures"

After reading this essay, one will be able to observe that Postman and Powers have a definition for what a stationary picture, a moving picture, and language is.  “A picture does not present to us an idea or concept about the world.” (Postman and Powers, 2008)  Postman and Powers describe stationary pictures as something without a specific meaning.  Stationary pictures leave the audience guessing.  When viewing a picture, one can only assume what is happening without words explaining what is presented.  Moving pictures give people a sense of feeling and offer a real time view at what is taking place.  Language can be biased, non-factual, and mainly used to express an opinion.  Postman and Powers claim newscasts do not report an event as a fact, but as an opinion in order to grab the audience’s attention.  Background noises, background movement, and music, are all tools used by newscasts to grab the audience’s attention.  This is a way of making the audience feel like they are getting urgent and recent news.  Postman and Powers do not believe the newscast broadcast events for what actually happened.  “It is a tendency of journalism in general to communicate on the surface of events rather than underlying conditions.” (Postman and Powers, 2008)  After reading this essay, one may have a different opinion on how future news is presented to them. 

Postman, Neil and Powers, Steve (2008). The Bias of Language, The Bias f Pictures. In L. Gray-Rosendale, Pop Perspectives (pp. 481-489). New York: McGraw-Hill.

“Volkswagen’s The Force”

The gender representations in the Volkswagen video The Force, shows an interaction of a boy dressed as Darth Vader, a mother, and a father.  The mother appears to be tending to the house and watching after the little boy who is pretending to be Darth Vader, attempting to use “the force.”  The interaction portrayed in this video is considered to be what is called “the American dream.”  It’s what appears to be a happily married couple with a child and a dog, living in a friendly neighborhood.  Except this is not the common everyday American family.  The typical American family works odd hours, struggling to see each other.  Most children spend their free time playing video games or watching television.  Children are most likely to watch television shows with Darth Vader rather than dress up and pretend to be him.  The story of Star Wars began in the 80’s and has continued to be carried on throughout the past thirty years.  New movies have continued to hit movie theatres.  Star Wars video games are sold in video game stores everywhere.  Star Wars toys are still sold in toy stores.  Walt Disney World has a section in their park dedicated to Star Wars.  As everyone knows Walt Disney World attracts millions of families every year, keeping the story of Star Wars alive.  So long as the technology and capabilities Star Wars do not exist, younger generations will always love to hear about this science fiction movie which stirs the imagination. 

Justin Biebers video "Baby"

If anyone were to watch the video “baby,” by Justin Bieber, one would be able to see the clothing style and personality representation of today’s teenage boys and girls.  In the beginning, the teenage girl is obviously not happy with Justin's attempt to get her attention.  It is common to believe this is not a typical interaction between a teenage boy and a teenage girl.  Initial contact is usually met with a shy response.  Depending where someone lives, it may or may not be common for teenagers to meet in a bowling alley.  If someone lives in a small town, a bowling alley might be an ideal place to meet.  In larger cities teenagers are most likely to meet at a shopping mall or movie theatre.