Music.

Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes was a really interesting documentary. I listen to hip hop/rap music, but I've never really examined the culture surrounding the industry. The one part of the film that really stood out to me was the fact that when rappers were questioned about their lyrics affect on African American women and men, they couldn't even look at the camera. They knew what they were singing about was not productive for the black community, but they also knew that their lyrics were filling their bank accounts. The message I got from the film was that hip hop/rap music can really influence a culture to project stereotypes that are unfair to the African American community as a whole. 


I thought the Peterson article was interesting. 


In the video, it was sad to see women parading around scantily clad at the BET Spring Break Party. These women were walking the streets practically naked. Men were grabbing all parts of their bodes, filming up their skirts, and referring to them as "bitches and hoes." When these women were interviewed they kept saying that they weren't "bitches," but rather were classy females who simply made a decision to dress sexy that morning. While watching the film, I noticed that the women weren't even bothered by the negative attention they were receiving from the boys and men surrounding them. I feel like if I was ever degraded or disrespected like that I would NOT just giggle and keep on walking, I'd probably get aggressive. As upsetting as it was to see these women parading around, I have to take into account that these women are at a hip hop convention/party/whatever meaning they listen and love that genre. More than often, a woman's role in hip hop is to dance around a male giving off the appearance that she wants to be all over him and at a drop of a dime she'd be DTF. Young girls are watching this, and I feel as if their unintentionally making these women there role models. In Peterson's study, it was reported that women were more likely to be binge drinkers/drug abusers in addition to having low self-esteem. I realize that black women who have access to a strong support system i.e. family, school, etc. may not be affected by hip pop videos, but women in high maafan areas may be viewing this videos and striving to become these sex kittens they see plastered everywhere in the hip hop industry. 


Also, I liked Pratt's idea of having the boys he was working with to use critical thinking skills to analyze the components of the hip hop industry. It was a very interesting concept, and I believe a much needed program for young boys to be involved in. Also, it gave me some ideas for the boys group I work with :)