Assignment1. Initial response
Think about Hurt's argument(s). In a short response (250 words), discuss the evidence Hurt presents in the film and whether or not you agree with his premise that commercial rap is misogynistic, violent, and promotes a negative stereotype of black manhood. Here is a link to Part 1 of 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8YpcN7oKIM&feature=related
At this link there is further information about the issues Hurt raises divided into categories: masculinity, misogyny, homophobia, or media literacy. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/hiphop/issues.htm.
Also visit http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/hiphop/ for background information on the film and director. In your essay cite a song which supports Hurt's claim(s) or refutes it. You can include the URL in your essay as the reference.
2. After reading the Dyson interview with Hurt. Due Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011
Bring in an expanded freewrite or entirely different essay discussing Hurt's claims made in his film and to Dyson in the interview. In a 3 page essay (750 words min.), using citations from Dyson's interview,
Holler and Hurt's film talk about Tupac's work in light of Hurt's critique. How would Tupac hold up?
Use lyrics from at least two songs to support your argument re: Tupac Shakur's contributions to the genre and the industry both positive and negative.
Bring the essay to class electronically on Thursday for a peer review. I will give you a Initial Planning Sheet tomorrow and we will talk about thesis statements, signal phrases and block quotes on Tuesday. I am going to be looking at introductions in this essay and conclusions, the two bookends of an essay.
The next essay will look at signal phrases and how well students integrate sources into their work.
Students will have up to five citations: 1 film (B. Hurt), two rap songs, one article (from Michael Eric Dyson's
Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip Hop, one book (
Holler)
The citations need to be: 1 block quote, paraphrases, and shorter citations.
Students will turn in an Initial Planning Sheet with the essay and an outline. We'll practice on Tuesday-Wednesday.
Hip Hop Beyond Beats and RhymesDirected by Byron Hurt
From http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/hiphop/
Filmmaker Byron Hurt, a life-long hip-hop fan, was watching rap music videos on BET when he realized that each video was nearly identical. Guys in fancy cars threw money at the camera while scantily clad women danced in the background. As he discovered how stereotypical rap videos had become, Hurt, a former college quarterback turned activist, decided to make a film about the gender politics of hip-hop, the music and the culture that he grew up with. “The more I grew and the more I learned about sexism and violence and homophobia, the more those lyrics became unacceptable to me,” he says. “And I began to become more conflicted about the music that I loved.” The result is HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a riveting documentary that tackles issues of masculinity, sexism, violence and homophobia in today’s hip-hop culture.
Sparking dialogue on hip-hop and its declarations on gender, HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes provides thoughtful insight from intelligent, divergent voices including rap artists, industry executives, rap fans and social critics from inside and outside the hip-hop generation. The film includes interviews with famous rappers such as Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D and Jadakiss and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; along with commentary from Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Kevin Powell and Sarah Jones and interviews with young women at Spelman College, a historically black school and one of the nation’s leading liberal arts institutions.
The film also explores such pressing issues as women and violence in rap music, representations of manhood in hip-hop culture, what today’s rap lyrics reveal to their listeners and homoeroticism in hip-hop. A “loving critique” from a self-proclaimed “hip-hop head,” HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes discloses the complex intersection of culture, commerce and gender through on-the-street interviews with aspiring rappers and fans at hip-hop events throughout the country.
Hip-hop has been accused of glorifying violence, misogyny and homophobia, and at the same time has been lauded for its ability to simply “tell it like it is.” Such controversial debates over forms of expression can rarely be boiled down to a simple case of wrong versus right. Instead, they are complex and multi-layered and must take into account the larger cultural context.
HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes goes beyond polarizing arguments to explore hip-hop’s most contested issues. How do limited perceptions of masculinity play into a culture of violence? What roles do misogyny and homophobia have in hip-hop culture—as well as in wider mainstream cultures? And are the media and music industries really to blame?
