Rap and Politics

Some might find my title ODD. However, I do not. Well... I do, but I think it is funny. These are two entirely different yet somewhat similar domains. My final project is on Rap because I know next to nothing about it. I like listening to rap, but I do not necessarily understand why or how it became. I am a very conservative woman and some might think it strange that I am writing a paper on rap. My boyfriend is a rapper, currently cooking at Carraba's and he too has political views believe it or not. Yes, that's right, rappers have thoughts and brains too. Although we do not always agree, we stand on some common grounds and have some very interesting conversations. It is an awesome relationship because by God allowing us to meet each other it's almost as though he has allowed us to be more well rounded and whole. My boyfriend and I are sending out different texts to people we meet. While I as a politician knock on doors to spread my visions, thoughts, and ideas my boyfriend as a rapper knocks on ears to do the same. We are giving out these texts in hope to be accepted by our targeted audiences. We are both trying to sell a product and in order to be successful we both have to work hard every day and hope people don't just hear us, but they really hear us. While a rapper has to be lyrically clever a politician has to have a strong voice. These two very different professions have a lot in common when thinking of them in the media's eye. Our lives will no longer be private but showcased for people to see, for people to take in. We will share much of the same media, such as the radio eg. 107.9 FM rap and r&b, 1480 A.M. politics and news, the t.v. eg. MTV, VH1, BET(rap), CNN,Fox, NBC(politics), ETC ETC ETC. There are a lot of similarities about these two very different semiotic domains. Both are under an immense amount of political pressure. Whose songs get played? Who gets a record deal? Who gets backed by what lobbyists? Who gets financial support in the primary? These are all very important questions in relating the two ideas. Hopefully our media texts are powerful enough that I might be the youngest woman to hold a seat in the Ohio state house and make some really great laws. That my boyfriend may be the next star to make it and change the game of rap with his style forever. Different but the same.

texts in our lives..EVERYWHERE

Since this course has become a part of my routine, identifying and noticing different media texts has also become quite normal. I had to stop and laugh the other day when I realized how much I enjoy this class and applying it to everyday things that I do. I spend a lot of my spare time (which I actually don't have much of) with my boyfriend of on days where it isn't possible to see him, I spend time conversing with him on the phone. It may have been about week 3 of school when my boyfriend said to me, why do you keep saying semiotic domain, why do you use that for every conversation we have. I couldn't help but laugh. It is funny how when something so simple has never been noticed, that once it is noticed becomes extremely intriguing and infatuating to the human mind. As I live my day to day life, I find myself thinking deeper and looking at things more thoroughly than I did once before. EG. The other day.... I had stopped at a McDonald's and noticed its decor was a very much beautiful and conservative theme. The colors were very neutral, tans and dark greens rather than bright yellow and red. This McDonald's didn't have a "play place" but it did have 3 beautiful electric fireplaces.... I couldn't help but notice that the people dining in were all from the prehistoric ages and children were NOWHERE to be found? Was this by mistake...I think not. The designer of this McDonald's was marketing towards a much older crowd and drawing them in. A month ago... I would have went in, got my food, ate and left without ever considering why that McDonald's was different. If I got a little off topic here, I had meant well, I seem to over analyze things now and I think it's great. It's almost like doing homework that isn't required, the ideas and concepts we talk about in class take action every moment of our existence. I couldn't believe how many media texts I really absorb in a day now that I really pay attention to them. Everyone wants something and their texts are everywhere waiting for them at every moment. How extremely intriguing...

connecting to each of the myths

1.) Wisdom of the Rustic- a popular culture text would be the children's movie Shrek....You may be asking how or why? My answer is this; Shrek is an unhappy, mean, filthy, grumpy ogre. Princess Fiona was once your typical damsel in distress, she was beautiful, smart and more than anything unfortunately helpless and hopeful that her price charming would rescue her. Fiona and Shrek meet and fall in love after much disgust of one another. They come to realize the better parts of each other. Shrek becomes more loving and Fiona becomes more..well more shrek.. she also turns into an ogre and becomes even smarter and funnier. They bring out the good in one another but only because the two elements met and the wisdom of the rustic was gained.
2.) The possibility of success- A popular culture text here would be the movie, Good Will Hunting. This myth to media is a very popular genre because it is so satisfying as a viewer to watch the undo-able be done. In this Matt Damon a very poor, kid who can't stay out of trouble is expected to have no future when suddenly it is discovered that although he is bad he is also more than brilliant. He is a math genius and suddenly there is this great amount of respect for a kid that grew up in the hood. He way outshines professors that have studied math for all their years and he is just some punk kid. I think this example is better than any sports movie. It gives an example of how you can succeed in life from any position and that great minds are not just belonging to those who are complete squares.
3.)Coming of the Messiah: A more than perfect example of this media is the movie Passion of The Christ. Need I say more?
4.) Presence of Conspiracy: The movie V for Vendetta. This movie is all about the underlying idea that the government is evil. There is a huge presence of conspiracy that everything happening in the movie is because of what the government was doing. I found the movie very strange yet compelling. It did cause the stir of my mind though.
5.) Value of a Challenge: Remember the Titans. I certainly remember the titans because this popular media text left a very big imprint in my mind. The challenge of diversity was HUGE.... however, the team overcame the racism and stereotypes originally challenging them and became an amazing football team.Surprise! Almost all value of a challenge movies in in success.
6.) Eternal Return: The movie The family man. In this movie Nicholas Cage more than likely representing the working man... or family man becomes too work oriented and gives up the idea of love and family in order to become more successful, he later has dreams or rather he is in the life of an average man with a family... He wakes up with his wife and kids... He hates it at first but then becomes so happy and realizes how much he loves them and when he finally realizes what they mean to him he is back in his old life as a businessman with no wife or kids.

Value of a challenge/Value of a Movie

The value of this movie is a lot to me. Good Will Hunting is such and eye opening source of media. This media allowed me as a very protected daughter and younger sister to see a very different walk of life. This movie really demonstrated the "myth to media" idea of the value of a challenge. Matt Damon was a kid who had a rough up bringing and he was a "bad" kid but in reality he was bad because he needed more. He wanted a challenge. He was some what of a genius and loved math in fact he was an outstanding mathematician. He was extremely rebellious but intelligent. I also really feel that this movie has another "myth to media" idea of possibility of success. You have this poor, troubled, smart mouth kid with absolutely no intentions of having a bright future for himself, when they sort of stumble upon this underlying talent or genius he has because he was serving time in the school.I have loved this movie for several years but now I can look back on it and really tag those two myths with it of possibility of success and value of a challenge, it is amazing how the entire plot line plays off of these two ideas. A bad kid with no chance of success, succeeds. He loves the math, but would rather rebel and fight being successful through using it.

Media Texts of My Life.

Media that has been extremely life forming for me would be the mass media of the world of politics. I have grown up in and have been extremely active in a politcal family. My father is a current state rep. for Ohio and I hope to hold his position in the near future. Many media texts are involved with my life every day and are full of change, but the one text that remains constant for me is politics. Politics are something I am surrounded by. A way to describe the sensory feeling of using this media, I guess the only good way to explain this is to be sitting in for me on the campaign trail. Just this past week I sat locally at the Stark County fair in our political booth under the grandstands. People watching, I sat studying off and on while also holding conversations with people passing through the fairgrounds. The media texts were lined all up and down the expo buildings at the fair. When I entered under the grandstands towards our political booth, I passed atleast seven other candidates booths. I observed their yard signs, literature, people attending their booths and most importantly if there was a candidate present. These are the kinds of media texts I eat up. I am sure many people could care less about the nerd like text I love but it's what really intrigues me and what I think God wants me doing. Anyhow..... The political media texts are vivid under the grandstand at the stark county fair. These texts are great because they can be directly applied to our lives unlike how some texts such as hollywood are more out of reach. These political texts are sometimes annoying but ultimately created just for us, the voters. It is important to be informed and thats why I think political texts are great.