Objective Analysis - "The Miseducation of Hip-Hop – Discrimination in Education"

In “The Miseducation of Hip-Hop – Discrimination in Education,” written by Jamilah Evelyn, Jason Hinmon and Dr. Thomas Earl Midgette share their opinions on Hip-Hop and its effects on minority students. Jason Hinmon, a student at University of Delaware, argues that he shouldn’t automatically be judged by the faculty, as a student who isn’t interested in learning, just because of his appearance. He explains, “‘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, p. 559) and Jason expresses how he doesn’t believe that this treatment is just. Dr. Thomas Earl Midgette, the director of the Institute for the Study of Minority Issues at North Carolina Central University, opposes Jason Hinmon’s argument, saying how “‘they look like hoochie mamas, not like they’re coming to class. Young men with pants fashioned below their navel. Now, 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, p. 559). He feels that students trying to achieve a higher education should dress the part, and be young, professional adults.

Freedom of expression is an important factor when debating this argument. However, how far can one truly take freedom of expression without being penalized by society at some point? Of course, the work place, and sometimes school, can have dress codes which society sets based on what is appropriate or professional. Dr. Thomas Earl Midgette may not be all that understanding of Jason Hinmon’s argument, but he does have a point. Even though technology has expanded and media has a stronger effect on one’s identity, older generations understood that you can still express yourself while being socially acceptable.

 Jason Hinmon doesn’t deserve the stereotype that he received from faculty. However, if you dress like a stereotype, strangers are going to automatically place you within that stereotype. The same goes is you see a grungy-looking guy outside a gas station begging for money. One’s first thought would be that this guy is probably too lazy to work, and probably drinks all of his money away. That’s just the way society works, unfortunately. Even, if that same guy was once a millionaire, who lost everything due to a fire or some other tragedy.

Dr. Thomas Earl Midgette does have a right to maintain that higher education students dress and behave appropriately for the classroom. The classroom is a learning environment, and inappropriate behavior and inappropriate dress can be distracting to some students. So, in the end, Dr. Thomas Earl Midgette is right. One’s appearance does play a role one’s education or job placement, and the more professional or socially acceptable you appear, the more serious someone will take you.

Reference:  Evelyn, Jamilah. (2008). The Miseducation of Hip-Hop – Discrimination in Education. In Laura Gray-Rosendale (Ed.), Pop Perspectives (pp.  559-566). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Objective Analysis - "The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures"

In “The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures,” Neil Postman and Steve Powers explain how they feel language relates to both stationary pictures and moving pictures in today’s newscast. They explain how whether it is a stationary picture, such as in the newspaper or a photo on televised news, or a moving picture, such as in a news story on television, more or less words can be used to present the same information. As Postman and Powers explain, “the whole problem with news on television comes down to this; all the words uttered in an hour of news coverage could be printed on one page of a newspaper” (Postman & Powers, 2008, p. 485). The other problem seems to be that newscasts only present information that is favorable to the presentation of a moving picture. Small, uninteresting stories rarely are covered by today’s newscasts. This appears to be, according to Postman and Powers, the larger point of their essay.

Postman and Powers agree that in today’s newscast, many reporters and anchors have a difficult time trying to describe events without being judgmental or biased in any way. They explain how every reporter or anchor falls into one of three categories while presenting news stories, “descriptions, judgments, and inferences” (Postman & Powers, 2008, p. 483). Descriptions, they say, “involves no judgments and no inferences” (Postman & Powers, 2008, p. 483), simply descriptive facts. Judgments, are simply that, “a judgment that the speaker makes of the ‘event’ “ (Postman & Powers, 2008, p. 483). Lastly, there are inferences, which is “a statement about the unknown based on the known” (Postman & Powers, 2008, p. 483). As both writers’ indicate, the last two categories make it difficult for the public for believe quite everything that they hear, even though the news is supposed to be relatively honest and unbiased.

Both of these writers’, together, present an accurate portrayal of the news and media alike. Many forms of the media are biased, regardless what they claim, and most focus only on the negative or “interesting” stories. Anything that would not be considered “interesting” by the majority of viewers, is never seen on television, and may only have a small spot in the local newspaper.

Reference:  Postman, N., Powers, S. (2008). The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures. In Laura Gray-Rosendale (Ed.), Pop Perspectives (pp.  481-490). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Objective Analysis - “The Force: Volkswagen Commercial”

In the Volkswagen commercial, entitled “The Force,” a little boy plays the role of Darth Vader, a villain of Star Wars. He runs around his home, as any little boy would, trying to mentally control different objects, without much success. He even tries to manipulate the family dog, as well his mother as she makes him a sandwich. At this point, he’s very disappointed that his imaginary powers aren’t working. Suddenly, his father pulls into the driveway in their 2012 Volkswagen Passat. The little boy runs outside, directly to the front of the car, as if he’s done this many times before. He throws his arms out to try his imaginary powers on the car. At this point, his dad takes the remote to the car from inside the house, and arms the car alarm, allowing his son to believe that his powers armed the car. The director of this commercial presents an accurate representation of a 21^st century family, as most parents will play along with their children to boost their self-esteem.

Although, Darth Vader is a villain from a different generation, younger generations are still aware of this villain due to their parents being such big supporters of these sagas, and because these films have been remade over the years to better suit future generations. This way, Star Wars, as well as its characters, will be remembered for generations to come.

This childhood vignette reveals that, in the families of the 21^st century, young boys often try to play the role of the villain, when role playing. This would suggest that children idolize villains, just as frequently as they idolize heroes. This doesn’t necessarily mean that children are idolizing the negativity of the villain, or the bad behaviors, as they are too young to understand these concepts. This little boy is just being a kid and having a good time.

Video Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R55e-uHQna0#!