Monthly Archives: March 2016

Inspired by the blackish episode, I began surfing the web for more opinions/ discussion about the use of the “n” word. Culturally, debate about the word often happens in the hip hop/rap medium. Our discussion on cultural appropriation in class touched on some of the sources of contention in the debate. While use of the “n” word is pervasive in our society, it is still as taboo as it gets in the discussion of race relations in America; while mention of the word in any room will immediately bring tension, another group takes pride in the ability to reclaim the word.

The discussion on who is entitled to use the word and what context the word can be used is one that I have with my friends often. While I have often thought the meaning and appropriateness of the word is dependent on the cultural context of it’s use, the above video of featuring Chris Collinsworth, an NFL Sportscaster is poignant in revealing the decisive nature of the word in a locker room. While he is clear in forbidding white football players from using the word at all, he appears to offer a less severe warning for African American players. He references to the divisive nature of the word and it’s potential negative impact on the team chemistry as reasons to opt for not using the word.

What do you guys think about Collinsworth’s message? Is he asking too much of white players specifically? Should use of the word be banned in the NFL because it’s a professional organization?

I LOVE Buffy the Vampire Slayer (evident by the fact that I binged all seven seasons over the summer). Also, Dr Maurantonio and I discussed how this is a thing in the academic field. That said, my favorite character quickly became Willow Rosenberg. (It’s been almost 20 years since the show debuted, but…spoiler warning) Willow starts off as the quirky friend/sidekick to the show’s protagonist, Buffy. However, over the seven season run Willow’s character is developed and in season four, after previously having love interest in two male characters, her sexuality is explored during her time in college. I’ll let the attached link further explore the significance of how her coming out and sexuality are represented in the show, which was a mainstream staple in the late 90s/ early 00s. But, I think this is a nice point of departure to analyze how similar scenes play out in popular media today. (Also, I love Willow but I was initially on the fence about the openly lesbian character being a witch. However, I think it’s a truly beautiful narrative when the larger Buffy context is considered)

NYU’s Professor Portwood-Stacer’s Queer Analysis of Buffy

I came across this video while searching for more information on the Central Park Five and I think this is a very poignant representation of our discussions we have been having in the last two classes.

This satire video was created by MTV’s Look Different campaign to highlight the issue of white privilege. MTV strategically placed facts throughout the video in a humorous way to help inform us on how real this issue is and how it impacts the lives of the black community.

As you can imagine, there has been extreme backlash towards the video with some arguing that MTV went too far. Those who provided such backlash also argued that white privilege and racism is not a joke. However, an article from The Daily Mail, who believes in MTV’s video purpose, quotes The Huffington Post’s Black Voices saying the video was “painfully honest and all too real”.

This video stung me in the sense that I don’t really know if I agree with MTV or if I thought its humor masked the real issue being discussed. It is definitely a very vivid representation of white privilege and is meant to have some degree of exaggeration. Nonetheless, I’d love to hear some of your comments about whether you think MTV’s video was a good representation of white privilege or if MTV took the content too far?

This video is something that I came across less than a year ago following events such as the death of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore protests, and the Charleston Church shooting.  In the video we see how media coverage changes based on race, with one of the best examples being that a gathering of white people is labeled as an altercation or a dispute while a gathering of black people is labeled as a riot.  In watching this video, I feel that it is interesting to see the injustice that is present in media coverage.  Furthermore, after watching a film like Central Park Five, it is clear that not much has changed in the way that the media portrays people of color.  With that said, what are your thoughts on the video and on the topic in general?   

As I was looking for some support to put into my paper on our media fast I came across this article that states in it’s tagline, “Going 24 hours without internet makes teens jealous, hostile (study)”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/08/students-tech-use-stats_n_846568.html

After reading some of the article, there is evidence that being away from phones actually produced a similar response that depression or severe anxiety does on these teens. Over a cell phone, over the internet?  The article mentions there were a lot of failures which is to be expected. Students admitted that going without their cell phones was very difficult.

I know that we all did this and I’m curious to see if you guys had similar issues with your fast experiment. I know personally, I am too attached to my phone. I acknowledge it but I guess that doesn’t make it any better. I think it’s a real discussion that needs to be had for the younger generation because too much media I think IS a bad thing, and could potentially produce a negative impact on people if misused or even overused.

In that same line of thinking, I saw an ad for this tv show today and was wondering if anybody had heard about it? It really demonstrates to me the impact that the internet has on our daily life, even when we think it is a safe space or anonymous zone where we can post freely that which we would rather not say in person. It could potentially be interesting given our class discussions on the internet and it’s presence!