Icon Analysis

My definition of an icon is someone who made a change or impacted society in some manner or fashion. The three icons I chose who embodied this definition are Barack Obama, Michael Jackson, and rapper Eazy-E.

I chose Eric Wright, better known as Eazy-E, because of the path he paved for gangster rap back in the 80’s. Affectionately called The Godfather of Rap, he along with his group NWA released their most controversial album called Straight Outta Compton. He was also the first African American rapper to ever be invited to the White House to meet a U.S President. My next icon is Michael Jackson who would later be dubbed as the King of Pop. He was a singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and an amazing dancer. He had a number of hits at the top of the charts and won numerous awards. But he was also known for his humanitarian work and his work with charities. He touched many people’s lives with his music and his untimely death was felt by many around the world. The last icon I chose is Barack Obama. People will probably say that I chose him because he is the first African American President of the U.S. Which is true, but that is just one of the reasons. In my opinion it is a very important one because as much as we want our children to believe that they can become anything they want to be, it became even more a reality when we got to see President Obama inaugurated.

These three icons personify hope in my African American community.  Whether it be from drug dealer to celebrity, abused child to pop icon, or a boy raised by a single mother to become President of the United States. It is not the personal lives they lived that we want to emulate, it is the fact that they persevered and made it that makes a difference.

LEMONADE

Lemonade is no longer the summer refreshment that we as kids use to build stands in order to sell cups of just to make a little extra cash. And when people talk about lemons, they sure aren’t talking about making lemonade out of them. They are talking about Beyonce’s second visual album called “Lemonade” that was released in 2016. She has made a definite impact on pop culture with this album because of its talk of her husband Jay-Z’s alleged cheating. Beyonce has been a big influence on pop culture since coming out in 1997, but more so when she started dating rapper Jay-Z and eventually marrying him in 2008.

Pop culture of this type would be relevant in the entertainment business because of the caliber of the celebrity being talked about. Nightline is one news source who ran a story about this album and the cheating scandal. On another known talk show called “The Talk”, Sharon Osborne brought light to her husband’s cheating and divorce talk by coming out with a tall glass of lemonade referencing Beyonce’s album also.

So what lures us to want to know about Hip Hop’s most powerful couple? It’s probably due to the fact that since dating, they have been very tight lipped about their relationship. Which is why this specific album has so much buzz right now. It reveals so much about what we thought was a perfect relationship, and makes two of the biggest people in the music industry seem more real.

Cellphones as Pop Culture

My friend made a post the other day saying that her son bought her an iPhone and how she liked it, but she would prefer to have her android Smartphone back. Her issue is that it is not fairly easy to maneuver through and her android has better games. Some other friends commented about how much they agreed with her.

In my opinion, the iPhone appeals more to the younger generation. And while all these features that this phone offers are exciting, you can put the same features on a Smartphone through the application store. I myself was recently contemplated upgrading my phone only because I see everyone using what they call emoji’s, which are icons that can replace words when writing post or texts. At first this feature was only available on the iPhone. When someone post or text something, if you had a Smartphone, you would not be able to see the icons. So now there are apps you can download, so I freed enough space on my Smartphone to download an emoji keyboard. Problem solved, now I don’t have to go out and stand in ridiculously long lines to spend $300-400 dollars for one feature.

Since starting this assignment, I started paying close attention to people’s opinions and preferences regarding the Smartphone vs. iPhone. I concluded that the younger generation prefers the iPhone just for the sake of saying they have one. And my generation still prefers the simplicity of the Smartphone.

Cultural and Society: Interactions

Music 1930 – 1940
Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller was produced as an instrumental in 1939. It was a pop culture phenomenon during that time and also later on in the years. It inspired Frank Sinatra’s 1965 Moonlight Sinatra album which included a vocal version of Miller’s song. Glenn Miller also recorded a few other songs on that album with Sinatra called “Moon Love”, “Moonlight Becomes You”, and “Oh, You Crazy Moon”. The instrumental version has been covered by many artists throughout the years.
Art 1930 – 1940
Frank Lloyd Wright built the Fallingwater home in 1935. It is currently a museum. His other notable works are the Guggenheim Museum and the House of Chicago. He is one of America’s most prominent architects and has designed numerous landmarks around America. He has been honored in song and even referenced on the US postal stamp.

Science 1930 – 1940
The Z1 computer was designed by Konrad Zuse in 1936 and took him two years to build. The Z1 was the first freely programmable computer thus ushering in the computer age. It would eventually be destroyed by an air raid in 1943 during World War II. Zuse decided to rebuild the Z1 in 1986 and the finished model, completed in 1989, now sits in the German Museum of Technology.
Magazines 1930 – 1940
Life magazine was originally released in 1883 as a general interest magazine with text and illustrations. In 1939 Henry Luce, creator of Time and Fortune magazines, bought Life and acquired the rights to its name. Luce debuted Life’s Volume 1 Number 1 dated November 23, 1936. It became a successful weekly publication because of its photojournalism. The magazine folded in 2007 but still maintains a website at Life.com. Time Inc., the owner of the publication, has partnered with Google so that people are able to search for Life’s archived data and images.

Movies 1930 – 1940
The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939. It is the film adaptation of the popular children’s novel The Wonderful wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum in the 1900’s. The culture went from a book, to a Broadway musical, and then to film. It has been released in a few genres as the years progressed, such as animation and notably in the urban adaption of The Wiz. In 2015, a modern was spin was made to the classic movie. It was released as a Broadway musical called The Wiz Live! and features a cast of A-list African American actors.

References
Fleming, V. (Director). (1939). The Wizard of Oz [Motion Picture].
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/

Miller, G. (Composer). (1939). Moonlight Serenade. [G. Miller, Performer] USA.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_Serenade

Time Inc. (1936). Life Magazine. New York City: Luce, Henry.

The History of LIFE Magazine, LOOK Magazine, and Birth of Photojournalism

Wright, F. L. Architect. Guggenheim Museum. New York.
http://www.biography.com/people/frank-lloyd-wright-9537511#wrights-death

Zuse, K. (1968). Berlin.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Konrad_Zuse.aspx

Diversity in Mass Media

Diversity in Mass Media:

An Analysis of the Performance of Race

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Oscars this year because of the lack of diversity. This becomes a concern to some due to the fact that, for the second year in a row, there have been no African American nominees. A few celebrities were even talking about boycotting the event. There have been many times the Academy Awards have come under scrutiny and the lack of African American nominees is just one issue. In the past, there have been several African American nominees but rarely do they actually win. This analysis of “King Kong Ain’t Got Sh** On Me”: Allegories, Anxieties, and the Performance of Race in Mass Media focuses on the types of roles African Americans are stereotyped in and what roles are Academy Award worthy.

Stereotypical Roles

It seems that some African Americans have been type cast in certain roles such as drug dealer, drug abuser, prostitute, or low class poverty stricken roles. For example, a movie about slavery will of course have African Americans portraying slaves. Even though history has taught us that there were successful African Americans during that time, you will rarely see this in a movie, maybe a biography of that person. If you watch a movie about drugs, a lot of African Americans play the dealers or gang members. Movie goers want to watch a movie that, even if not based on a true story, will depict actual realities. You don’t want to see a movie and think that it’s not believable or that would never happen. But do these roles hurt African Americans when it is time for recognition by the award voters?

And the Academy Award goes to…..

There has been a small number of Oscar’s given out to African Americans, mostly for Best Supporting Actor/Actress. One actor who has had success in films is Sidney Poitier. He won a Best Actor award in 1964 for Lilies of the Field. He played a traveling handyman who comes across a farm and was welcomed by nuns. Most of the roles he has played are not representative of the characters that most African Americans play. But after a lengthy and successful career in films, the award for the 1964 movie was his only Best Actor award. Sadly there would not be another Best Actor/Actress award given to an African American until 2002. Denzel Washington and Halle Berry won Best Actor and Best Actress that year for their lead roles in Training Day and Monster’s Ball respectively. Both actors’ have a list of successful movies they have played in and have received several nominations and winning a number of awards not playing stereotypical roles. But the role that got Washington his Oscar, a corrupt drug dealing cop who heads an elite Narcotics unit. He uses his power as an officer of the law to terrorize and do whatever he wants to do outside of the law. As for Berry, she played a single alcoholic mother who begins an affair with the racist prison warden who executed her husband. Many believe she got the Oscar for Best Actress because of her explicit sex scene with Billy Bob Thornton who played the warden.

I agree with this article and the author’s main points because it is important to look at diversity in award shows. The award winning roles played when the Oscar’s first started were not as stereotypical as today, but very few African Americans won. Today the number of winners is nonexistent but the roles are more stereotypical. There is no balance which in turn may eventually lead to little support for these award shows from African American celebrities. Talk will eventually lead to action because after all these actors and actresses hard work, it’s not going to feel nice just to be nominated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Forster, M. (Director). (2001). Monster’s Ball [Motion Picture]. Lions Gate.

Fuqua, A. (Director). (2001). Training Day [Motion Picture]. Warner Home Video.

Henderson, C. E. (2010). “King Kong Ain’t Got Sh** On Me: Allegories, Anxieties and the Performance of Race in Mass Media. The Journal of Popular Culture Vol 43 No 6, 1207-1221.

Nelson, R. (Director). (1963). Lilies of the Field [Motion Picture]. MGM.

Cellphones as Pop Culture

What is pop culture? It is anything that could be creating a buzz or hype in the current year or month. Whether it be fashion, technology, or even slang. In a business aspect, it could be important depending on the career of your choice. I chose cellphones as a pop culture because there is always a debate on which is better, depending on the model, size, and carrier providing service. The most recent debate in my household among the teens and young adults between 20-23 is “Which is better: IPhones vs Androids!” We shall see, hopefully before a new gadget emerges adding a new debate to the mix lol.