it ain't nothin' without a woman

I decided to do my analysis on the music video for Miao's "Bad and Boujee" featuring Lil Uzi Vert.

The men in the music video are the one's full of energy. They are the one's that break the fourh wall and look directly at the camera while either singing or rapping and dancing. They seem to be having more fun than the women. The women seem to be very content in their role. They are dressed in very tight and revealing clothing while enjoying in luxuries that seem to be provided by the men. They have their makeup really well done and seem to be on a permanent catwalk.

The men don't seem to be dressed to impress. They have on plain clothes compared to the women in the music video. The women definitely look like they are trying to impress others with their clothes and accessories. They have on extremely large jewelry and big fur coats. They seem to be there for looks, as if the men are trying to say, "look at the hot women that surround me." The scene where the girl is just taking selfies beside the rapper is funny. Is that really how people look like when they are trying to get that one good selfie?

I did watch the music video without sound and found that it just made for a very confusing and unusual video. Not that I'm all sure what they were saying even with sound, but without even some sort of context it just looks like people trying to overcompensate for something. The exaggerated attitudes and style is very strange to me. I think it's because I don't see it in my every day life.

It is interesting that they use the Coco Chanel logo on regular items like take out containers. What is this trying to say? Are they making fun of all the things that Coco Chanel usually endorses? I think so. Maybe that is the "Boujee" part of it all.

The video shows a world in which men are the providers of money and luxuries and women are the ones to enjoy and bathe in the glory of those luxuries. The women are meant to look good and appreciate what they have while the men are enjoying the beautiful women they deserve. At one point, a man is wiping something off a woman's face as if she were a child. They are clearly "taking care" of these women. A little cliche for my taste. 

mysterious as the dark side of the moon

I hadn't really thought about the influence that music has on young boys and men until watching both Bro Code and Generation M. I didn't factor in the music videos and constant usage of this type of influential music. Looking up the lyrics to songs from Drake, Kanye West, and J. Cole (the most familiar names I could think of) really opened up my eyes to what both male and female youth listen to on a daily basis and how we let it effect our lives. Personally, I don't listen to the radio (not because I'm cool or hip but because the depressing music I tend to enjoy can only be found in the dark recesses of my Spotify account) but I'm very familiar with most rap artists because they have also become famous for various other reasons other than their music. Their personas are upheld in pop culture by their pursuits in entrepreneurship like alcohol lines, clothing lines, shoe lines, and who they are dating. The information to their personal lives can all be found in their lyrics.

 Drake can be found talking about many different women in his life through his music. In his very popular song "Hotline Bling" he talks about a girl he "used to know" presumably from his hometown, that is now acting quite scandalous and he most certainly does not approve:

Used to always stay at home, be a good girl

You was in a zone, yeah

You should just be yourself

Right now, you're someone else

It's funny how he is so sure of how this woman should act like and be a "good girl." This is a theme I have found in many other songs where the man is telling a woman how they should be if they want to be desired. Is it right to be teaching men that women need to be told what to do for their own good?

Another artist who is no stranger to controversy is the very colorful tropical fish, Kanye West. He has an endless amount of music in which he clearly enjoys putting people (and especially women) down for his own gain and pleasure. In his song, "30 Hours," West talks about an ex, a "bitch," a "Wifey," and other girls. 

'Cause you was in college complainin' about it's no jobs
But you were suckin' a nigga dick the whole time
Well I guess a blowjob's better than no job

Here West is implying that this woman he is compelling about should just be happy with "sucking' a nigga dick." When I think of young boys hearing this kind of music I think of how they will believe later on in life that women are just sexual objects that need to be tamed. This is not the message that boys should receive. I can see how songs like this can effect the kinds of relationships men have with women in their lives, not just girlfriends but sisters and mothers as well. If women are nothing more than objects then they surely don't need respect, right?

judging you by your cover

For my first photo I chose this advertisement from the popular app Wish. This is a photo that is supposed to show you a pair of shorts for a plus size woman. The model who is wearing the shorts, however, is no where near plus size. She is clearly wearing one leg as a skirt. The photo caused outrage amongst shoppers. How is this supposed to help a plus size woman feel? It is interesting that this went past higher ups within the company and none of them could see how insensitive this could be to women. Or were they just not willing to hire a plus size model? This is one of those no-brainer situations I keep seeing more and more of. How hard is it to not be a terrible person?

In this second photo we see a person hiding behind their response to the question, "What would happen if Donald Trump does not win?" This was taken at a Donald Trump rally during the 2016 presidential run. The journalist asked a simple question and got many interesting answers. This is the only person from the rally that decided to hide his face from the photo. Does he feel ashamed from saying, "We did not have this problem when slavery was in," and if he does feel bad, why say it in the first place? This reinforces the notion that all Trump supporters are racists. I have my own strong opinions on our new president and yet I know people in my circle of friends and family who genuinely believe in this administration and who also genuinely care about me (a person of color, Mexican, former immigrant). I don't believe all Trump supporters are racist, but it is photos like these that make people think otherwise. I do believe people are grossly misinformed, and that is where the bigger issue stands. A photo like this may spark anger and outrage, but it should be concern for the uneducated people of this country that should consume those who are outraged. This kind of thinking is harmful and should be taken into serious consideration and not just as a stereotype.

mo money mo problems

Recently the United States has been going through many different shifts in power. One of these shifts was the announcement of the continuation of the Dakota Pipeline. Previously this construction had be halted by the Obama Administration before the new president took office. The consensus has been greatly divided on what to do with this situation. On one hand, a whole people (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe) claim that the construction of this pipeline would damage the environment and water that they survive on. On the other hand, the president and many large companies argue that the construction would not harm anyone and in fact would bring in thousands of jobs and boost the economy. This website was made specifically to convince the country that the pipeline is a great idea and that the Sioux people are just greatly misinformed. Who are we to trust? Especially since the president himself and many other wealthy men are prepared to make a big sum from the construction of this pipeline. Banks are among some of the largest investors in the building of the pipeline, including the well known Wells Fargo. Trump himself stand to benefit from the pipeline as he has many people who advise and work for him that are investors in the project. He has already sold his shares to company that stands to build it but that does not completely cut his ties to it. Should we yield and hope for these jobs at the risk of the destruction of a sacred environment?

caught in a landslide, no escape from reality

I don't think the news media is challenging our political leaders in any aspect. It seems like the more opportunities they have the less they deem fit to say anything to the contrary.
In a way, I understand how frightening it could be to challenge power, but didn't they know that risk of controversy was a part of journalism? Well behaved people seldom make history, after all. Journalists are supposed to ruffle some feathers in order to get to the truth. The best example of the ease of journalists creating difficult situations is during the last presidential campaign. There were many times when the news media should have taken their time to question the two candidates who were running to lead our country, yet they never got to the bottom of anything.
Particularly during one of the first debates between (at the time) nominees Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, Matt Lauer (a popular NBC News journalist), was tasked with properly questioning the two candidates in order to determine their worthiness of leading our country. As mentioned in this article from the New York Times, Lauer failed multiple times to properly question and correct inaccuracies spewed by the candidates. He was seen as going "too soft" and not having any journalist integrity.
Recently, our new President has declared the media (the whole media umbrella?!) "the enemy of the people." President Trump and his administration has been caught in a web of lies that continue to grow every passing day. Why does our leader only want us to believe the White House without questioning? I think he believes we are all mindless robots that only need him as our ultimate power source, and that is not the case. We are the people that are supposed to question and find the truth. The news media should be the people we trust to help us uncover the truth and not cover up inaccurate information.

gunning for violence

I don't want to be that old lady that rants about guns and video games but it is hard not to see the impact games like that have. I see it all the time, especially recently, how we need guns "like in those games!" to "take care" of people once and for all. This is coming from people I've known for years, friends who I would normally not think of as "gun people" but lately it's been different. Every once in a while I hear about how they think if they had this gun or that gun like they see in video games and movies it would all be different. They would all be the hero. I think thats the root of the issue. The heroes always have weapons, giant guns or even bazookas, something so over the top and idiotic. In this article about the popularity of video games from the Huffington Post by Greg Perreault, he talks about how "games also give us the ability to take risks that seem real without real world consequences." I think this is a more plausible reason for the increase of violence in video games, people enjoy the freedom that video games give them, like an alternate reality. In that world, you can be kill and be cruel and violent and still be the hero in the end. Video game companies are in it for the money, just like everyone else. And if everyone wants to be the hero, regardless of morals, why not let them have that chance? I think we should be worried about how violent video games are becoming but I don't want games to just be taken away. I don't think just banning games would be helpful but I also don't know how to make it so they aren't just full of senseless violence. I have played games with wonderful story lines that have included violent tendencies, so I don't know how to keep the strong stories but change the violence. What would be a good way to even begin a conversation about violence in video games without starting a war like the how NRA is with their guns?

fight or fight, there is no flight

When I think of the term "happy violence" I think of movies that I have enjoyed immensely over the years. The super hero movies that I love like Iron Man and X-Men are full of violence that end in a semi-happy ending, or at least happier then before. Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained are both movies that also have many moments of violence (sometimes even grotesque) but in the end it is all for the good of the heroes in the film.
I think violence in films and tv shows and even in the books I read are just realistic. There is violence in every day life, whether it be things that happen on the news or our neighborhood kids getting into fights. However, violence like the "happy violence" that happens in the movies I mentioned are "extra." Though historically "scalp hunting" like in Inglorious Basterds did occur, it is another feeling entirely when seeing a realistic depiction of a scalping on your screen. Is it possible to achieve the same level of disgust for the villains of the movie without being so bloody and violent? I'm not sure. Even as I'm typing this, I can't shake how much I enjoy those films and how satisfactory the last bit of violence against the villains really are.