In his documentary, Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, Filmmaker and self-described “Hip Hop Head,” Byron Hurt, takes an in-depth look at masculinity and manhood in the world of rap and hip-hop. I’m a bit late coming onto this, since it was released back in 06, but we just watched a clip from it last night in my Dialogues on Race group. In the film, Hurt explores the industry of hip hop, where creative genius collides with misogyny, violence and homophobia, exposing the complex intersections of culture and commerce. Are the media and music industries really to blame for this? Where do we place the responsibility… on the artists, the listeners, society as a whole? I think it’s a little bit of everyone really. I think, though I may be generalizing, that this is an issue many hip-hop fans struggle with. At least, I know I do.

Hurt says…

“The more I grew and the more I learned about sexism and violence and homophobia, the more those lyrics became unacceptable to me,” he says. “And I began to become more conflicted about the music that I loved.”

The film comes in 6 parts. I highly suggest you watch the whole thing…

Also, if you want a rough brush up on your hip-hop history, take a look at this Timeline of Hip-Hop.

I find this so interesting. I love my Disney movies (I mean really love them), but I must confess I never looked too deep into them when I was 5 years old. This just goes to show you how deep these things are ingrained into our society.

Now do I think Disney movies intentionally set out to promote racism? …..well, no, I don’t think Disney is entirely that corrupt. But I do think the influence of these movies on our development is immeasurable and often overlooked. Most of us probably saw our first Disney movie before we could talk. We learn through visual images before we can learn verbally. Even as we mature, we continue to learn the most through what we see.

Watching these videos reminded me of a lecture I went to see recently on Homophobia. The speaker’s main point was that we have to stop focusing on homosexuality and start addressing the problem of homophobia. During the Q&A period, a student asked, “At what stage do you think it’s appropriate to introduce homosexuality into children’s education?” …. As if to suggest that children should be eased into the knowledge that homosexuals exist. Afterall, isn’t that how prejudices begin… When one idea is introduced as the norm and another is later introduced as being different or the other? Homosexuals are deliberately excluded from mainstream representation, just as most minorities are.

Can’t we look at sexuality in a similar light as race? Since it is a known fact that different types of people exist in this world, it would only make sense to introduce all of these types of people at the earliest stage.

Last week, I posted Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes. Thought this video was interesting too. I can not believe this happened in 2000, and in Central Park?! Absolutely ridiculous.

“More than 1 million women are stalked by their intimate partners every year.”
…. I don’t know where that statistic fits into this video, but anyways, it’s interesting.

“1 in 5 college females will be the victim of rape or attempted rape.”

“On college campuses, 90% of rape victims know their assailant.”

“1 in 6 women has been the victim of sexual assault.”

Link it.