Category: Pop Culture!

Amani Nassar

English 1121

Dr. Hall

March 12, 2019

We Gon’ Be Alright

Music has become the most expressive form of power in times of struggle. The Compton born, Kendrick Lamar has been making history all throughout his time in the music industry with one of his most groundbreaking album “To Pimp A Butterfly.” The multi Grammy winning album speaks on the many issues people of color face as well as mental health in songs like “King Kunta”, “The Blacker the Berry,” “U”, and one of the most influential songs of our time “Alright.” This notable Hip Hop album pulls a rally of emotions to call for a push to change the world we all live in. Who would have known the tremendous impact this song would have on our generation?

The song has reached many platforms from a chant at rallies for protest at institutions to even protest at presidential campaign. The chants of “we gon’ be alright” have become so symbolic as the people look for a reason to keep hoping for change. Past acts of oppression and current acts have helped create songs like “Alright” where Kendrick created music that resonates with so many people helping them get through tragedies they may face almost everyday. There is a sense of unity within the song that Lamar creates that reflects the black community.

 

Kendrick Lamar is such a renowned artist, yet very few of his songs are played on the radio. He is just one of the few artist who actually makes music with an impactful message unlike others who only rap about money or sex. I admire him for standing out in a crowd of individuals who all sound alike, he has so much to offer his fans.

 

The music video starts off with a monologue where Kendrick talks about his journey growing up as a young black man in society. The videos includes acts of police brutality. There are several visuals that Kendrick uses as metaphors to allude to the black community rising against oppression and police violence in scenes like where you see 4 white police officers carrying the car in which Lamar and his friends sit in. There are other scenes in which we see singers and dancers on top of police cars acting almost as if there was nothing bad going on around them. This seems to bring a hopeful feel to the video that together we are strong and we can get through anything.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/15/video-game-industry-diversity-problem-women-non-white-people

 

Erik Yan

3-9-19

Dr.Carrie Hall

 

How many games can you name with a female main character? You’d probably be able to name one, Lara Croft. Who is the oh so popular archaeologist and treasure hunter. She is one amazing example of a female leader but that’s also a pity because she’s the only one people would think of. A ton of people play video games with male leads but not so many female leads. Female representation in the game industry is terribly low. This would mean that majority of the industry are male dominated and appeal more towards the males that play games.

There are a lot of popular video game titles such as Master Chief from halo or Nathan Drake from Uncharted. As you can imagine, most of these popular heros are all male characters. The disparities between the gaming industry and females in them have led to female misrepresentation and harassment. This would probably be due to the lack of females in courses related to video games such as computer science. Since there isn’t really many females in the development of games, there is no input from them either this would lead to male creators making the characters however they want. This has led to a lot of games where women have been sexualized. Some examples would actually be Lara Croft. The original iteration of her was portrayed as having large breasts and a super skinny waist. This portrayal of Lara Croft appeals to the male masses. This can also lead to false representation of women in the real world. This stereotypes women in having only large breasts and a slim waist.

The video games that do include females have them in a supportive role or a damsel in distress role. This would making portraying women as weak and having to rely on the male main character to assist them. A great example would be Mario. Mario is Italian plumber whose main goal throughout the multiple Mario games is to save Princess Peach. This is the most iconic damsel in distress example. Every version of Mario, you have Mario trying to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser who is the king of the koopa race. The koopa race are basically a turtle like race.

Name : Tohuratun Chowdhury

class: English 1121

Creative project

For the creative project, my topic is “women empowerment”. I am using a book called “ I am Malala: the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban” by Malala Yousafzai. When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, she almost paid the ultimate price. Also, I will use a painting to show the power of women empowerment. I am planning to draw an eye and inside the eyeball, I want to draw a girl holding a book and price. Which I want to show that she achieved her goal after facing all the conflicts  I will use some Malala yousafzai motivational quotes about women’s empowerment.

 

The point I want to discuss

1. I want to talk about the importance of education for women.
2. The conflict women have to face to get success.
3. How women can change people thinking about women rights.
4. Being independent.  

 

(I felt like a nut after writing this) https://books.google.com/books/about/Manifesto_of_the_Communist_Party.html?id=s2iEeCJAlusC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false

Nicholas Wojno

English 1121

Dr. Hall

March 12th, 2019

Swimsuit Manifesto

A cold is setting in across the gaming scene and users are simply bundling up and letting the cold numb their senses. They stare ahead as the winds freeze them head to toe, leaving them oblivious to what is going on around them. The blizzard rages on and shows no signs of stopping. A select few keep the lights turned down low and embrace what is happening fully well, and even fewer are trying to figure out how to make things right. This cold is being artificially made by game developers throughout the industry. Tecmo with Dead or Alive, Riot Games with League of Legends, Blizzard with Overwatch, and Yostar with Azur Lane.

Yet when these developers stop by the users to sell them their coats and gloves, do they ever speak of the cold? They merely tell the quality of their product and give the users a price. The users ask no questions, but the developers still push out their products and take advantage of their users ‘needs’.

What is needed to be done is someone who is outside the blizzard made by these corporations and shine sunlight through the snow. Show the loyal gamers of these companies that the fan service that they put out, should be questioned. For how long can the gaming scene stay quiet for as the gaming scene paints a picture of what is to be stunning and which to be unwanted? How long shall people let the developer pick at the wallets of their users by baiting out false fantasies created by an image that sets unfair expectations for the opposite sex?

This abuse of fantasies brings about a dynamic that has been prevalent since the times of the Romans. The Plebeian and the Patrician, the surf and the lord, the guildmaster and the journeyman, the freeman and the slave. This dynamic can be simply put as the oppressor and the oppressed. When a child requests a game and their parents purchase it for them to be a distraction while they’re busy, the child is already being molded by these game developers into a certain frame of mind. The child is lured in to a false sense of security and mostly sees beautiful and kind women, while men are of the widest variety that you may think of. How does one expect this child to establish a proper mindset?

There are many who have already fallen to this mindset and are being lead by a string by the game developers. For once they have established a grip, they release newer visuals for the user to purchase that are typically skimpier for female characters. The game developers allow for the user to build a sense of trust and attachment to these characters as they spend more and more on the game and content produced by the developer. The amount of time spent becomes questioned, and some true fanatics who have fallen prey to this idealism believe the most outrageous, that the women on their screens must be held above all else and must be protected from slander.

This is why I propose that we must rise and break the users that the game developers have entranced under their will with force. For who else will save these souls and establish a better mindset for these people? Who will light the torch and march into the blizzard and burn a fire that melts all the snow away and to become a shining beacon of light to all those for all those who see may come and gather? How else may we do this, if not without force of will and power?

David Wu

3/11/19

Prof. Hall

Eng. 1121

 

What is police brutality? It’s when police officers use unnecessary excessive force against people. Police brutality against African Americans is one of the most serious social problems that affects many states across the US. This issue has gained special attention in recent years due to the numerous killings of young black people by police officers. This issue has gone so far that it has sparked various movements, such as the well known “Black Lives Matter” movement. One of the main stereotypes against the police officers across America is that they unfairly discriminate against people of color, while being more lenient towards white people.

On March 2015, Kendrick Lamar made his message on the music video “Alright.” This song became the anthem of the nation’s rallying cry, especially for the Black Lives Matter movement. The troubles of police brutality victims can be heard in every breath of Lamar’s takes on “Alright” as he states with “Homie you fucked up, But if God got us then we gon’ be alright.” The music video starts by showing shots of life in a neighborhood. A young African-American man is seen lying on the ground and Kendrick begins speaking. Police and destruction flood the scene as the music starts, Kendrick and friends are seen riding in a car. As the camera rotates, we can see that the car is being carried by 4 white police officers. During the video, Kendrick flies through California, while his friends are throwing out money to everybody and dancers performing in the streets. At the end of the music video, Kendrick stands on a lamp post and a policeman shoots him down. Kendrick falls to the ground finishing his statements from the beginning of the video, but ends the video with a smile.

The video contains themes of the relationship between the black community and the police, an issue that was a hot topic at the time and still is today. The anthem of the song, the symbolic importance of its chorus, and its deep references to African American history are all cautious. And it’s clear that it took much more than the beat and hook coming together for “Alright” to become “the protest song of our generation”, as Rick Rubin puts it. “That song could’ve went a thousand other ways,” Lamar states.

Hend Elwahwah

Dr. Hall

Rough Draft

     Something Different

 

J.Cole is one of the greatest rapper of ALL time. He is the GOAT! Not many rappers could relate to J.Cole or his music game, especially in the trashy generation we are in. He has recently released a major fire hit called, “Middle Child.” Cole mentions so many topics during this song. The title on its own has a large meaning. Cole expresses himself as the “Middle Child” in the rap game in today’s generation.

 

   Cole mentions in the song, “Everything grows, it’s destined to change, I love you lil’ niggas, I’m glad that you came I hope that you scrape every dollar you can I hope you know money won’t erase the pain.” What he means by that is actually really deep. Nowadays we got rappers like lil pump and every other “Lil” in the rap game being the “shit.” Sadly, that’s what our generations into. Cole knows that those “Lil Niggas” are way up there and he’s not bashing or hating on them. But what he always tries to do is give them a heads up of how this rap game works, or give them some advice about what it’s really about. Cole also talks about how he’s wishing the good on them and hoping they can make every dollar they could but just a heads up and a warning, MONEY DON’T ERASE THE PAIN! Every person no matter who you are, famous, rich, poor or a regular person. You’re still going to go through it obstacles in life, bad or good. Many people start to think “oh if I had this or that this wouldn’t happen,” truly, that isn’t true. It may seem like having money could clear all your problems and make you live your best life but honestly it makes a person sick. It doesn’t erase any pain, it’s like a temporary medicine that heals you for a little and than it starts all over again.

 

     Cole is trying to show this generation the perspective of today’s hip hop and how he feels he fits in. He definitely feels that working with the older and younger generation in the industry makes him feel like the, “Middle Child.” You can say, something different. He also mentions older generations in the hit. He mentions drake and how his bond with drake is something different in a good positive way. Both the goats in our era. But in my opinion J.Cole is the OG!

 

Question 1: Who is the speaker? What do we know about this person? How do we know it?

The speaker is Kendrick Lamar. He is known as an American rapper, songwriter and record producer.

Question 2: What is the occasion? When and where did it occur?

The occasion of “Alright” is an anthem of the modern civil rights movement. It occurred in March 2015 and was produced in many studios across the U.S. with a variety of different producers.

Question 3: Who is the audience? What group of people is the speaker trying to talk to? How do you know?

The audience the speaker is trying to talk to is the modern black people. We know this because this song was recorded in the time of 3 cases in 6 months that were about police brutality.

Question 4: What is the purpose of this piece? What is the writer trying to accomplish?

The purpose of this piece is that he channels the struggles of the modern black experience in America while also recognizing hundreds of years of struggle that led to this point. It’s a song of positivity written amongst civil unrest.

Question 5: What is the tone of this? How can you tell the writer’s feelings by the words or phrases (or other clues?)

The tone of this song is uplifting but aggressive. In the song, Kendrick states “And we hate popo, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure, n***a.” However, Kendrick then states in the chorus ” We gon’ be alright.”

Question 6:  Other thoughts of this piece? And by the way, what’s your name?

I really like this song because  Kendrick sees himself as a voice for African Americans who don’t have one, and believes he has a great responsibility to speak up for them. My name is David Wu.

 

Stanley Desir                                                                                                      ENG 1121

03/11/19                                                                                                               Pop Culture

 

         Post traumatic stress disorder. Or as we call it PTSD, is a mental health condition that’s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. A very prominent figure in the rap culture had suffered Ptsd and shaped him into the person he is today. On his latest anticipated album “Championships” Meek Mill has a song named “Trauma”. From the beginning of the song to the end you can feel the soul samples and the beat. The name of the song is more of a meaning then just the name of a song. It’s the reason why Meek Mill is a rapper today. When the video was released, Meek’s son is playing the role of youth meek. His childhood self sits next to a photo of his deceased father as he pens a letter to him. He also appears in the present, reflecting on his experiences, from tragic deaths to court and prison, in a mirror. Flashbacks of street life populated with drugs, money, gambling and police busts are seen throughout.

             There are many lyrics through out the song that dictates Trauma as a serious issue in American culture especially within the black community. In the chorus we hear the lines “See my brother blood on the pavement, How you wake up in the mornin’ feelin’ evil? Uhh, trauma” Imagine being around the age of 14-15 and seeing bodies drop like flies. It does something to you. Later on at the beginning of a verse Meek says “Ain’t no PTSDs, them drugs keep it at ease”. In an interview with the breakfast club his response to this bar was that “It’s real life, sometimes,  You might gotta get prescribed some sleeping medicine to got to sleep from trauma, shit you’ve seen. And I was really speaking of like, when you go to court, you can’t go to court and be like, “You honour, I was carrying this gun ‘cause 50 people in my neighbourhood got killed when I was young and I got Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder. They ain’t tryna hear that. You come from the army or something’ like that, then it makes sense. But from our community, if you come talkin’ that talk, that’s like a foreign language. I never even heard of nobody getting’ in court saying’ that. Even, having that to be a back-up.” You see the issue Meek is arguing against, a young black individual can carry a firearm for their own safety because of all the trauma they’ve experienced. In the court of law it won’t be valid but for a veteran it makes perfect sense. Both a veteran and an individual whose watched people getting killed both experience the same level of trauma.

https://www.elitedaily.com/p/the-meaning-of-jay-zs-the-story-of-oj-is-all-about-racism-in-america-7999549

Pavel Nunez

English 1121

3/11/19

Dr Carrie Hall

Drug Addiction

 

Every day,  a lot of people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids. The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious crisis in the United States that affects everyone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total  cost of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States was 1 trillion dollars since 2001 including the costs of healthcare, addiction treatment, and criminals. Before the 90’s this wasn’t even happening and everybody was fine, So what happened?

 

How did all of this began? “Well In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. This subsequently led to widespread diversion and misuse of these medications before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive. Opioid overdose rates began to increase. In 2017, more than 47,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose, including prescription opioids, heroin, and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.That same year, an estimated 1.7 million people in the United States suffered from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers, and 652,000 suffered from a heroin use disorder”. Based on the text you can see that drug overdoses are a huge problem in the United States, you can easily get addicted to it, Most of the drugs mentioned can easily be accessed by going to the doctor and getting prescriptions for it, while doing so they also recommend more than the safe dose you’re suppose to get so that is another unfortunate cause, Another is how potent the drug is. Some drugs are stronger than others and can make you develop cravings for it which prevents people from having a normal life without the drug(which they are addicted to).

 

The government overall is not doing a lot to help prevent this epidemic from getting worse but instead chooses to do other unimportant things like getting involved in another war that has nothing to do with us, increasing taxes, and increasing the military budget which is more than the 7 next countries budget combined . Even now the amount of people getting killed by overdoses of certain drugs just keep increasing and there seems to be nothing being done to help prevent this tragedy.

 

Mentor Article:https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/learning/learning-with-nine-key-questions-about-the-green-new-deal.html

Source:https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/8/3/16079772/opioid-epidemic-drug-overdoses

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/13/585199746/cost-of-u-s-opioid-epidemic-since-2001-is-1-trillion-and-climbing