Friday, February 9, 2007
Angeleina Weld Grimke's Rachel
This week's discussion addressed Grimke's Rachel as a propaganda play about the emotional violence of lynching written in response to the D.W. Griffith film Birth of a Nation. We also discussed how the play embodies the similarities and contradictions between Alain Locke and W.E.B. Dubois' views of Black Theater. Thinking of Dubois' call for propaganda theater and Lockes call for art theater, what links can you make to Black cultural production today that address social, cultural and poltical issues in the African American community? Do these productions operate as propaganda and/or art?
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When I think of something that is used today as a political device I think of the Boondocks. I know that's knid of backwards but the character Huey always challenges stereotypes and ideals of mainstream America. Between he and his brother they provide the parallel for Locke and DuBois's argument. Huey is self reflective and always seeks knowledge that uplifts black people while his brother just wallows in ignorance. It has everyday, around the way appeal but if you look deeper it does make you think about certain political issues facing black people.
I think rap music can be a really effective form of protest, although the days when a political rapper could sell a million records are far gone. Of people that are active today I think of Paris, Dead Prez, The Coup. Paris has been pushing a really politically militant line since the early 90's. His music focuses pretty exclusively on the social issues facing African Americans and on the need for revolutionary action against the government/police. I guess you could say his music is a form of propaganda, but you could say the same thing about "It Takes a Nation of Millions," and it's hard to argue against the artistic merit of that album. Of course there's also a lot of current artists that aren't typically "political," but will touch on social themes in their music. Styles P from the Lox comes to mind; he calls himself the "hardest rapper out" but his last single was called "I'm Black," and it was a really politically-minded song. I don't know, it seems like music throughout history has been a really effective form of protest (think "Strange Fruit") and if a song is enjoyable as well as timely, then it serves a double purpose as art and social propaganda.
I agree with Matt that rap music and the entire hip hop / rap community challenges and protests black repression. Within that same community, however, we unfortunately see some stereotypes coming forward. Many rappers adopt a "thug" personna, such as 50-cent, who brags about his background in violent gang activity. He even had a game made about it, entitled "50-cent: Bulletproof." That being said, many other rappers do make strong statements countering racist views in their music. Ludacris' song, "Georgia" discusses what it means to be black in the deep South. By speaking through his music, his message gets to students who listen to rap but are forced by location to attend under-funded schools with sub-par educational practices. He also shows them a way through which they can communicate their feelings and thoughts.
Saqqara brings up a phenomenal example by referencing Boondocks. I feel this statement can be broadened to other forms of comedy, too. Comedy has, historically, been one of the most powerful vehicles for social commentary. When I think of comedians who use their comedy to challenge racial oppression and stereotypes, the first one that comes to mind is Dave Chappelle. From his use of stereotypes to show how ridiculous they are to his blatant use of the word "nigger" he takes racist speech and stereotypes head-on, confronting them and making light of them. In doing so, he weakens them. When we laugh at something, it's harder to believe in it and take it seriously.
I think a good example of a black cultural production that merges both art and politics relevant to the black community is The Chappelle Show. I think Dave's way of making us laugh at very serious social issues is his way of calling attention to things in the black community that need to be addressed(propaganda) through the medium of comedy (art) captures the arguments of both DuBois and Locke. Dave's funniest skit, I believe, is Clayton Bigsby, the black White supremacist. In this skit Dave uses a sort of inversion in that he plays a man who believes he is white who comments on his hatred for the black race. By taking on this identity Dave calls attention to the absurdity of the white supremacist belief system all while making us laugh due to the dramatic irony of the skit. I think many of Dave's skit have this same purpose, to make the audience laugh but to get them thinking about the issues raised in the skits and I think this is why he had such wide appeal because his brand of propaganda wasn't merely a blame game, because he even pointed fingers to the black community itself. It's rumored that Dave began to question if his brand of comedy was being received the way he intended and I think that is a huge consideration with comedy and serious issues--are they laughing for the right reason? are they seeing the painful truth in the joke?
I think that the rap/ hip hop world is a great example of the practice of both Locke and Dubois' views. I think that alot of rap and hip-hop artists find themselves in the middle of the this propaganda vs art debate because any rapper that I can think of off the top of my head has at one time or another made some piece of music that can be labeled as propaganda despite their overall discography not showing a propaganda nature. The fact that these artists find themselves in this position shows that Locke and Dubois' views can co-exist in black cultural and more than likely there will never be an either or.
I also think the medium of film and television also works to address social, cultural and polticial issues. Especially the work of Spike Lee. Most of his smaller non mainstream films in my opinion were made with the specific idea to address various issues going on in the African American community, starting with Do The Right Thing and as we saw in Bamboozled. But everything that Spike Lee does isn't purely of of a propaganda nature. Once again showing this ability for Locke and Dubois's ideas to co-exist in one artist.
Any form of black mainstream media, whether its rap music or television shows, should feel some obligation to address political issues, especially if that medium is popular-culture. I believe this for two primary reasons. Firstly, I think that once anything becomes big enough, or in the mainstream enough, it needs to present its politics. Also, black culture, as discussed in class, is a tighter or a more history-embracing community than the white community. The feeling of "us vs. them" is present whereas whites tend to see the world as something to conquer as an individual. So, blacks should see it as a cultural obligation to discuss politics and to find out where they stand in relation to everyone else.
Yes, I believe that rap is the most overt form of discussion of politics but I also think that that is more a part of rap culture and how it operates rather than being the largest platform for black artists to discuss politics.
I think one thing that many people have brought up that is incredibly significant is the place of hip hop in social, cultural and political issues. Like many other black arts, hip hop did begin as a form of activism. Although it was of course used for pure entertainment, the 80s thrived on hip hop that brought the plight of black people to forefront. However, today that original purpose has been greatly decreased. Today hip hop operates solely as an art form, and even that title is debatable in my opinion. Nelly's "Grillz" is barely art. However, I think one artist who very carefully navigates that fine line between propoganda and art is Nas. He has never hesitated to call out what he believes are problems of the black and hip hop communities, even to be so bold to name his last album "Hip Hop Is Dead." However, at the same time not all of his songs are about struggle. He navigates the popular culture, however also at tmes carries strong messages. In my opinion he is the contemporary hip hop middle ground between Locke an Dubois.
when i think of this topic, i am drawn to Perry's work. Accroding to the definitions set forth by Locke and DuBois, I feel that Tyler Perry is working more closely witht he Locke construction of AA THTR. while perry certainly posses some degree of subversion in his work, the simple fact of the matter is that the work is intrinsic to the black community, utilizing black production with a black cast and crew. white audiences are certainly free to come to the movie, and they are encouraged to do so. but in the end, the audience is a black audience. propaganda is not the same as subversion, and propaganda is not part of Perry's work. But by creating an autonomous artform to his racial audience, he is creating a community. Not being a part of it, I was completly unaware of PErry before this class. Unfortunatly, in creating an autonomous community, this is one of the results.
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