Pre-Reading Week 13

It has been a big eye opener for me so far from what we have learned in class about the Prison-Industrial Complex. I never thought much about what prisons do besides the fact that they are supposed to punish and correct those who committed a crime. I never realized how much it is a vicious cycle though and how it is used as a money maker. In my opinion race has a big connection to crime. We often see certain races such as blacks as being the ones to blame for crime in humanity, but we never often think of why it is mainly them who commit the crimes. Minorities often get the short end of the stick when it comes to crime because we tend to overlook the crime going on in white committees. It is not only minorities who are the majority of who commits crime it is just the result of a vicious cycle that was created way back in the days after slavery was abolished. After slavery was no longer allowed, whites had lost their control and domination over people of color so they would create new ways to undermine the system and still hold their social hierarchy status. They would stereotype people of color, particularly blacks, negatively so that people who still view them as inferior to whites. Since they are viewed negatively by so many people it makes it harder for them to succeed and they end up resorting to crime as a solution in order to make it in the world. Prisons in the United States serve as a place to hold people who have committed crimes in order to punish them and correct their crime  I find prisons useful in some ways and in some ways I don’t. While it does keep criminals off the streets and endangering society, it doesn't really offer a solution to change the person for the better. To me, prisons most of the time just build the anger in the person who was put in prison in the first place. Often when one is released from prison they are scrutinized against for the rest of their lives which doesn't give them a chance to change and make a difference for themselves for the better. In order to stay off the streets and keep from committing a crime a person needs to see a positive change in them selves first before they can leave their criminal past behind, but we often don’t even  give them the chance to. If we see them as criminals and only criminals for the rest of their lives then how are they supposed to see themselves as anything else other than that?

Word Count: 449

Pre-Reading Blog Week 11: Hip Hop

When I think of hip hop, I think of all the annoying songs that play on the radio now-a-days. All the lyrics seem to be about sex, drugs, and partying. It has come down to where only once in a while I will hear a hip hop song that is about something that I really care about and makes me feel something. I think the purpose of hip hop is to entertain, but also to connect to the audience that it pertains. The stereotype of hip hop is that a lot of guys who wear baggy pants and bling listen to the music, but in reality almost any type of person whether they dress in all black or whether they are young or old can and do listen to it as well. In the old days hip hop use to tell stories whether it was about the artist childhood or about a current event going on in the world today. One of my personal favorite songs is Juicy by Notorious B.I.G. This song is about his struggles growing up and how he didn't let anyone tell him that he couldn't go after his dream. I think this song is beautiful because it has an overall message that a lot of people can relate to. A lot (not all) of the hip hop songs on the radio today seem to be more about men dominating women and getting tons of money or the usual smoking and getting drunk. Music is all about self expression and if that's what the artist feels they need to express then so be it. I just feel that music should always have some kind of feeling to it. I think my ideas of hip hop definitely can relate to the Chris Rock video. I think what he means by it being harder to defend hip hop today is because of the fact that most of it is degrading to women and don't really have an important meaning to it. This connects to what I was explaining above about how hip hop use to tell stories with a meaning behind them.  Even though hip hop music has changed, I don't think it's trash. Work has been put into the music  regardless whether or not the lyrics are deep or if they are simple and that should be acknowledged. Hip hop can have very well put together beats which makes it enjoyable to dance to. I think some of the problems that persist in hip hop such as it being degrading to women are ignored because people don't think that it can pertain to them when really it does. It pertains to all women, maybe not intentionally, but it does. Since most women do tend to shrug the lyrics off their shoulders, it allows men to believe that these kinds of lyrics are acceptable. Some may even apply these lyrics to real life and will feel it's okay to treat women exactly how they are portrayed in hip hop music. It is a big dilemma,  but I wouldn't know a solution to ending these degrading lyrics when after all, music is art and art is a way of self expression.
Word Count: 523