“Rap
is our invisible TV network. It's the CNN that black people never had”[1]
To
what extent does the rap music genre reinforce
negative stereotypes of black African-Americans, with particular
reference to ‘Straight Outta Compton’?
This essay will discuss the different ways that the rap genre
is represented and how it portrays black African males through the film
'Straight Outta Compton'. The film was released in 2015 and is based on
historical events that took place during the late 1980s and 90s in South Central
LA with rap group N.W.A. The group is known for the harsh lyrics that were used
talking about their reality because of the society they grew up in. The film
was budgeted at $28,000,000 and made over $161,029,270. The film was
distributed by Universal Pictures and directed by F. Gary Gray who is African-American.
This would spark up the debate of the representations of black males in the
film and if people feel the way they’re portrayed are nothing like themselves
and if the film itself is reinforcing the stereotypes of black males. However,
it could be more of a real reflection as it is a black director and not a white
one which would be seen to tell a negative story due to racist views and to
keep black people subordinate. Not only
is this a reflection of past events but society’s traditional norms and values
which have been transmitted from generation to generation.
There has always been racism which has existed in American
and this is seen throughout the film. However, the artists were criticised for
the songs they have produced, “negative rap songs and their accompanying videos
often instil erotic sadism in the black male child[2]".
This highlights the negative effects rap music has on black children because
they see themselves as these stars and desire to be like them and a way we can
see this desire for fame is in 50 Cent’s album which is called ‘Get Rich Or Die
Tryin’. This shows the importance that the rap genre has had on the audience as
it has affected what they think they need to do in order to succeed in society
through illegitimate means which rap promotes at times. Although we have these
stereotypes about rap music, Hip-hop is a form of positive cultural expression how we make and
portray ourselves to the world; this shows that rap music can also be
influential rather than portraying negative stereotypes of black males, but is
used challenge these stereotypes. We can explore the lifestyle and meaning of
what people are trying to talk about which 'Straight Outta Compton' does.
There is no doubt that black males have typically had a poor
representation in the media but do they reinforce this through the way they
portray themselves in hip-hop videos? 50 Cent who is a well-established artist and
in one of his songs uses the lyrics; “if I get locked up to a quarter century
could I be count on you to support me mentally”; the song 21 Questions is seen
to be a love hip-hop song yet the artist still portrays himself as a criminal
being sentenced to prison in the video due to possession of drugs. “It’s
undeniable that black men are in deplorable shape. The most tragic symbol of
this condition, I suppose, is the black prisoner”[3].
From this perspective the representation of black males are normal for society
to see but when hip-hop is seen for a way to express the poor representation
and being oppressed by society, why is it that black males reinforce this
negative stereotype. However, what if there is no correlation between the video
reinforcing negative stereotypes of black males and it is just that racism lies
at the foundation of the American legal system so regardless of what hip-hop
videos are created it is all government based and black African-Americans have
no control on reinforcing or opposing the stereotypes given to them? This links
with the theory of Stuart Hall [4]who
says we have dominant readings in the media and with negative stereotypes of
black males being a dominant reading it is an ideology injected into people
that they should be feared.
The manager of the group and co-founder of Ruthless records Jerry
Heller and his sarcastic comment about the group’s name; “What's NWA stand for,
anyway? No Whites Allowed”, highlighting the racial problem within society at
that period of time in America. The film is about the lives of rappers who are
a part of the group N.W.A, it is about how they started off in the ghetto and
worked their way up to becoming one of the best rap groups of all time. The
representations of black males in the films are negative and are seen to be
violent. The way they dress are seen to be as thugs which is seen to be a
reason why they should be stopped randomly and searched in the street. We then
find out later that the group was set out to fight against racism and have an
impact on the ideology of Americans with the use of their lyrics. The police
have come under a lot of criticism but have now started to feel how the
citizens of America feel about them, “Fuck the police”; harsh words which are
used in the song by Ice Cube when released but also in the film. The song came
under a lot of criticism which lead to the group getting into a lot of trouble
but is not the cause of removing racism from society worth fighting for. NWA
thought that it was a conventional method to use and hip-hop was a way for them
to do this, “For sure, hip hop both saved and changed my life, on so many
levels: I have been deeply immersed in hip hop since I was a preteen”[5].
The group started off in their teens and worked their way up, Hip-Hop for them
was a way out of the hood and escaping the harsh reality of living up in
America with racism. Throughout the film we see racism, an iconic scene was at
the start where Ice Cube steps outside his house and is being searched by the
officers for no reason who are all white which highlights the level of
dominance white males had in America but also one of the officers saying to Ice
Cube “I'm the only gangster”. This from an officer harassing a black male
without reason is enough for the audience to convey the power the law has. The
group of young African-American males were also searched outside of the studio
because they fit the representation of someone who is a thug; “too many black
men are jailed for no other reason, than that they fit the profile of a thug”[6].
The representation of black males is a negative one
reflecting the negative society of the time. The police in this scene are
harassing the black citizens who live in that area without reason. This perhaps
unwittingly helps to reinforce the negative stereotype that people have of
black people as they are seen to be at the lowest position in society and even
the police are abusing their power to harass them. All the officers in this
scene are white males and those who are getting arrested are all black African-Americans
who live on that road they are being searched on due to suspicion of
inappropriate behaviour because of the colour of their skin.
Throughout the scene the jackets that the police are wearing
have 'police' printed on the back in yellow which makes it visible for the
audience to see that the ones who are in authority are clearly the ones who are
abusing their power and arresting the civilians. The clothing that the black
males are wearing would be seen as 'gang clothing' which is probably part of
the reason they're being searched or
because they were in a large group and the officers felt like it was a threat
to society or themselves so they felt the need to harass the males.
As soon as Ice Cube steps outside of the house holding his
school books the blue and red lights from the police cars are shining on his
face and are visible throughout the whole scene which highlights the dominance
that they have in the situation. The lights are an indication of the authority
that they have and when it flashes onto those who live on the street and being
arrested, it shows that their dominance is something that cannot be escaped
because of the authority and status they have. When Ice Cube leaves the house
you cannot see his face due to the scene being set at night and the hat he is wearing.
As soon as the lights start to flash his face becomes visible and the closer he
gets towards the police the more he light flashes onto his face before they
recognise he is black and start to search him. The impact this shows is that as
soon as you are in the range of the police and they see the colour of your skin
you are automatically a suspect and even though he had his school books on him
he is viewed unintelligent and destined to lead a life of crime[7]
causing him to be searched on those stereotypes. The area that the scene was
shot in was run down and the colours were desaturated, the only colours that
stood out throughout the whole scene was the red and blue which was visible
everywhere. There has been loads of incidents where people have been told back
to "go back home" [8]due
to their background. Even though the police are meant to keep us safe it seems
that “the lives of black men in the US have long been adversely affected by
negative public perceptions” [9];
this is why the police attack the innocent due to the colour of their skin and
this can be seen with the colour scheme where the colours of the houses and
cars are all dark which could be the black African-Americans and then the police
come who empower the area with their red and blue lights the same way they
arrest people who are black due to the colour of their skin.
The lighting in this scene is low-key; this is done so that
we can't see the identity of the police officers who are. This reinforces the
stereotype that we have of the police when arresting those who are black due to
the colour of their skin and is done during the night so we can't see who the
officers are because they want to keep their identity discrete.
Dyer[10]
suggested that stereotypes are always about power and during this scene it is
to do with power and race. People in America who are black are seen to have no
power or status in the eyes of those who are white which is why the police
officers who are white have all the power and reinforces this stereotype that
the police have. It also reinforces the power that those who are black have
which is having no power or respect which is why during this scene they are
being searched by the police and have no respect given towards them. This can
be seen during the scene where the police officer is reaching for the gun which
highlights the power and dominance that they have in society and the gun
reinforces this as he can decided who gets to live and die which is
acknowledged as the power of God.
We also see a black
officer who is seen to conform to negative stereotypes and also harass the
group of boys which later is referred to as a sell-out: “black police showing
out for the white cop”. With NWA's rebellious attitude towards the law there
are always criticism of how “negative rap songs and their accompanying videos
often instil erotic sadism in the black male child” [11]which
then leads to a lack of knowledge to the younger generations to buck the trend
and move away from the negative stereotypes, “miseducation and racism has given
rise to black poverty, crime, and other destructive behaviour”[12].
Even through the film we saw predominantly black males getting arrested which
in society we are more likely to hear about crimes black males do on the news
and “It is interesting that, as a group, whites have managed to escape being
associated with crime”[13].
We hear Ice Cube say: “officer can I ask why you jacking us right now?”
Moreover, the initial reason these songs are used in the film is to get out the
message of racism yet the harsh lyrics are only reinforcing the negative
stereotype by making young black African-Americans sound aggressive;
"hip-hop, the voice of the streets”[14],
is a form of expression and an “art form is tossed aside as a ghetto game for
black youth and that limited opinion is ignorant”[15].
This would link to theorists such as Blumler and Katz [16]because
the audience would identify themselves in some of the roles that are played in
the film due to racism they might have experienced and other issues. There may
also be some element of personal relationships where the audience can establish
a relationship with the character because they might have grown up around the
music and always idolised a specific rapper which is played in the film.
Post colonialist Alvarado[17]
says that the black community in the media have four representations which are
being portrayed as exotic, dangerous, humorous or pitied. In ‘Straight Outta
Compton’ the representation of the black community is seen as being dangerous.
This can be because of the ideology of people at the time or the “rich,
luxurious lifestyle” [18]
that had now been a part of the rappers lives causing a negative change in
their behaviour. An example of this was when the group N.W.A were in the hotel
and as two males approached the room with a gun to get his girlfriend they went
back outside to retaliate with the use of guns as well. This is what sold
during the time though, what if the audience needed to hear this side of the
group in order for them to make sales and to do so “blow up and become
megastars is by presenting themselves in a negative light” [19]which
supports Alvarado’s theory.
Over the years since the case of Rodney King beating in 1991 [20]there
has been little to none change in terms of racism in society. This was a unique
case which had a black African-American man beaten up by the police and was
recorded by someone from their house with a video camera and this was one of
the first forms of citizen journalism. Although, black African Americans have a
better lifestyle there is still large amounts of racism in society today.
Public Enemy being one of the first groups to make a change Fight The Power” [21]was
an indication that things in society need to be changed and they used hip-hop
to do this: “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death”[22].
This would be useful in developing the ideas of Propp[23]
during the Rodney King incident; people viewing may automatically have their
own idea of who is the villain and who is the hero. People who are not aware of
the issues around racism may automatically assume that the police being the
ones who protect us are doing so by brutally hitting Rodney King. During this
period of time and even now people who are black need to put on a “white mask” [24]in
order to be seen as an equal in society. We also have NWA and their music
videos which show a large amount of police brutality in their music videos. This
is seen in the music video ‘Straight Outta Compton’ which shows the violence of
the police as they are getting arrested after running away but could also
indicate that they’ve done something criminal which could be a reason these
stereotypes are reinforced. Ice Cube: “from a gang called n****s with attitude”
refers to the group as a gang and not artists. The artist has associated
himself with people who are involved with illegal activity which is what a gang
does. People could say that they are a product of their society and only do
this because they have no other choice: "I don't wanna do time but I'm
forced to do crime"[25].
2pac was also a very
influential role model, “I see no changes, all I see is racist faces.” People
in America had it worse when they were in poverty, “I’m tired of being poor and
even worse I’m black”. We can see that 2pac was rapping about the harsh reality
that he lived in and saw people around him lived in. The ghetto was a place
where people had to resort to crime to crime to survive but black people in
poverty were seen to be worse than those who are black just because they were
in poverty. In ‘Ghetto Gospel’ he talks about those who are black role models
fighting for a fallen cause “All come in like Malcolm X or Bobby Hutton died
for nothing.” In society people always view the youth to be violent “: Everyone’s
ashamed of the youth cause the truth look strange”. Rap being a way for the
black community to share news and information about their lifestyle and culture
would bring into the theory of uses and gratification[26];
rather than people getting information from the news, new information is passed
on through songs which is linked to surveillance. This would take the ideology
that people already have on what is going on and enable them to survive in a
world where they are not seen as equal.
We have recently had the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign which
is still taking place on social media today, we see black males getting killed
because of police brutality and it is done for no reason whatsoever. Even today
in society we have to still put up with racism which is why people are now
outraged online which has started the campaign. It is set to get awareness
about what is going on around us. The citizens of America coming from African-American
backgrounds have now found their voice and are now starting to fight back not
through rap but through this campaign, it has changed people's ideology and
helped with the awareness of the cause. Not only is this happening in America but
it is also taken off in England where
citizens were chanting activists chanted “no justice, no peace”[27]
which shows that this is not only an issue in America but is global. Peaceful
protests have always been taken out of hand by violence and it’s those who are
black which are seen to be criminal; “For black Americans, innocence was lost
long ago. Violence has been the norm for centuries”[28];
the folk devils [29]
created by the media are the black community, demonised and stripped of their
self-worth but an officer in uniform who is white is able to decide whether a
life of an African-American is worth taking.
'Boyz n the Hood' is a film which was released in (1991), it
was set out to show how the lifestyle of black males in America had to live in
the ghetto and the way they were seen to be inferior in society. The film shows
the racism that is faced in America, "Black people have a complicated
relationship with America. For us it's painful love." [30]The
group of boys who are living in the hood are either in a gang or trying to get
out of the poverty they are in but it is hard when you are black and living in
America, people are not trying to change who they are in order to do this:
"I'm not trying to give up my blackness”[31].
Furious Styles who was the father of Trey styles were trying to find a way for
him to educate himself and not fall into the trap of joining a gang and
throwing his life away. A black officer appears twice in the film but during
the second time he harasses Trey because he is black and sees the youth as
being troublesome: “the emancipation of a real n****r” [32].
'Boyz n the Hood' showed how the way people in America felt when they were black
and in poverty, they did not sugar-coat the issues that have always been
around. The fact that the characters felt like they had nothing to achieve and
resulted to crime highlights the struggle. This relates to Katz and Blumler’s
theory of personal identity where the audience are able to identify themselves
with the characters in the film. The dominant ideology was that black males are
criminals so the film conveys the two types of mind-sets for the audience to see;
one being black males are not all criminals and the other that black on black
crime is only a way for the government to reinforce the moral panic of black
males being criminals. Due to this being the case it has had an impact on
hip-hop because the groups of people associated with the hip-hop are seen to be
thugs or 'gangbangers' which gives hip-hop a negative look so people associates
it with violence. This can be seen in the film as some of the characters fit
the typical image of someone who is a hip-hop artist so being associated with
this label it makes everyone else who dresses like this to be seen as a thug.
However, since black youth has come under a lot of criticism
about the effects that it has on the community today and how rap has created a
new ideology to obtain these materialistic goods; white rappers such as Eminem,
Mac Miller, G Eazy haven’t been
criticised as much. Although these rappers have been in the media it is
only ever to do with the lyrics of the songs that they produce and never the
representation and glamour they give off which comes with the fame of rap. Eminem
is seen to have “cultural hybridity” [33]
which allows him to be accepted in the rap genre as it is dominated by the
black community and also accepted by the black community. Could this be a
factor of being a white rapper and not a black one? Although this is the case, after the moral
panic of 9/11 which caused people to fear Islamic terrorists in a similar way
that they had feared the black community, and therefore displacing them as the
prime folk devils. Society has somewhat moved on from the black community in
terms of the negative stereotypes that they face and shifted that fear to the
terrorists instead. However, this could also spark more hatred for ethnic
minority groups as they may all be seen as a threat to white Americans
ideology.
Also, black Feminists believe that the situation would be
even more imbalanced in society for them due to its patriarchal society
alongside the racism which is around. In rap videos women are seen as "puppets
, they do whatever a man tells them to do and are considered objects”[34]
and because of this reinforces Alvarado’s theory of black representation[35],
black women in the media are portrayed as being exotic. However white Americans
feel that bias against black people was rapidly declining[36]
and that it was no longer a problem to be black, yet “Racial profiling is a
reality that so many refuse to acknowledge” [37]which
can also be intentionally done due to the canteen culture in the police.
There may be multiple reasons why negative stereotypes are
being reinforced but rap music is a way to “express themselves and tell a story
about their lives in order to relate to people like them”[38].
This particular form of expression which people can use to mediate their voices
which can be for a good reason or a bad reason and some may argue that: “hip-hop
has done more damage to young African Americans than racism”[39]
Is the relationship between the two the reason for people’s negative ideology
towards the black community? There are reasons why hip-hop has been seen to
reinforce these negative stereotypes but we have had artists trying to fight
against this but what if it is just more than people rapping because it is seen
to target a more working-class audience which are more likely to be seen as
black so not everyone will see all the negative images or the ones which show
the harsh reality that people are in. Maybe hip-hop is an art from which shapes
more than people’s ideology, but a lifestyle which plays a part in people’s everyday
lives.
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T. Dallas shooting: A democracy as racist
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R. How I confronted police brutality on
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FILMOGRAPHY
Boyz
n The Hood October, 1991, John Singleton,
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Straight
Outta Compton, August, 2015, F. Gary
Gray, Universal pictures
MOVING
IMAGES/TRACK LIST
2pac
changes October 13, 1998 Death Row
Records
NWA
F the police August 9, 1998 Ruthless
Records
NWA
Straight Outta Compton August 8, 1998
Ruthless Records
Public
Enemy fight the power June, 1989 Motown
Records
2pac
ghetto gospel January 21, 2005
50
Cent 21 questions April 29, 2003
Aftermath Records
WORK CONSULTED
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M. (1970). I know why the caged bird
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London: Hodder & Stoughton.
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Lee,
H. (1960). To Kill A Mockingbird.
United States. J. B. Lippincott & Co
Monteyne,
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University Press of Mississippi.
INTERNET
LINKS
Bradshaw,
P. Straight Outta Compton review – how
hip-hop pioneers NWA took on the world.
Donaldson,
L. When the media misrepresents black
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Gallagher,
P. Over 3,000 police officers being investigated
for alleged assault - and almost all of them are still on the beat http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/over-3000-police-officers-being-investigated-for-alleged-assault-and-almost-all-of-them-are-still-on-10220091.html#gallery
Lusher,
A. Racism unleashed: True extent of the
'explosion of blatant hate' that followed Brexit result revealed http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-racism-uk-post-referendum-racism-hate-crime-eu-referendum-racism-unleashed-poland-racist-a7160786.html
Moran, J. Legendary rapper Ice Cube shares
message of freedom and hope for future http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/legendary-rapper-ice-cube-shares-message-of-hope-for-future/news-story/9ed07816fd59c77990989e1a8c626dce
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Schafter,
M. Ice Cube: Nothing much has changed
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-03/rapper-ice-cube-on-his-film,-racism,-and-gangsta-rap-lyrics/6748328
Stanley,
T. Dallas shooting: A democracy as racist
as America will never be at peace http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/08/dallas-shooting-a-democracy-as-racist-as-america-will-never-be-a/
JOURNALS/ARTICLES
King,
D. (2006, May/June). Black filmmaker. Soundtrax: Experimenting Hip-hop.
Spence,
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Spence,
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Life
August,
1999, Ted Demme, Imagine Entertainment
12
years a slave January 2014, Steve
McQueen, Regency Enterprises
[1]
Chuck D – Public Enemy
[2]
Porter, M (2006) p. 6.
[3]
Dyson, M. E. (1996) p. 4.
[4]
Procter, J. (2004). p. 68.
[5]
Powell, K (2008) p. 39.
[6]
Dyson, M. E. (1996) p. 5.
[7] Gordon, T. Young Black Men Counter Negative Media
Representation With Creative 'Suit & Tie' Video - Atlanta Black Star.
http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/04/15/young-black-men-slam-medias-representation-suit-tie-music-video/
[8] Bennett, W. Benoit, H. Holbourne, Z. Rigg, M. Growing
up with racism in Britain.
http://socialistreview.org.uk/351/growing-racism-britain
[9]
Donaldson, L. When the media misrepresents black men, the effects are felt in
the real world https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/12/media-misrepresents-black-men-effects-felt-real-world
[10]
Dyer, G. (2013).
[11]
Porter, M. (2006) p. 6.
[12]
Ibid p. xi
[13]
Rome, D (2004) p. 32.
[14]
Womack, Y. (2010) p. 5.
[15]
Chuck, D., Jah, Y. (1998) p. 42.
[16]
Blumler, J. G., & Katz, E. (1974).
[17]
Smith, P. (2001).
[18]
Dyer, G (1982) p. 73.
[19]
Chuck, D., Jay, Y. (1998). p. 4.
[20]
Charity, J., Diaz, A., & Drake, D. (2014). A History of Rap Songs
Protesting Police Brutality.
http://uk.complex.com/music/2014/08/rap-songs-police-brutality/
[21]
public Enemy – Fight the power (1989)
[22] Ibid
[23]
Smith, P. (2001).
[24]
Fanon, F. (1991). P. xxv
[25]
Wheatley, S. (2010) p. 113.
[26]
Blumler, J. G., & Katz, E. (1974).
[27]
Siddique, H. (2016). Black Lives Matter protests block roads around UK. from
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/05/black-lives-matter-protest-sparks-heathrow-traffic-chaos
[28]
Tim Stanely Dallas shooting: A democracy as racist as America will never be at
peace
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/08/dallas-shooting-a-democracy-as-racist-as-america-will-never-be-a/
[29]
Cohen, S. (2011). p. 1
[30]
T. (2011) p. 209.
[31]
lbid p. 210.
[32]
Kendrick Lamar (2015) The Blacker The Berry
[33]
Greadly, K (2008) p. 860.
[34]
Hip-Hop Reinforcing Stereotypes Against Black People.
http://rapreinforcesstereotypes.weebly.com/
[35]
Smith, P. (2001).
[36]
Marcin, T. (2016). Racism In America: White People Think It's Worse For White
People, Research
Finds.http://www.ibtimes.com/racism-america-white-people-think-its-worse-white-people-research-finds-2393588
[37]
Yates, R. How I confronted police brutality on the streets of Chiraq.
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/10/reggie-yates-how-i-confronted-police-brutality-on-the-streets-of-chiraq
[38]
The Spokesman: Does Hip-Hop Drive Negative Stereotypes of Black Men?
http://www.themsuspokesman.com/2013/12/21/does-hip-hop-drive-negative-stereotypes-of-black-men/
[39]
Geslani, M (2015)
