This week we explored Hip-hop's influence on American media, film, television and theater practices. As you write about Hip-hop theater, film and commodification this week, what are some of the positive affects that Hip-hop has had on popular culture in these areas? How do you think Hip-hop is changing how we understand American identities?
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Week 4- From Television to Broadway: Hip-hop's Popular Invasion
This week we explored Hip-hop's influence on American media, film, television and theater practices. As you write about Hip-hop theater, film and commodification this week, what are some of the positive affects that Hip-hop has had on popular culture in these areas? How do you think Hip-hop is changing how we understand American identities?
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Hip Hop theatre is the way hip-hop is currently influencing theatre. Theatre is increasingly being influenced by hip-hop because of hip-hops growing popularity. Hip-Hop started showing up in films as documentaries in the 1980’s (Lecture 6/25). In the 1980’s and through the 1990’s hip-hop film ideas became more complex (Lecture 6/25). You can see this complexity in the film “Do the Right Thing”. “Do the Right Thing” is about complex race disputes that can happen in an urban community (Do the Right Thing). It really showcases how race can divide us as people and how easily racial tension can escalate. “Do the Right Thing” has an urban feel to it and so it is influenced by hip-hop; also the way that the director Spike Lee directed the movie was influenced by hip-hop (lecture 6/25). Spike Lee cut and mixed many scenes together in the movie, which is comparable to what a DJ does with music he is cutting and mixing (lecture 6/25).
ReplyDeleteThe reason hip-hop is influencing theatre and film is because it is being commodified. A commodity is something “that is subject to ready exchange or exploitation within a market” (lecture 6/26). Since hip-hop has become so popular among people it is able to marketed and sold to people. You can now see hip-hop show up any many different commercials. For example Eminem was featured in a Chrysler commercial where he was featured driving around in a Chrysler car (Eminem Chrysler commercial). Another example of hip-hop in commercials would be Lil’ Wayne being featured in Mountain Dew Commercials (Lil’ Wayne Mountain Dew). The reason that hip-hop artists are featured in these commercials is due to their popularity with the users of the brand being marketed.
Hip Hop’s popularity has lent itself well to the spreading of the culture beyond where it was birthed, and this saturation has had positive effects on the people involved with Hip Hop culture. The first appearances of Hip Hop in visual media (movies, tv) came in the 1980s (NHP Lecture 6/25). Spike Lee’s film Do The Right Thing embodies the spirit of the 1980s and early 1990s in that it captures the racial tension of New York at the time. It further gave the broader world a view into the culture that hip hop exists in: the clothes, the problems, the colors, the people. Also, it was a stepping stone for unknown black and latino actors to get into the business and be seen, as well as employing out of work actors like Ossie Davis (NPH lecture 6/25). Hip Hop theatre creates similar opportunities for black and Latino stage actors to appear in featured roles instead of being stuck in the ensemble, which we saw in the clip from the Tony’s performance of In the Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
ReplyDeleteMiranda’s show and Lee’s films are platforms for the unheard people of the black and Latino communities to be heard. Do The Right Thing opened up serious race discussions that needed to be addressed at the times, and it was something that had not been discussed in film format before (NHP lecture 6/25). Miranda’s In the Heights earned accolades from the wider theatre community that had never been given to members of the Latino community. Hip Hop’s popularity has helped it insert itself into many different mediums, and has been a way to help those involved in the culture get their voices heard by a broader audience. I think that as long as hip hop is something that people everywhere enjoy and engage in, then theatre and film and television will all become filled with hip hop in their own ways and will continue to offer up new opportunities for those fluent in the language of Hip Hop culture.
Over the years, Hip-hop has grown in popularity and also in its influence on the popular culture; it has and will continue to have a major impact on theatre, film and media in general. The theatre realm was one of the first media components affected by Hip-hop by “bringing the raw element of hip-hop to the theatrical stage” (Traci Bartlow, Chang 80). The rise of hip hop theatre was heavily influenced by the Hip-hop theatre festival created by Danny by leading to the expansion and serious consideration of new forms of performance art, dance, and theatre (Chang, 78). One of the positive effects of Hip-hop theatre is that it breaks down many of the barriers and classism that exist in theatre (Kamilah Forbes, Chang 82). Hip-hop theatre is now focused on sharing “the relevant issues to the hip-hop culture and hip-hop generation” (Kamilah Forbes, Chang 80) outside of the “four elements”. In film, the early references were based on documentation of the culture (NHP lecture 6/25) but, as Hip-hop grew references have gradually progressed and become more complex (NHP lecture 6/25). The complexity in Hip-hop films can be determined by the issues that are addressed in the film. Many Hip-hop film writers are now touching up on issues such as gender lines and class. Hip-hop’s influence on content across racial, ethnic, class and gender lines can be dated back to the 1900s with films such as ‘Do the Right Thing’, ‘Boys in the Hood’, ‘Menace to Society’, etc. Not only was Hip-hop influencing the story line of a film, it also had an impact on filmmaking. In ‘Do the Right Thing’, director, Spike Lee, introduces the art of cutting and mixing to the film industry (NHP lecture 6/25). This art was borrowed from the Djs and it shows how influential Hip-hop was at that time. During the 90s, one positive effect of Hip-hop in film was that it revealed the poverty and violence that black people faced in the inner cities. It also gave rise to African American directors (NHP lecture 6/25). Commodification, along with theater and film, has also been heavily influenced by Hip-hop. The term connotes something that is subject to ready exchange or exploitation within a market (NHP lecture 6/26). Hip-hop’s growth has resulted in the popularity of major MCs over the years, which results in many solid fans. Companies have figured out that people are more likely to buy something if it represented by an MC or dancer. Now, in commercials, we see a lot of MCs advertising products in order to get their followers to invest those products. An example of this would be the KFC commercial featuring MC Hammer. Another way Hip-hop is included in commodification is in the music that is being used for such commercials. For example, “You can get with this” Kia commercial. In terms of American identities, Hip-hop can now be considered as a means of identification. In the 90s we see that it wasn’t just about race and class, hip-hop knowledge was also involved. It didn’t matter what racial background you had, it was more about your knowledge of hip-hop. This idea is depicted in ‘Do the Right Thing’ and ‘Hustle and Flow’, where hip-hop is now heavily associated with American identity.
ReplyDeleteMajority of Hip Hop Theater is based on documentaries of the average African American’s lifestyle: living in poverty, having multiple kids, and barely able to take care of themselves yet the idea of getting out of the “ghetto” are always in effect. For example, in the Tony performance it showed how in an environment full of minorities living in harsh conditions each had a dream of the lifestyle they aspired to live (Theater: In The Heights). Kamilah Forbes she says “what’s even more important are the relevant issues to the hip hop culture and hip hop generation” (Jeff Chang p. 80). She answers the question of “what puts hip hop in hip hop theater” and the relevant issues being a typical day in the neighborhood. The hip hop generation is important because I believe everything done in hip hop culture ties back to their earlier generations.
ReplyDeleteHip Hop films are generally about issues dealing with social oppression, interracial conflicts, class disparities, and the main character on a quest to follow out traditional storytelling (Lecture 6/25/12). In most hip hop films the “N” word is used often by “black and brown” skinned people and overtime the meaning has changed from the negative connotation slave owners had with the “N” word versus today, the “N” word signifies verbal recognition “Racism is not about how you look, it is about how people assign meaning to how you look” by Robin Kelly (Lecture 6/25/12).
In today’s hip hop culture everything is about commodity, which is something that is marketable; having a high demand for the supply. Commercials are the best examples of commodities because when you put celebrities such as Shaq on a Buick commercial, they are not selling the vehicle to the audience. They are marketing Shaq convincing larger men to follow a well documented athlete in Shaq to purchase a Buick because if he can fit into a Buick then anyone can. Another example is DJay pimpin’ women, which shows another way how the human body can be exploited as another way of making a living (Movie: Hustle & Flow).
Bradley McDougald
ReplyDeleteBefore one can delve into this week’s post, one must clearly define the term commodification. Stemming from the lecture it was defined as, “Commodification is the ability to make money from something that was once nothing” (Persley lecture 2012). One can see how by using Hip-hop in mainstream theatre one is utilizing the term. Hip-hop started off as an underground and non commercialized artistry, but now is found in a good percentage of today’s films. There are two affections of Hip-hop based films. Since the directors of these films have not actually stayed in the ghetto’s and have a story to tell, some scenes in the stories may be exaggerated for dramatic affect. In the text the Arthur spoke about how the message is interpreted differently, “1) a lower- income neighborhood in Compton, California that (dis)serves only African American and Latino students and 2) a university in an upper middle class suburb of Orange County, California, whose student population, although multicultural). (Wright pg. 522). Wright was explaining out the people from these two different communities may interpret Hip-hop/urban movies. Since the upper middle class has more money and access what they see on T.V. becomes the American Identity of the Hip-hop culture.
Hip- hop has not always been so infiltrated into everyone’ every day life until recently. In the past decade or so, well since Yo! MTV Raps, hip-hop has started to make its way into the mainstream. (NHP Lecture, 06/2012) There was a hip-hop invasion after that. Hip-hop in film and theater is interesting because we don’t always see where hip-hop has influenced these two. In film, there are many movies that have hip-hop music either diegetic or non-diegetic. It could be in the opening scene or the closing credits, or a bunch of little white girls and could be busting out a rap about the brain in order to help their friend study for a test (Babysitter’s Club). Then there are movies like Step Up, Hustle and Flow, 8-Mile, and others. Some show a realistic indication of hip-hop life and some in my opinion make a joke out of it. In one of the articles in Total Chaos (I read several that were not on our list and lost track of where some of my information came from) someone talks about how some of the films that are supposed to be hip-hop just reinforce the stereotypes established by our culture.
ReplyDeleteHip-hop in theatre is so innovative and fascinating to me. I think it is wonderful because I love theatre with every fiber of my being but I feel like theatre is not as relevant to today’s kids because of television and movies. With hip-hop theatre I think it can reach out to the new hip-hop generation and hopefully establish an appreciation in those children and even adults in the theatre. Hip-hop theatre is all kinds of things and it has made it’s self to Broadway with the musical In the Heights and plays like Topdog/Underdog and Russel Simmons Def Jams.
Hip Hop theatre is the way hip-hop is currently influencing theatre. Theatre is increasingly being influenced by hip-hop because of hip-hops growing popularity. Hip-Hop started showing up in films as documentaries in the 1980’s (Lecture 6/25). Hip hop movies like step up are used to entertain and make money off the audiences that enjoy hip hop. These movies also bring underground hip hop to the mainstream which influences other audiences and inspires them to delve in deeper into hip hop.
ReplyDeleteThe reason hip-hop is influencing theatre and film is because it is being commodified. A commodity is something “that is subject to ready exchange or exploitation within a market” (lecture 6/26). Hip hop themes are even being places in the media. The most recent example I can think of is 50 cents new commercial for the SK energy drink. This helps get 50 cents name out there even more and it helps the energy drinks profits, since people who like 50 cent will most likely buy the product.