Snoop Dogg is a Rasta now!

You know Snoop Doggy Dogg?  He's only gone all Rasta and that!  He's not a Dogg anymore, he's a Lion!   You should know about Rastafarianism because it's a good example for Ethnic Subculture/Identity etc etc.  Marcus Garvey, Haille Sellassie, Slavery, Jamaica, Lion of Judah, all that good stuff!

Has Snoop Dogg seen the Rastafari light, or is this just a midlife crisis? by Benjamin Zephaniah

Snoop Lion 'La La La'

Snoop Dogg/Lion/Whatever.

Stop and Search 2012

Police forces are up to 28 times more likely to use stop-and-search powers against black people than white people and may be breaking the law, new research from the official human rights body reveals.

Article here

Reel Bad Arabs - Media portrayal

Interesting documentary about media portrayal of Arabs in movies etc.  The theme tune to Disney's Alladin is particularly charming, apparently he lives in 'A place where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face'

AS Ethnic Identity - Institutional Racism/Stephen Lawrence - Has anything changed?

So where are all the black police officers?

AS Ethnic Identity - Popular Culture - Hip Hop

Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It

'Paul Gilroy (1992) argues that young African-Caribbeans often adopt identities based around influential media role models such as 50 Cent and So Solid Crew.  Gangsta rap and hip-hop, in particular, have been powerful influences, and oftent the adoption of aspects of the gangsta rap lifestyle symbolise opposition to white society.  Kellner (1995) agrees and notes that rap music is a means of expressing black identity in what is perceived by African-Caribbeans as a hostile and racist environment' (Collins textbook).

So, I have collected a few examples of gangsta rap and also some Public Enemy stuff.  Yeah boyeeee!

50 Cent - Pimp

50 Cent is an idiot.

Dre and Snoop - 187 (Undercover Cop)

'187' is American Police Radio Code for 'murder'.  In this charming little number, Dre and Snoop discuss the urgent need too '187' an 'undercover cop'.  It's from the film 'Deep Cover' which I heartily recommend.

The Notorious B.I.G. - Gimme the Loot

I prefer  'Going back to Cali'  but '...Loot' is a better example of a track purely about committing crime.


Wu Tang Clan  C.R.E.A.M.

N.W.A  do not like the police one little bit.   

NWA - F tha police  and an amusing comedy sketch about it  here

Ice Cube was very pleased with his Xmas present.

Da Lench Mob - Buck Tha Devil    Freedom got an AK

Da Lench Mob  were formed by Ice Cube and are sort of halfway between the pure mindless gangsta violence of 'Gimme the Loot' and the political awareness of Public Enemy.  Members of the Nation of Islam, they were obsessed with AK47's and crime but they also wrote about the problems of racism in society caused by 'tha devil' which in this case refers to 'whitey'.  'Buck tha Devil' therefore, is a delightfully up-tempo number about eradicating the problem of racism in society by shooting all the white people.


And let's not forget the UK G's repping their endz!

Dizzee and Wiley - a history of 'beef'.

 Wiley - Gangsters  and  Dizzee Rascal Where da G's?  Sirens

K Koke - NOT an Idiot in any way whatsoever.

K Koke  'Gangster Life'  I had never heard of this chap and when I saw his picture I thought he was less gangster, more half-wit shelf-stacker with an ill-fitting hat.  However, I have since done some research and it turns out he spent most of this year on remand for murder.  Therefore I will not be 'dissing' him in any way whatsoever, so that I may avoid any possible 'beef' and subsequent 'caps' being 'busted' in the vicinity of my 'ass'.


It's not all drive-by shootings, Tec-9's and spinning rims...

Public Enema

Public Enemy were/are not gangsta rappers, the documentary 'Prophets of Rage' explains why not in far more detail than I can.

Public Enemy - Fight the Power


Prophets of Rage - BBC4 documentary on Public Enemy  Part 1

This is what happens when you listen to gangsta rap

AS Ethnic Identity - Street Gangs

Gangs and Crime general stuff

'Postcode gangs' stalk East End

Postcode gang violence and killings will rise as budgets are cut, says MP

Police identify 169 London gangs

Bangladeshi street gangs - East London  1 and 2

Centre for Social Justice Report on Gangs - 'Dying to Belong'

Street gangs are not a new phenomenon

A typical street gang.  This one, I believe, is called 'The Hampstead Bumcheeks'.

AS Ethnic Identity - Tony Sewell - African Caribbean Identity

The Collins textbook mentions Tony Sewell and his 1996 study arguing that peer group pressure is extremely influential among disaffected African-Caribbean youth in British inner cities.  To extend your knowledge, here are some further articles by or about Sewell and his work.

'When it comes to black boys, peer group values are pushing out parental control'

Racism is not the problem Warwick University's accusation of institutional racism in schools undermines teachers and fails to answer important questions.

Black boys are too feminised  More than racism, the absence of father figures is the main problem holding back black kids in school

Black students and the glass ceiling


Gangsta culture spreading

In this email exchange, Lee Jasper and Dr Tony Sewell argue over why so many black boys under-achieve at school

AS Ethnic Identity - African Caribbean Identity and Religion

Pentecostals

Pentecostalism

Seventh Day

Seventh Day Adventist

Rastafari

Rastafari

Malcolm X

Nation of Islam

Black Muslims  Note:  Be aware that there are important differences between Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam and 'traditional' Islam.

AS Ethnic Identity - Institutional Racism - Police and Schools

Institutional Racism - Police:

1999  2009   The Murder of Stephen Lawrence


Institutional Racism - Schools:

The Guardian 2008   The Independent

For the opposing argument, see this post which contains articles by Tony Sewell discussing other factors, other than racism in schools, that may be affecting black pupils.

AS Ethnic Identity - Stop and Search

This post is under construction, I will explain how the police stop and search tactics relate to ethnic identity later on but in the meantime here's a link to a related survey on the Riots of Summer 2011

Stop and Search 2011

BBC News from 11 april 2011:

Thirty years ago Brixton saw a series of disturbances that changed London for ever.

'We were racist' says Brixton riot police officer

Click here!

AS Ethnic Identity - Examples of Hybrid Culture

Music

Apache Indian     Jay-Sean  Asian Dub Foundation


Film  East is East

Language - London Patois

AS Ethnic Identity - Sample Questions and Answers

During your revision you might like to try these questions on Ethnic Identity, if you're not too busy drinking floor polish and fighting sailors in the street.

Define the concept of hybridity  (8 marks)

Outline and explain two ways in which ethnic identities are created
and reinforced. (16 marks)

Outline and briefly evaluate the view that peer groups are responsible
for the creation of ethnic hybrids in the contemporary UK. (24 Marks)

THEN you CLICK HERE  to see a revision chapter from one of the textbooks which includes SAMPLE ANSWERS to these questions! 

Representation in the Media: Gender, Age, Ethnicity and Class

Behold!  Herein I shall place links to various resources that can be utilised by both AS and A2 for the units on media representation of various identities.  It shall be an ongoing project and hence the contents of this post will not be exhaustive by any means.  Nonetheless, I hope, nay, I pray that they will be of some use to you in your ceaseless quest for knowledge. Bon chance, mes enfants!

“The media do not merely represent; they also recreate the world as desirable, and saleable. What they reproduce is chosen, not random, not neutral, and not without consequence”. (Patricia J. Williams)


Proper Studies!

Still a Man’s Game:  Gender Representation in Online Reviews of Video Games

The virtual census: representations of gender, race and age in video games

'A Content Analysis of Gender Differences in Children's Advertising'

Children, Television and Gender Roles

Offensive Ethnic Clichés in Movies: Drugs, Sex, and Servility

Mockery and Morality in Popular Cultural Representations of the White, Working Class



General Stuff

This site looks very good for resources

Media Stereotypes

Representation of Age in the media

Gender

Ethnicity

Studying Media Representations

Media Awareness Network


Media blog with posts/videos on representation

Age

Youth   Youth 2

Ethnicity


Another blog on media

And don't forget my previous post on Age Identity videos!



Childhood

Kids - what the papers say

On Wednesday 22 April, a conference was held in London, UK, to discuss the representation of children in the media


Youth

Media demonises teenagers

Behind the stereotypes

Young people media portrayal

The concept of youth


The Elderly

BBC 'One Foot in the Grave'.

Damn you, Disney!

Elder stereotypes in media & popular culture


BBC - Are pensioners stereotyped?   1   2   3





BBC 'Last of the Summer Wine'

 



Class

White Working Class  and this

Watch this on class in media

This blog post explains how several songs by 60's group The Kinks can be related to class.


Ethnicity

Gender, Race and Media representation

BBC: TV 'failing ethnic minorities'

BBC: How Entertainment Changed - The media and multicultural Britain

Can Gramsci's theory of hegemony help us to understand the representation of ethnic minorities in western television and cinema?

Ethnic minorities and the Media

Cadbury accused of racial stereotyping in chocolate advert

Racial stereotype bingo ad is banned

KFC ad accused of racism


Islam

‘The British Media and Muslim Representation: The Ideology of Demonisation’

From Aladdin to Lost Ark, Muslims get angry at 'bad guy' film images

Islam and the Western Media   Stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam in the media are rooted in prejudice, and ignorance, says Bassil Akel.

Why the terrorism scare is a moral panic.

My Name is Khan    Wiki page  "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist"
Revision

The role of the mass media in representations of age, class, ethnicity, gender...'

Ethnic Identity - Ethnic variation in prison sentences

We'll be looking at ethnic identity soon, in another one of my bowel-shatteringly exciting lessons, which will include some details about how identity can be affected by the different treatment received by different groups at the hands of the merciless hounds of the law.  Here is an article relating to a study carried out by The Guardian (that's a newspaper, you may have seen it on the magazine racks when you are looking for the latest copy of 'Activities for Simpletons Monthly' or whatever drivel you like to read on the commode). It says offenders from ethnic minorities are more likely than their white counterparts to be sentenced to prison for certain categories of crimes, and this is based on analysis of more than one million court records.

Once you've digested this, take a look at this which looks at how many judges are white, middle class and Oxbridge educated.  Could these issues be related?