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Week 16- Final post

1. “Fight” is an example of a word that Jay z talks about. When saying this word, many will first think of a fist or verbal fight, or something violent. In many rap lyrics, the word “fight” may be used as a violent reference, but you can also see it being used to describe passion or motivation, for example, “the fight to move on.” Many rappers will many different word in their lyrics, but the meaning of the words is up to the rapper and how they write out their lyrics.

2. Over the course of the semester, I seem to have gotten even more laid back than I was before, but I am also noticing more things than before. I have noticed that the study tactic I used in high school will just not do any more, and I must try even harder to do well in school, as my education here is very important to my future. Over the course of English 101, I have changed from the usual systematic writing I learned in high school to a writer that can express for freely and thoughtfully

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Week 15- Jay- Z vs Bob Dylan

Yes, both songs are protest songs. Jay- Z’s 99 Problems is suggesting about racial profiling from authorities, while Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues refers to the American civil rights movement. 99 problems refer to an actual experience that Jay z went through when he accused a police officer of pulling him over because he was black. Subterranean Homesick Blues mainly speaks about the use of drugs, and the struggles of after the Vietnam war and as well as the American civil rights movement. Each of the music videos are quite different. 99 problems’ music video follows Jay z as he raps his song and goes around New York. In the video, the audience will see various of locations in New York and the people, mainly people of color, that are there. As the video shows the different people in that area, break dancing, wearing ski masks and holding guns, and rapping the song. The video also includes a reenactment of Jay z getting pulled over by the police and a visual of a dog trying to get out of a cage. All the visuals in the suggest how people of color may be viewed as criminals and troublesome people. The dog in the cage can refer to the fact they may feel trapped or caged with so many people watching them like they are to do something bad. Then in the music video for Subterranean Homesick Blues, there is not much, but it shows Bob Dylan holding poster cards with the lyrics and following along with the lyrics as the songs plays. He seems to be standing in a location that looks dirty and is under construction. Both songs refer to civil rights as they find them unfair in society. But for Jay z, he writes about a time that he experienced racism and the feelings he felt. In the lyrics, he speaks about ignoring such actions and be the stronger person and let it pass. The repeated chorus of “Ninety-nine problems but a bitch ain't one/ If you having girl problems I feel bad for you son/I got ninety-nine problems but a bitch ain't one, hit me,” seems to be saying that, Jay z, himself, has a lot of problems and worrying about racial profiling should not be one in general. In the lyrics, of Subterranean Homesick Blues, it talks about civil rights but also drug usage. The lyrics tell the listener not to be a follower, “Don't follow leaders, watch the parkin' meters,” and to not get sucked into the turmoil society is experiencing during the time the song was written. Overall, both songs are protest songs that speak against following the crowd and to make a difference of your own.

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Post #10- Where I’m from

I was born in Torrance, California but move to Arizona when I was two and was raised here. For a period of time my family lived in Phoenix, but started to live in Scottsdale when I was around 7. Scottsdale seems to be a more up scaled and the people here seemed more “high-class”?. I don’t know to really explain it, but the kids at school had large houses with beautiful furniture, and the latest technology and were different from me. They weren’t millionaires, but at the same time they were not part of the lower social class. Around here kids go to school, always having a Starbucks cup in hand and always trying to be fashion forward. I on the other hand, don’t really drink coffee that much and all I do is where large t-shirts and jeans and never seem to have the same interest as the other kids. Living around here, I feel has influenced me to be more self-conscious of myself, but not enough for me to change in any drastic way. Instead being here made me try harder in finding someone in myself that can be more open and comfortable in my own skin, yet I still have a long way to go to reach that point.

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Post #9- Social Justice

1. Social justice is the sense that there needs to be equality in society.

2. In the song, “Hell Yeah (Pimp the System)”, it compares rappers and drug dealers. The song speaks about how rappers and drug dealers are always lumped together as though they are both criminals. Jay-Z explains this comparison through his lyrics by using slang, referencing places and treatment that is received by specific people. His verse starts right off with comparing how the cops may see him as a drug dealer that is trying to cell crack, or ecstasy, but in reality he is just trying to sell his raps. Afterward, Jay-Z uses the slang term, Becky, which is considered a classic white girl name by African American folks at that time. He uses the name Becky to show how many parents try to shelter their children from the what they consider the indecencies in life like, raps, but what is the real indecency in this world. And finally, Jay-Z compares his hometown of Brooklyn to Vietnam because he feels that his home is also like a warzone as he has to fight for his own equality and social justice in life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0

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Post# 8- Moment of Clarity

A time I had a moment of clarity was when I was attending one of my classes at ASU and the topic was class registration. As we were talking about how to register for classes, we started to expand to grad school and requirements for graduation. This topic started to overwhelm me as well as give myself a moment of clarity and internally telling myself to put myself “in shape” for the future to come.

While Jay-Z is saying through his song that he realized his moment of clarity as he worked as a musician, he did not turn out to be like his drug dealing uncle, but instead became successful and survived the cruel world his family entered. 

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Post#7- Teachers and heroes

http://thelittlestheroes.org/meet-our-heroes/

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Post #6: The Streets is watching

In this song Jay-Z is talking about how being famous and a drug dealer is similar by the fact that everyone is always is watching you and speaks of the pressure of people constantly watching you. For myself, the time i felt like the walls were closing in on me was when i was applying for colleges and what i wanted to do in the future. everyone around me would ask me about my major and college i wanted to go to, but i didn’t know what to do and the deadlines were nearing and i felt the pressure rise in me. During this situation, whenever  someone talked to me about the topics i would jut change the subject, or for my parents i would walk away saying i had things to do. I ended up choosing a college just to choose and am currently studying to be a doctor.

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Post #5: Success

In my culture and to my family as well, success would being able to live an easy life,to not get in trouble and be a good nice person with a well paying job and to get married and have kids and to have your kids succeed in life as well. To me success is  to accomplish something that may satisfy myself. That success may be getting an “A” on a test i studied very hard for, or finally beating the boss in a video game that you tried so many times to defeat, or to be able to get the last slice of pizza, or to achieve my life long dream that i have been fantasizing for so long about like a job or finding that significant other. To me success is the feeling of accomplishment in one’s self and in the end telling yourself that you did it.

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Post#5-Looking and Looking again- part 1and 2

An oak tree is something many people see very often and has a simple organization of coming from a small seed and sprouting into a large tree. When I first look at a tree, I just see the obvious things like the branches and leaves and not look any closer. It takes me awhile to see the small details like the bark that is coming off the tree and the bugs going up and down the tree trunk. When I first see a tree, I do not ask many questions besides maybe how long did the tree take to grow so large. After looking and thinking about the tree a little bit longer, I would start to look at the amount of shade it is providing, the small patches of dirt in the midst of the grass under the tree, and the pieces of bark that has fallen off of the tree trunk and branches. After looking at these details, I start to ask questions like, who were the people that sat under the tree to cause those dirt patches? were they a couple of friends just finding some shade to rest or was it a couple having alone time? or were those missing pieces of bark caused by kids climbing up and down the tree? Ultimately, I ask questions about the memories made by other people under this tree.

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Post #4- What is art?

I think art is a form of expression. Art can be happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and disappointment. Art shows the world a perspective they cannot see but another can. For me art is way to see and show me things that i do not understand, like the world and life. An example of art for me is manga drawings because each book is so different from each other. From the drawing to the storyline, but with each picture and dialogue I get a glimpse of how the author may see the world. Publicly, art can make a difference and make people change their opinions about social problems for the better.

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Post #2- Public Service Announcement

Looking around at the people around you and what to you see? Do you see the see the joy and bright smiles that people always hold or the pain and suffering they have? We all walk around in life mindlessly unaware of others, but never take the time to truly see the real feelings of others. Rather than just following what others tell you to help make a difference, why don’t you try to make a change on your own. It might feel like you can’t change the world and maybe you can’t, but you can make a single person’s world change. 

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Post #1- Response

Some negative things/phrases I associate with writing are structured writing, Grammar, Stress, Acceptance, Is this good/correct? 

Some positive things are a way to express myself, create something new, a way of feeling artistic, it may be easier to put feelings on paper.

One reason I would like to become a better writer is to show something to myself, like I have changed for the better. I want to show my progress in writing to show that I have matured as a person and become someone who can inspire others. Becoming a better writer may help me discover myself and learn about the world that I never knew about.