Response to: Honor Diaries

Honor Diaries is a documentary that discusses the issues women face in Middle Eastern Islamic cultures from the point of view of Middle Eastern Muslim women. It highlighted several issues that have become civil rights issues for Muslim women involving: enforced dress codes, forced marriage, genital mutilation, and honor killings. The documentary also pointed out how these issues have been occurring in the U.S. and Western Europe but is not addressed because of our understanding that we must allow for cultural diversity and freedom within our own culture. It really drove home the point that while it is important to allow for cultural expression, that it is just as equally important to make an effort to put a stop to the cultural practices that detrimentally harm living, breathing humans.

Raquel Evita Saraswati, a Muslim American activist who appear in Honor Diaries, reminded me of Emerson as she is a practicing Muslim who works to change the problematic issues within her own Religion and continues to fight for her culture. Islam is the place where she draws her strength and she makes the point that genital mutilation is not actually part of Islamic code and that it is a practice that has been picked up with the cultural obsession surrounding honor and how the fulfillment of that concept has been placed entirely on the shoulders of women. She may be a powerful figure that is needed to bring about change in her culture. Though is also one player in a force of many. Many strive to bring about the cultural change needed to bring humanity and respect to women within the beliefs of Islamic culture. Though this is something that we could all take a part in. While it was important to be informed of the terrible plight facing these women, one of the main points I took away from this film is that one cannot be afraid of causing offense and anger when the humanity of so many is at stake. It is always easy to believe that it is better not to cause a drama and arguments. It's so much more regretful to let inequities slide because you were afraid of being called a racist or some other insult. That is something I shall have to work on.   

Semester Favorites

Throughout the semester we all have done some wonderful work! :)
Looking back on my posts, these three are my favorites:

Mutations of Hip
I merge different ideas from different areas of my studies and discuss how hip really originates in the city for the most part. Though that seems to change with the introduction of the Internet.

Westerns, Pulp, and Noir
In this post I imitated the style of Joan Didion.  I described Los Angeles as the birth place of pulp fiction and went along with Leland's idea that this city in particular marks a shift in male identity in U.S. culture.

Social Upheaval and Cultural Mixing
Here I discuss how social upheaval is a part of hip as well as cultural mixing. It seems the two don't belong together but work together quite well.

I picked these because I feel many of these happened when I was on top of things.

In "Mutations of Hip" I was able to merge ideas from several different ideas in different areas of my study. I was on my game. Though I suppose it's easier to have everything together earlier in the semester, or maybe I just get better at procrastinating as things progress. Perhaps it sounds a bit braggy, but this particular post makes me feel brilliant (don't ask me how I'll feel about it 5 years from now).

In "Westerns, Pulp, and Noir" I felt like I got in touch with my inner poet. Yes, I was copying Didion's style but it was nice to get a little dramatic again. I feel like I was able to make a beautiful comparison between the San Andreas Fault and the idea of Los Angeles as a broken city. I think I did a decent job of tying in Leland's ideas of Pulp and the end of westward expansion. Sometimes I start giggling at how melodramatic this is.  Though I suppose the catastrophic language is part of Didion's style.

In "Social Upheaval and Cultural Mixing" I feel the poetic nature of Didion carried over into this post a bit. I like seeing my further understanding of Leland's ideas. I like the metaphor I'm able to make with the cocoon and the half-formed moth. I know. It's kinda silly but I'm a big fan of extended metaphors. I should use them more often. Though maybe I use one too many this this post... Whatever, it's still awesome.

Before this course and thinking differently through Leland, I tended to think that all popular music and some entertainment was just something crafted for money and was moving more in that direction. Entertainment has become much more monetized than in the past but that doesn't really mean that it makes it less real. Especially since all artists cast an image of who they are when they create or perform their art. I thought of it just as a superficial practice to turn the economy by encouraging consumers to fit in by purchasing all of the newest, latest goods. I suppose this is true to a certain extent. However, hip also encourages people to consider sides to things they may not have considered before and contributes to cultural blending. Not on the same level as activism; though hip has a much larger audience than the average activist. The idea needs some exploring but perhaps part of the reason that young people do not vote on a larger scale is because Rock the Vote pushes for change solely through the means of hip. People don't feel like they are being taken seriously when they are told to vote because this celebrity with lots of money says you should. Maybe I just have too much of a high expectation for humanity. (Uh-oh, my inner cynic is rearing to bite again!) I guess I understand more of how hip spreads ideas and brings about change more than just the trends that catch on.

I guess my strengths lie in a sort of lyrical and metaphoric language. I didn't use as much of that this semester because I felt like I couldn't use it as much in essays and articles. I think I should practice integrating these together cause I felt like I really shined when I did that, but not too much. Is there a way to overdo symbolism and metaphors? Regarding my thinking process I think I excelled in turning things on their sides and trying to think about them in a typical way besides what seems apparent. I was introduced to feminist thought when I was a junior in high school and it sort of escalated from there since it fit well into my understanding of the world. I guess my biggest weakness is that I get a little too worried about offending people and try to be too polite at times. though I had the issue of being "too nice" before I ever incorporated feminist theory into my thought process. In a way I guess this weakness could also be a strength as people I disagree with don't feel like I'm being disrespectful when I debate with them. I think an argument has more chances to seed an idea when the person you're debating with doesn't feel like you're trying to belittle or tear them down. I'm still trying to find a balance between being worried about making people mad and standing up for what I believe. I think I'm sort of getting there. It's easier to have that confidence in writing when you're disagreeing with a stranger rather than a friend or relative.

Throughout this semester I think I at least worked towards a "B," I'm not going to say that I'm a perfect little worker. I had opportunities to get extra points that I didn't take. I also really started to get out of my groove towards the end of the semester. I suppose it happens with a lot of people. Though I feel like my procrastination is something that I need to learn to work around because it really limits my potential. Lots of things were on time in the beginning of the semester but after I realized that I could turn things in late I got a bit too lax and let things go later than they should have. I need to stick to a schedule instead of taking the attitude that I could get things done later. That being said, I feel I did work hard at researching and thinking about my topics. I need to find a balance between writing and my thought processes. Procrastination doesn't really help me do that. Maybe it sort of helps me put some of my ideas together.

Thanks for the semester! I feel like I learned a lot! I think the pitches will help a lot! It taught me about how to freelance a piece. I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of use out of this! :)

Living in the Present With Imperfections

The Beat aesthetic described in Leland's Hip: the History is one that does not focus on the present or the past but embraces what happens in the moment, so it's pretty forgiving of mistakes and flaws. This kind of attitude can be seen in different aspects of our media. With one event happening after another and all of these things taking place within seconds on the internet, many news items or YouTube videos become old news within minutes as viewers move onto the next thing. Celebrity goofs and blunders are constantly popping up in the news and are forgotten about as soon as the next big thing to fire up the nation occurs. From the shirt storm controversy to Gamergate and Trayvon Martin to Michael Brown to Freddie Gray. The internet does care about all of these events and individuals but seems to move on relatively quickly after said events happen. The Internet does care about all of these events and individuals but seems to move on relatively quickly after said events happen. This seems particularly true with celebrities as the Internet has moved on from collectively hating Avril Lavigne's Hello Kitty.


Perhaps this applies more to celebrities that we happens to like for the most part. Though this is a bit of an older example, we seem to have a cultural acceptance for Trent Reznor, the sole member of Nine Inch Nails, as he won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe award for his soundtrack in The Social Network in 2011 and was nominated for a Golden Globe for his soundtrack in Gone Girl this year. He's had a bit of a bumpy history as he's had problems with addiction and depression. One of his first albums The Downward Spiral focused on the downfall of an addict, which ended up becoming strangely prophetic. His most recent album Hesitation Marks focuses on coming out alive after recovering from an addiction. I would say that Downward Spiral is more of a worship of flaws and living in the moment. Closer, the most popular track from the album, discusses sex addition and bluntly describes the desire within the moment with the line “I want to f—k you like an animal.” Later on in All Time Low, one of the more popular tracks from Hesitation Marks, he seems to have stepped away from the Beat aesthetic somewhat has he describes addition with this line “Get down on the floor/ Shut the goddamn door/ You've done this all before/ You're coming back for more.” This particular line has removed the worship of the present, which makes sense as living in the moment proved to be destructive to him. It could be said that Kurt Cobain was a victim of allowing the Beat aesthetic to move too far through his art and his way of life and that was partially what lead to his downfall as he was unable to come to terms with different life events as he continued to barrel past them in his practice of living in the moment. Beat aesthetic can help with forgetting what happened in the past, but sometimes we aren't ready to forget about those things. Sometimes our flaws are wonderful at doing us in.

Pitch 3 -- Lolita and Cultural Appropriation

Hello Scott,

When you hear the term "Lolita," what's the first thing you think of? It's ok, we can admit that we're all thinking of the same thing -- The Japanese Street Fashion. I think of the fashion first because that was where I first heard the term used as a teenager interested in alternative fashion. Of course most of these clothes are pricey enough to bankrupt a third world country. My youthful dreams were not meant to be. As Lolita means something entirely different in western culture. Different ideas of nymphets and pedophiles may have crossed your mind along with Nabokov. The sexually exploitative Humbert Humbert and the innocent Lolita are part of common culture wither one has read the book or not. The street fashion has a different focus. Many who wear the fashion regularly state that they are living with the modesty and purity of a princess. Some also wear the clothes because they are cute. The closest Lolita gets to sexualizing innocent fashion is within it's subculture of Ero-Lolita, which is modest in comparison to many Western styles. Lolita fashion is an interesting phenomena in itself as it's influenced by European styles of the past such as Victorian and Rococo. That itself was an example of cultural appropriation, but then the style took off in other parts of the world including the United States.

The old ideas of Western culture were cycled back in to interested through another culture. However, the idea seemed to change within the context of Western culture and our idea of the Lolita. Our Halloween costumes of the style are much more sexualized than the original style such as: the Sweeter Than Candy Lolita Costume and the Lolita Lollipop Girl Costume. An obvious connection can be made to the Novel and it's movie adaptation. However, the sexualization of this style could also apply to our racist ideas that Asians are more submissive than other peoples; particularly women. Our interest in their culture increased with our colonization and our interest with their culture has increased once again when we have started to have more fears about America losing some of it's power and status in the eyes of the world. As a way to deal with this lost status. Is it possible that we are reawakening stereotypes that were never properly dealt with culturally? We have taken our idea of Asian sexual submission and applied it to a subculture that idealized childlike innocence. Is our misinterpretation an example of our racial anxieties or just another misunderstanding?

Does this idea interest you? Let me know.

Regards,
Emily Williams

http://hellolace.net/about/the-fashion I intend to use this website to help me navigate certain complexities of Lolita culture on a basic scale. I have been intersted in the past. I haven't kept up with the culture and there were some subcultures within the subculture I didn't know about. I also feel this would help me at least with siting sources of contention about things like Ero-Lolita

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.libdb.ppcc.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=09117196-5658-4d42-b496-0083b01a0bc1%40sessionmgr4003&vid=0&hid=4106&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ufh&AN=99140306 This is a scholarly article that discussces cultural appropriation surroudning Lolita culture. It helped to achieve a firmer understanding of the place Lolita fashion takes in Japanese culture beyond "those clothes look cool."

Jack Sparrow -- Modern Trickster

A modern trickster can be a difficult thing to define. Tricksters push the current accepted boundaries of our society. The idea of a trickster is to push society push it's current boundaries either for good or ill. Culturally, I think it's safe to say that our culture no longer values mythology as we once did. This figure no longer makes it into our conscious thought through our sacred beliefs, so the trickster is often found through those who emanate hip as well as fictional characters from pop culture. In Leland's discussion of tricksters in relation to hip he uses Richard Pryor, comedian through the '60s and '90s, as an example of the connection between the two. "Pryor was insider and outsider at the same time, passing knowledge from one realm to the other. He did so with both bravado and humility, and with the trickster wisdom that lay between the two."

In the first installment, The Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow seems to fit this one understanding of a trickster perfectly as he straddles this line well. He presents himself with the bravado of a captain of the world's most infamous pirate ship. However, he has been the victim of mutiny. As a wanted man without the support of a fast sea vessel or the loyal support of his crew he should be one of the most vulnerable characters in the story but continues to wiggle his way out of the dangers that come from being an infamous pirate without his ship, at least in the fictional world. His continued overconfidence happens to be a source of success for him as it also displays and image. As he projects an image of overconfidence, others around him believe in his displayed cocky attitude and underestimate him.

Throughout the movie, he continues to display other trickster qualities. In his introduction I linked to above. at the end of the clip he steals the small sack of coins from the dock watchmen after he went through the effort of bribing him, which may cause some questioning of the details in the movie by some viewers like that of youtube user Steve Harvey, "Was it deliberate that they made it so Jack paid him extra, regardless of the fact that he could've just given them a false name and paid the usual amount? Or was that something they overlooked?" What he happened to miss was that while he could have just gave him the correct amount and given him a fake name, it would have meant a missed opportunity for monetary gain. The most straight forward way would have been for Jack to give the watchmen a fake name. That isn't really the way of a trickster. In Leland's text he quotes Ishmael Reed as, "The trickster goes on anybody's side, As long as he can get sex and gain, that's where he'll go. But [he] gets away with it because he's very vulnerable." Throughout the different movies, Jack continues to remain vulnerable, despite some regained power, because ultimately that is how he continues to cross boundaries and remain a successfully sneaky character. If he always had power, different characters would have less of a reason to trust him as he wouldn't need their help in the first place.When he does manage to get the Black Pearl, his ship, back from the mutinous hands of his previous crew, it has several flaws. There are holes in the side of the ship, some made during the course of the movie. The black sails also have massive holes in them, which wouldn't be very effective at picking up the wind necessary to haul that bulk across the ocean. The Black Pearl acts as a further reflection of his character and helps to cement his projected identity as a vulnerable figure. Perhaps the idea behind these flaw is to project a ghost ship to go along with the curse his previous crew picked up when they "happened" upon some cursed gold. If were honest, that ship wouldn't be very effective, which takes away much of the power they would realistically have to frighten large amounts of people. The idea of a ghost ship is terrifying. A holey ship with unhygienic pirates just sounds like a sinking deathtrap. As Jack's beloved ship is presented as a deathtrap I supposed it could be taken two ways. It could either be underestimated as an old junk ship, or it could terrify sailors with it's reputation as the haunt of the seven seas. Either way, it sets an illusion that is meant to throw those who would fight against Jack off track. When he has hold of his ship, it helps him act just a wee bit sneaky.

Social Upheaval and Cultural Mixing

When I first thought of hip, I did not really see those two characteristics defined by Leland as two characteristics that seemed to be at war with one another. In some ways, the two work together. You can't have cultural mixing without social upheaval. The excepted over for the longest time in Western Culture was for the different groups we have created to remain divided, to give little attention to each other. There has always been an understanding that all should submit to those in a social class above one's own. This is the opposite of cultural mixing. Those who are part of the higher classes, or have a more privileged racial identity in society, are always pouring their ideas into the lower status peoples while the same is not true of those who are of less advantaged circles. That leads to rebellion. If the working class is lucky, social upheaval is fully achieved, all groups are pulled closer to the ideal of equality. For awhile, both can last within this cocoon of their idea swapping. It is not perfect, but there is safety in during this development. The privileged often break out early, with the dread that something has been stolen from them. Possibly that someone else take that place if they do not reclaim it. Society reemerges as a half-formed moth. It changes from what it was before, but not what it could have been. The privileged create their own sort of social upheaval, or at least attempt to, by rekindling forgotten flames of the past. Less privileged carry the torches of the future, for the most part. Both exist in the world's largest game of tug o' war. The ropes of upper, lower, upheaval, and mixing create the boiling pot of hip. We aren't very good at perfection. Perhaps that is why the patterns of hip continue to stir up society.

Women in "Red Wind"

To read Red Wind: click here

In Red Wind the two female characters seem to have very limited roles and appear to be the only female characters in this story. For the most part, their roles seem to mostly be defined by their beauty, their relation to male characters, and their need for protection.

Mrs. Barsalay is a critical character in the story. Part of why this started is because of her false pearls, which were a symbol of her past relationship with the dead Mr. Phillips. They are stolen from her, and she intends to buy them back from Waldo which sets the entire chain of events in the story. While she does save Marlow's life there is also this sort of understanding that she is someone who needs protecting. When she is holding a gun to Marlow in his apartment, she does not take the safety off or stand a proper distance from him. It is discussed later in the story that it seemed she mostly meant this as a bluff, though there is a suggestion that she would not be able to properly defend herself and that as a woman must be protected. Much of her life with her current life with her husband is filled with lies about her necklace and the past relationship she had with her dead fiance. She also is running around secretly to try to get this object back without him knowing. It also reveals her as deceptive, despite also coming off as an innocent doe staring in the headlights. At the end of the tale when it is revealed that her necklace was never real, Marlow has another fake made to help cement the falsehood that her necklace was sold and replaced with a fake. In a way, this does save her from knowing that the symbol of her relationship was based on a lie, it also is protecting her from the truth and suggesting that she is too fragile to handle this truth. Perhaps this was just part of Marlow's character as he lies several times throughout his investigation, though he still told the hard truth to the male characters within the tale. There seems to be an understanding that she cannot handle the harsh world.

Miss Kolchenko, or the "White Russian," is a less important character in this tale. She is the mistress of Mr. Barsalay, and seems to have very little respect from him. Her appearance serves as a deception because she looks threatening when in actuality she is not. She is made to serve drinks to Mr. Basalay and Marlow in her scene. She is also completely ignored by Baraslay when she objects to him describing how she looks like a threat but is not. She may also serve as a comparison between Marlow and Barsalay as Marlow is much more respectful of Mrs. Baraslay than Mr. Barasalay is towards Kolchenko. She is also completely shooed away from the situation which could be a form of said protection but mostly seems to work in a way to keep her out of the understanding of what is going on. Of course, that may be a reflection that it is not believed that she could handle what is going on and must be kept away from scary situations in the same way a child is most often shuttled away from family drama and harsh realities.

While Mrs. Barsalay does save Marlow's life, women in this story are not shown in a particularly positive light. They are seen as deceptive, and too weak to look out for themselves. Though this seems to be true of much of the media from this period. This is a part of our cultural history of hip. Despite some of my qualms, it was still an entertaining read. A piece of media can still be entertaining as well as make us think about the depictions we commonly use for different groups of people in our culture.

Westerns, Pulp, and Noir

I know Los Angeles as a city defined by it's consistent patterns, paparazzi mowed down by celebrities out for revenge, the dull grunt of cars grinding down the interstate, trends that will inevitable dry into husks to make room for the new. All sit atop the cracked plates of the earth, waiting for the moment to slip and rattle beneath the city's base. The city waits to be rumbled by the San Andreas Fault. It marks the end of hope through the crumbling of failed Hollywood dreams, the end of westward expansion, a broken pattern. Los Angeles is a collection of crumbled promises. Both sides of Los Angeles run together as the boundary of a fault. Their motion both defining and breaking the city. Western travelers came with a promise of gold, paid with broken backs. The last great expansion ended the promise of man conquering frontier. The dreamers lost and had to settle like everyone else. Chaos erupted within male minds at the lost of definition. If a woman is loving, nurturing, and open. Then what is a man? Polar opposites make for the easiest definition, everything a woman is not. Through the end of the fronteir, America created the pulp hero. He could no longer be defined through taming the land. He is made through separating himself further from his opposite. He becomes the loner, no connections, no family, alone, no ties to hold him down. He is the frontiersman without hope or heart. He became the voice of America when dreams of exploration died with our genocidal tendencies towards American Indians. He expanded into film with Noir to scream through a thousand minds, the death toll of dreams. Dreams act as a Phoenix and move cycles of rebirth to death.  Men recreate their ideal identity. Los Angeles is the city of recreation and death. There is no better place to be reborn. It is also the best place to watch yourself die.

Hip Vs. Popular

While we have been focusing on what hip is this semester, I think it is also important to think about what hip isn't. A deeper understanding can be reached by knowing what it is not.

For the most part, we have decided that hip is the result of separate cultures mixing together, including social change, within the United States that has spread to other parts of globe. Some obvious example stick out to me that have a large market, pull in large chunks of dough, but don't fit into Leland's definition of hip. As there are different members of society that do not, will not admit that they do not want, or will not acknowledge that they benefit from cultural mixing and social change.

One example that comes to mind immediately is Steve McFarland's Family Guy. While the show is very popular, it also makes an effort to alienate any viewer that doesn't happen to be a White man. The writer's seem to have a fondness for "edgy" humor, which usually just means using humor that could possibly be interpreted as racist, sexist (ex clip 1, ex clip 2,),  homophobic (clip), or ableist (clip). He seems to hold an interesting place in culture as most people I have heard from either despise him or completely adore him. This could also be a question of whither or not shows such as South Park and Family Guy could have a category of hip and if hip must always be inclusive. It could also be a situation of the differences between the current and previous generation's understanding of hip as each generation has a different understanding of what exactly each of that entails. However, I think that while edgy humor shows have created a wider allowance of what is and isn't allowed on television, I think they tend to push more towards the popular end of the spectrum as minorities for the most part are often pushed away from humor that directly attacks them. They also seem to make the point that only certain groups of people are allowed to make edgy jokes (clip).

Another example of popularity rather than hip, is the Big Bang Theory. If the laugh tracks are taken out of the show, it's unentertainment value is made obvious (clip). While this show does attempt to try to get at something that could possibly be interpreted as hip through nerds in the tech and science field it does not particularly capture the experience of nerdy individuals very well. At least in my opinion, as someone who has always been kind of nerdy, it more or less creates an impression of what individuals who are not nerdy think nerds are. While I have met younger individuals who watch the Big Bang Theory before, most of the individuals I have met who watch the show loyally tend to be of the previous generation. The impression I come away with is that in part it is an attempt of the older generation to catch a voyeuristic glimpse of the younger generation, particularly those viewers who happen to have nerd children. As hip things are meant to bring about this cultural blending, it's difficult to imagine this show as hip as it seems to draw an audience that has already become more resistant to change.

Mutations of Hip

In chapter 3 of Leland's Hip: the History, he discusses hip has it's origins in the 1910s and 20s as the Great Migration from the Southern U.S. to the Northern U.S. which allowed for the cultural mixing often associated with hip. Personally, I feel that this could not have happened within the confines of a rural setting. While the styles of the time that contributed to jazz originated in the rural South among Black Americans, hazz would not have achieved such a widespread popularity if they did not have access to the record companies and recording technology of the time that was located in New York.
Since most Americans are now born and live in the cities, most hip people, bands, music, and movements originate in the city.

An obvious example is in hip-hop culture, with the origin of rap in the inner city slums. It came from impoverished Black Americans as jazz had, but came from the culture directly within the city. In Bryon Hurt's documentary, which I recently watch in my Women's Studies course, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, he discusses the problematic aspects of hip-hop culture. He goes on to say that while hip-hop has it's origins in the Black community, that 70% of it's consumers are of White descent. As Leland also discussed, the mixing of the two cultures often results in White consumers trying to find out more about Black Americans during their exchange; thus, the artists which discuss songs with stereotypes often surrounding Black Americans is what is what is only allowed to be marketed to consumers on a large scale. As White Americans stole the blues, Eminem and Iggy Azalea stole rap. As there were rap songs that did not glorify gang violence before it became a large part of main culture, it is obvious this has occurred. For the most part, this was driven by money as once an audience reaches a certain point, it has to start catering to White folks if they want to increase their monetary gain. In this case at least, hip was driven by the economy and the interests of the larger money pool.

In our reading from week 2, hipsters were discussed. One article in particular, "What Was the Hipster" discussed the hipsters of the 2000s. In the beginning, they seemed to draw largely from sytles associated with '70s suburbia. While they were drawing inspiration from a culture that was not within the city, they still spread had the ability to spread those influences within the structure of the city. Theoretically, those ideas would not have spread with the same ferocity if the group happened to be located in Pueblo, CO. They most likely would have been labeled the weirdos in that particular community. Particularly since the internet did not have the same reach or influence in hip as it does now. Their ideology mostly likely would have not made it past the confines of Pueblo to become the next big thing. To a certain extent, it was probably easier to market this for a larger profit as many of it's styles involved simple styles like plaid flannel shirts and neon-yellow framed, plastic sunglasses.

In one of my previous posts, I discussed difference between the hip and the nerdy. For the most part, nerd culture seems to be becoming part of hip and the mainstream as super hero movies are smashing the box office. This opposes the traditional idea of the lonely nerd that feels misunderstood and alienated by society. If I was taking this class ten years ago, I most likely would not be doing most of my assignments on a blog. Part of why I believe this is changing is caused by the rise in importance of computers in our culture. It has become a key way in our communications and the way we do business. It is hard to deny a subcultures power when their skill set becomes necessary to power the economy. In this case, nerds were able to become integrated into hip culture as the typical idea of the nerd is one who's known for computer programming. As such, it may be possible that other things typically associated with nerd culture are becoming increasingly popular as each is lumped in with the culture. While it was not true in the past, it may be the nerds are part of the current hip group. This is where hip seems to have taken a turn as the nerd community is not limited by location. It mostly takes place on the internet away from the rest of the world. It has grown and has become ever more common for people to admit to having an interest in things stereo typically unacceptable by society (i.e. Bronies). While I'm not entirely sure if it is completely true, nerd culture for the most part seems to have become part of hip with the rise of technology, despite a long period of the two being complete opposites of each other.
As Leland quoted Tower of power (and perhaps stolen from Tim's paper):

" Hipness is -- What it is!

And sometimes hipness is

what it ain't!" 

Since culture is constantly  changing. Something that wasn't hip 20 years ago could easily gain steam in current our current culture.  

Revision Plan

For my first essay, I chose to define hip with the locale coffee shops, Jive's. There are two Jive's locations so comparing them works well for defining hip and not hip.

After I got critique from my intelligent peers, it helped me to realize what improvements I had to make to this piece. At least one thing I should consider is to change the voice from serious and intellectual to laid-back and casual as the atmosphere of a coffee shop would be. I have a habit of writing all of my school assignments in that intellectual tone, and this was something I should have thought of before. Thanks for the feedback.

Another thing I plan to do is maybe change the organization of my essay slightly so that the essay is not ending on a negative note with the comparison of the Northern location and the first location as my opinion of the second location was bleh in comparison to the first one, so it would be better to end on a positive note.

I also think I need to work on solidifying my Kairos in this essay. I think part of my issue is that before I started working on this paper, Jive's had been suggested to me a few times but I never got around to going there. In part my paper is based off of initial reactions from going to each of the locations twice and putting the paper together from my limited experience. I probably should have picked a place that I had more experience with, but this was the first place I thought of. My plan is to try to visit each of the locations at least one more time to try to form a more solid opinion of both of the locations. I believe my Kairos will be focused on how this is good for the city's economy in general but how the second location is selling hip the idea of hip rather than producing hip.

Another thing I plan to address is the cultural mixing involved in each of the locations as cultural mixing was a central point in Leland's definition used in my piece. It's difficult to find diversity in terms of different racial backgrounds in most places in Colorado Springs. (Or maybe it is just the areas I am used to going in Colorado Springs?) Jive's did not seem to have very much racial diversity, but there was plenty of diversity in terms of world views. As Wednesday was open mic at the first location, there were some live music and some poetry reading. The vast difference that stuck out to me was one of the readers started their introduction with: "I felt Jesus really lay it on my heart to share this with you all tonight." Another reader read a poem about the issues surrounding the LGBTIQ community and one of the lines in his poem read, "I don't understand why someone has to die so you can feel comfortable." While it doesn't always mean the two are opposing each other, it is a good place to start in terms of the cultural mixing that happens at Jive's.

Other things I plan to focus on are an introduction of Leland, more exploration in the idea of Starbucks losing/changing its culture, and lots of grammar/sentence structure editing. Assuming I'm writing this for someone outside of our class, there is a chance they have no idea who Leland is. It'd be good if I included that for them so they don't spend the entire article wondering who in the world I'm talking about. While this isn't the main part of the paper, I should consider how to properly integrate the Starbucks idea into my paper and put more consideration into how it has become mainstreamed. Is it possible that process is starting with the North location Jive's? That is something I should explore. Well, the grammar sentence structure part is something that we all have to do. If you say you don't, you're lying! Haha!

I'm going to keep mulling on this and see if there are more changes I should make. Thank you all for your feedback. If any of you have any more ideas I'd be happy to see/hear them. I look forward to reading your papers! :)

Jive's Pitch

Hello Scott,

In a city with few places for the cultural mixing ideal of ideal of hip, does Jive's Coffee serve that role for the Colorado Springs area?

Jive's is a local place I heard about through the grapevine. It is a local coffee shop with live music on the weekends and open mic nights on Wednesdays or Thursdays depending on which location one chooses as their preferred location; either the Old Colorado City location or the N. Nevada Ave. location. They also display and occasionally sell art community artists. As it is a coffee shop, it tends to serve as a place to communicate and share ideas by it's nature. However, the live music and community art push the shops into more of a hip location in my opinion as they allow for the development of a sort of local hip. Coffee shops are to the spreading of ideas as bars are to rowdy shenanigans, which sort of means that coffee shops are the introvert's bar.

However, it could be questioned whether or not Jive's has lost some of it's hip status as it no longer is a singular local place. Starbucks was once a hip place, but seems to have lost that status as it has developed into an international chain. Rather than the place were creative hipsters buy coffee, it is now known as the place were rich White girls in Ugg boots buy mocha frappachinos. However, Jive's hip status has another reason to be debated. I have only been able to go to the Nevada location but it seemed to act more as a study hall for UCCS students than a hip meeting place. It's hip status is a matter of debate. It would be an interesting topic to explore.

Would this work?

Regards,

Emily

Rhetorical Tactics of Emerson

In Emerson's Divinity School Address, he makes good use of different rhetorical tools and his word choice as he addresses the graduates of the Divinity College of Cambridge in 1838. As he is addressing the graduate class, he takes more of a formal tone that suits the idea that they are passing on into the next stage of their lives. This address also seems to be written in a divine tone, and feels deep and true; particularly in the introductory paragraph.This tone goes in line with the public speaking of the time as pretty much all public speaking was through speeches or sermons, more the latter than the former. As his audience is a group of graduates who will presumably become pastors, it makes sense to give them their own sermon to mark their transition to learning from doing God's work, or what they perceive as moving on to perform their sacred duties.

Emerson also displays a skillful use of Kairos, or perfect timing. His address is speaking on how the role of the pastor or minister must change in society. This is before the Civil War, and many were pushing for social changes, as well as Emerson. Society wouldn't continue on with the constant struggles between the North and the South U.S. Change was going to happen at some point, and suggesting a change before everything falls into chaos generally goes over better than when everything has fallen apart. 

Emerson also makes use of Ethos, or a persuasion based upon his character, as he is a known speaker and is a divinity school graduate. He is able to take on the tone of one who would normally give a sermon because that is what he learned to do throughout the equivalent of his college education. In this cause, he is using a situated discourse as his character was most likely known to his audience. In terms of Ethos, character is made by your position in society, moral habits, and reputation. Emerson was able to give a speech to those graduating from a divinity school because of his known Ethos. Unfortunately for those organizing the ceremony, it appears they were unaware of his change in beliefs. 

Ethnopoeia

Now a loving person is an individual who tries to make the lives of those around them easier through their his or her efforts. A loving person will not accost someone for a small mistake; such as: dropping a glass, and shattering it on the floor.  A loving person will drive a U-haul two hours south to be diverted in circles by a car show on the street their full-grown child's new home is located on their day off.  A loving person will  rearrange their life so their parent does not have to live in a nursing home. A loving person will accept anyone into their life regardless of their gender, race, sexual orientation, creed, appearance, or weight. A loving person will make an effort to talk to their peer who always seems to be alone. A loving person will give part of their lunch to their friend who nothing to eat. A loving person will make sure their drunk friend isn't left alone at a party. A loving person will continue to support their financially struggling family member but will confront them about their out of control spending habits. A loving person will give their children what they need instead of what will make them stop crying. A loving person will share their dessert with a friend who said they didn't want anything. A loving person will babysit with only one or two hours notice. A loving person will purchase Mary Kay products to support their friend despite rarely using cosmetics. A loving person will donate to the girl scouts when they don't wish to purchase cookies. A loving person will repeatedly evaluate their siblings homework despite having to babysit said kid.  

Ethos

This is what you shall do: Love those whose opinions stand opposed, hate what has convinced you the others speak only lies, embrace the moments you have now, put all distractions aside, connect without removing yourself from humanity, embrace your flaws, proclaim your attributes, reveal the raw nature of your soul, put off all falsehoods, stand when it is easiest to stay down, remove refuse from your heart, admire the natural most often ignored, dig up forgotten roots, amend old wounds, unite all for the good of all, know the history of the oppressor and the oppressed, gain wisdom from all, embrace the humanity of those around you, balance all facets of your life, do all with meaning, feel the weight lift from your muscles, bone, flesh, let the wind cut into the sharpness of your cheeks, and allow peace. 

The Hip-Nerd Duality

 A response to Jacob's post.


When it comes to hip at the moment, I would say that comics and super heroes are considered hip. For the most part, there are several young adults that would gladly admit to loving super heroes. Particularly since comics seems to be aimed more towards an older audience rather than a younger one. While comics were very popular through the '30s to '50s, there was an understanding that comics were only meant for children. It is difficult for a medium to become hip when it is only meant for certain age groups. If an individual read comics past a certain age it either became something hidden or they became someone to ostracize; hence, the nerds were born.

Hip and nerd culture were not the same thing. Every person does have their own individual tastes. However, culture decides collectively what is hip. Society as a whole tends to think of hip as those who go against the grain. Heroes rose to popularity during the Great Depression and World War II; times when people would be more likely to dream about a hero to come save everyone. By the definition of the origins of heroes, they could not be part of hip because a rebel's goal is not to restore the previously accepted order. In general, people tend to be more comfortable going against norms and traditions when everything is going well. A well known example of a hip generation is the roaring '20s.

 The '20s went well for the U.S. economically. This took place after the social movements of the mid-eighteen hundreds. Jazz and flappers were the hip culture of the time. The older generation hated it. The young folks pushed their buttons and rebelled against the strict morals of earlier generations with: alcohol, jazz, and necking, oh my. While there's nothing wrong with the interests of the '30s and '40s, the interests of those decades lack the cultural mixing that generally accompany hip. Sticking within the accepted segregation lines of the races in the early 20th century was the accepted norm, and the lack of diversity in early Super Hero comics reflects that.

While the '20s was not exactly known for it's racial equality, the two sides of the culture coin were more likely blend and mix their ideas together when the culture was not being disturbed by outside forces. When society became more stable in the later 20th century, people did not have the same desire to fantasize about someone who could save the world from the nightmares happening around them, and feel less desire to revert back to the cultural norms that preserved them before. It could be argued that the current demand for comic book heroes is driven by our difficult times as the first wave of modern, popular hero movies came out in the early 2000s after 9/11 and held continuing popularity throughout our troubles with the Middle East. However, I don't think that is what the cultural love of heroes is at the moment. Nerd culture in general has changed a lot since technology has become more accessible, which allows for a more diverse group of individuals to communicate over the internet. Cultural reactions to the idea of nerds seems to have changed drastically.

 

It may be that interest in comics has risen in the interest of adopting nerdy interests; however, comics seem to be taking on the idea of hip more as more cultures are being represented in comics. Characters of various racial background are represented in the X-Men series. Just last year, another series, Ms. Marvel, was published about a Muslim American super hero, which suggests to me that comics are becoming more inclusive and more able to take on sort of what hip is as more cultures are able to combine their own cultural ideas and share their own experiences as well as rebel against an unequal system. 

"I liked it Before it was Cool."

“I liked it before it was cool.” This statement is one of the many things most associated with hipsters. Cool is now the state to be discarded. In a way, it makes sense. Rebellion is what the United States was founded on. It seems to be the natural progression of things. Hip was pushed aside for the idea of cool, as cool is now in the process of being pushed aside for hipsters. Both cool and hip are defined by buying into what consumerism has thrown at the public through music, fashion, and other media. Hipsters fight against the power of large companies by choosing to listen to indie bands, shop at thrift stores, and choosing vintage items that otherwise would have been left to collect dust or rot in a garbage dump. Hipster chooses to define itself from hip by choosing to pick up what hip has thrown away and by choosing what never belonged to hip in the first place. Once something belongs to hip, it no longer belongs to hipsters. The ideas of “cool” and “hip” became something to rebel as soon as it was accepted. The older generation for the most part accepts that being “cool” is what is going to help their children, or members of the younger generation, fit in. After all, cool is what they wanted when they were younger. They believe that the younger generation wants to be cool, which may or may not be true. Cool was a rebellion. Rebellions die when they know longer have reason to fight and new ones take their place. Hipsters were born from the death of cool's rebellion. Eventually, hipsters are becoming the accepted norm, their reason for rebellion will die, and a new rebellion will take it's place. Hopefully they don't take their claimed love for intelligence with them.

Leland believes that hip is a form of rebellion. I would agree with that statement. Hips standards often completely disregard the standards of our culture. Hip claims to unite where society has failed as he mentions that black and white are obviously mixed together. Jazz and gospel music are obvious examples but it goes back farther than that. Our own religions have become mixed together and influenced one another. Hips rejects the divides we have placed between one another, but offers nothing to fix these divides. Ultimately, the music, clothes, and pop culture consumed by the masses cannot force individuals to change their lives or the practices in their lives. It can just make it feel as though great strides have been made because we believe that allowing ourselves to openly talk about them is the same as taking action. While this rebellion is a step in the right direction. We need to embrace both the hip and the hipsters if we want to make changes in society.  

New Beginnings

Welcome to Explorations! Throughout my semester of English Rhetoric, I will use this blog to explore the ideas and concepts of this course. With the layout and design of this blog, I mean to display the idea that we well all be on our own symbolic adventures and coming to our own conclusions. The image of the trailing trees is meant to lead the reader into the main text of the blog, or symbolically of their own path to get a glimpse of mine. Green is more of a natural color that belongs with the theme of nature and adventure. I chose to combine this with purple as the two contrast well. Purple also represents creativity and sensitivity. With this blog, this is meant to represent an understanding that all of our ideas and journeys are going to be different. We will all take a different route to get there. All ideas are worth exploring. I wish you all luck reaching your own profound conclusion throughout the semester.