An Exercise in Futility: Just the facts

Here’s where my blog posts get less wordy and more interactive. The link below implicitly addresses many of the issues we have discussed in the course. But rather than telling you how I feel this is relevant, I will ask a series of questions that will more or less draw out my observations.

In class, we have talked about how cultural aspects become confused with biological fact. Stereotypes and tropes concerning a particular culture often become fallaciously conflated with biological fact.

Click the link below and watch the video through.

(Please Note! The lyrics in the link posted below are HIGHLY EXPLICIT.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oloFLyel3Is

What did you notice? If you watch and listen to it again, perhaps even a third time. What new things did you notice? Did this change your initial perception of what you heard and saw?

Did you notice the girl with the pigtails in the pink dress said the “n-word” multiple times? Note that the song was originally written by Dr. Dre.

Did you notice the gestures of the girls as they danced to the song? Are these gestures in any way racially or culturally loaded?

What are your assumptions? Is this meant to be comedy, derision, a reflection of taste (i.e. the girls performed the song simply because they enjoy it) or social commentary?

How would your reaction differ in the girls were dressed in denim and loose t-shirts?

How would your reaction change if the girls were all African American?

How would your reaction change if the group was all-male?

How would your reaction differ if you discovered each of these women identified as Black/had one Black parent?

 

How does this challenge the cultural identities we project on to biological fact? Until I gave this clip some thought, I wasn’t aware that I was guilty of it too.

I’m particularly interested in how Performativity and the Uncanny shape the experience of watching this clip. I will respond to comments rather than projecting my thoughts into the first post. I hope my questions weren’t too leading.